To go tearing into a prime Joe Louis? Joe would catch him on the way in. Even if Louis was climbing off the canvas he was dangerous.
That also means Joe gets to stand over Jack. I think they trade KD's and Joe lands the straight right hand whilst Dempsey is throwing a looping hook. Jack fought with an intense emotional fury and Joe fought with a methodical, robotic inevitability. For me, Jack's skill is higher than his actual in ring application - that is, often, he didn't show what I know he could do by reading his seminal book. 6 or 7 out of 10, I have Joe winning by KO. When Jack does win, I think he stops Joe rather brutally tbh.
Yes if we play Dempsey era rules where you can stand over the opponent the possibility goes up 15% from 10% to 25%. Yes Dempseys better than the other guys who decked him in his prime so he has a chance to get a kd and then if he can stand over him a better chance of stopping him. There’s a video of them taking their their jackets off to act out a fight. Looks like early fifties. But when Joe reveals his height and build you can see Dempsey hesitate just for a second. Dempsey looked like a tough 55 or so but Joe looked like he could still fight for the title. Louis was actually a lot bigger.
Louis by brutal, surgical knock out 9 times out of 10. The tenth time Dempsey finds a way to mug him and doesn't let him off the hook.
And Dempsey wouldn’t get in the ring with black men after a black fighter broke his ribs. Dempsey was knocked out in 1 round by a 37 year old fire bum, floored 2x by circus clown Firpo, stunned by right hands from middleweight Frenchman, Brennan, and featherfisted Sharkey. Also dropped by Tunney. Louis had a pretty good right hand.
Dempsey not defending against blacks is irrelevant to how much success he would have with them. Dempsey daily got in the ring with George Godfrey,Bill Tate,Panama Joe Gans, and Battling Jim Johnson Firpo was a huge puncher. Louis was stunned by Conn who weighed less that Carpentier. BTW Louis didn't exactly clean out the black challengers for his crown did he. Both men can win this,no need to drag either man down.
Not surprised in a way, that fight seemed chaotic. The Willard and Firpo fights are what got me in to Dempsey.
His chances are very good. Fat Tony dropped Louis and he was nowhere near as fast or powerful as Dempsey. Dempsey was an excellent finisher once he got his opponent hurt.
Interestingly in Fleischers book 50 years at ringside he implies that Dempsey would beat Louis due to his fast start and sturdier chin. Fast forward to the late 60’s and Fleischer states without ambiguity that Louis would ko Dempsey in six rounds. Reason is that “both men punched equally hard but although Dempsey could box Louis was the better boxer”.
If my man Max Schmelling could clock Louis, so can Jack. Now, that is gonna be still a long shot and not a sure thing; but Jack has literally a puncher's chance.
Spot on. Louis ducking black challengers, for whatever reason, has always been a sore point detracting his legacy.