Why the polarised views on Dempsey?

He was one the greatest fighters of all time.
Not only at heavyweight but pound-for-pound.

He was 188 pounds beating guys who weighed 200, 210, 220, 245 pounds. And he could deal with the small guys, men his own size and smaller light-heavies too.
He was no joke.

I have no idea why Dempsey is actively downgraded by so many now. Basically the whole boxing world rated him from the 20s through to the 80s at least as one of the true greats, and that boxing crowd were the generations who went to the fights once a week, hung out in gyms, knew their stuff.
Sitting here in 2011 saying Dempsey wasn't that great is like saying World War 2 wasn't that bad. It flies in the face of good reason and testimony of thousands who were there.

I notice some people bring up Dempsey being white. But that's stupid.
Jack Johnson was considered a great fighter too, once seemingly unbeatable.
The fact that Demspey so brutally destroyed Willard, who had de-throned Johnson, helped cement the legacy. If Dempsey had been black that win would have been just as awesome in the eyes of 'whitey' and possibly more so.

The 'black'/'white' being brought up in discussions of Jack's greatness is just a tactic of distraction or the dribbling of morons .
I don't know, but it deserves no more attention.

Dempsey was great. You either rate him or you don't.
Sure, there are other fighters you might want to rate above him.
But by being put above Dempsey that would automatically make them sublime demi-gods of boxing themselves.

:good

 

Another great post, burt.
Setting the record straight on Dempsey.

:good

 

So true U.This "whitey" stuff is going to dilute serious discussions on ESB.
Some people believe in self flagellation at the expense of reality. Damn it I am white ,never hurt any race, am proud of the fact that this darn computer
we are communicating on, was invented by caucasians, enough of this "whitey" regurgitation. I thought this is a damn boxing forum, and to me,
the history of our beloved sport ,deserves better... Cheers U...atsch

 

Well said. happy

 

The colour bar was a disgrace but don't forget the bloke was part American Indian himself. It's just size that he fellout of top 10 heavyweights, i got him 9 at h/w and top 20 p4p. At cruiserweight, which he would be today, he'd be top 5 behind Louis at 1. He'd beat any cruiserweight or h/wt today.

 

The raw boned sinewy Dempsey that massacred Jess Willard on Independence Day 1919 could have done the same to any other heavyweight in history on a good day. I have yet to witness such white hot frenzied aggression as that which consumed Dempsey (not to mention Willard) in that merciless Toledo sun. It was, and will always remain the most brutal bout ever in the history of The Queensbury Rules - such barbarism will never be allowed to happen again. The fact that the fight would quite probably have been stopped after the very first knockdown these days (and there is the possibility that the Dempsey-Firpo war would've also been stopped after the 1st or 2nd knockdown in that one too) further indicates to me that Dempsey could definately have chopped down todays mammoths in much the same fashion to force early stoppages. You only have to witness Willard; a pitiful sight hideously beaten, sitting in a growing pool of his own blood at the end of the first round to understand what damage Dempsey was capable of against a genuine 6'7" 245 (at least) pounder. The only reason Willard got out of the first minute is because the referee seemed willing to allow a fatality on the grounds that a champion is only beaten when he is dragged out. When more humane referees were in charge (eg Fulton & Morris matches etc) such lumbering targets didn't make it out of the first 30 seconds!! Of the 49 KO's Dempsey scored in his career...25 came in the 1st round!! Of the other 24...? 5 exited not long into the 2nd round....and a further 7 didn't make it out of the 3rd!! That young 24 year old giant killer who savaged Jess Willard had already crammed in an astonishing 72 fights (at least)!! He was 24!!?? You can watch any of his post Willard filmed bouts to put some meat on the bones of any overall impression you try to get but understand you won't find any other fights of the REAL PEAK DEMPSEY AT HIS KILLER BEST

 

Shouldn't posted the Tunney GIF. An absolute marvel from a faded fighter showing a glimpse of brilliant short-punching. This is just a KO due Dempey's chomping shot to the nuts.

 

Well that's just Sharkey's fault for having glass balls.

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Touche

That's more like it. :good

By the way, Dempsey's Championship Manual is the ****! (I mean that in a good way).

 

Well you know they do say protect yourself* at all times?

*glass balls

 

Tunney on Dempsey

“Jack was no wild slugger. He was an extremely clever fusion of fighter and boxer. He fought out of a peculiar weave and bob and was very difficult to hit with a solid punch. In the 20 rounds I fought him – 10 at Philadelphia in 1926 and 10 at Chicago the following year – I never did get a clean shot at his jaw. He was always weaving and bobbing away from the direct line of fire.

 

P, why do you "hate " white people so much ? I like you,even though we have never met, and I'm white. And for your information in the 1920's which fighters were better than, Dempsey ,tunney, Walker, Leonard, Dundee, Britton, Jimmy wilde, Pete Herman, Bud Taylor, Ace Hudkins etc ? Are you implying that because they were born of white parentage, they were inferior
fighters ? P, there is such a thing as discrimination,that was true, but as sure as i am typing this ,reverse discrimination against INNOCENT people who happen to be of a color you dislike,[according to your posts], is JUST as odious. Let us be fair in this cruel world...Cheers...