Dempsey Koing Joe Louis?

Very nice, Both men can win this is my thought as well though I lean Louis.

 

Dempsey would need to catch Joe off guard. He wasn't the same level of fighter, realistically. Power for power, sure, but Joe could get Dempsey equivalent power without windmilling punches. I don't think comparing Firpo's power, which had little technique to brag of to Louis is applicable. A tight 1-2 from Louis may be the most explosive single combination ever from a boxer. And Dempsey would eat a lot of them trying to get to Louis and probably be knocked out relatively early. To answer the OP question: Dempsey KOing Louis is possible, I'd rate it about 5% or less.

 

"Windmilling punches"?Dempsey could ko a man with a punch that only travelled a couple of inches.

 

Even his short shots were big whole body movements to me, he didn't look to have clean technique. He would routinely square up and drop both hands to full-on swing. But hey, I potentially dksab. Just my take. I doubt they would get home on Louis, even in the clinch.

 

Im not sure why people keep saying that Conn weighed only 169 against Louis or that even Carpentier weighed more than Conn against Dempsey. Neither is true. Yes, anecdotally people have said Conn was lighter than his official weigh in weight but thats simply not true. The weigh in was filmed and was conducted in front of dozens of reporters. Nobody disputed either fighters weights despite half a dozen men from both camps staring over the weights and Louis weighing in bare ass naked. In fact, both men stepped on the scales numerous times for the motion pictures which still exist today and easily refute the idea that the weights were falsified.

Keep in mind that the same thing was said about the Dempsey Carpentier fight, that Dempsey's weight was lowered and Carpentier's weight was increased to make the fight look more competitive. Yet, Dempsey weighed basically the same as he had for his last four fights and Carpentier was right around where he weighed for his last three.

When Conn weighed in at 174 for Louis (two pounds more than Carpentier for Dempsey) he was at his lowest weight in his last five fights. While its true Louis was at his lowest weight in his last 6 fights over the previous year, his average weight for those six fights was 202.5. He weighed 199.5 for Conn. Not unusual when training to be lighter and faster when going up against a lighter faster fighter. And again, this is a guy who weighed in naked.

People pointing out that Louis was rocked by Conn shouldnt be so quick to throw stones. Dempsey was made to do a drunk dance every bit as nasty as Louis' when Carpentier tagged him in the second round of their fight.

 

Dempsey çould hit, I have no doubt he could knock Louis down or hurt him at some point. I do believe one of the things about Louis that gets overlooked is his recovery abilities.
Joe was able to survive after being hurt and comeback to knock out his opponent several times. I guess it depends on just how quick Jack was in his prime.

 

As always we all have our own opinion.

 

louis fought 3 black hall of famers in world title fights Lewis, Walcott, and Charles.

how many did Dempsey fight in world title fights?

 

Could Jack Dempsey knock Joe Louis out? Absolutely. Dempsey was arguably the most legendary and spectacular heavyweight of roughly the first 35 years of the 20th century, before Joe Louis emerged (and, of course, before that as well). He is also widely regarded as one of the greatest H2H heavyweights prior to Louis.

Furthermore, Dempsey would likely have been the hardest puncher a prime Louis ever faced. Unlike Max Schmeling or Max Baer, Dempsey could punch with either hand, and he brought far more to the table than raw power: speed, combinations, relentless aggression...

I also remember one of Louis's fights, though I can't recall whether it was against Ettore or Retzlaff. (I'm not entirely sure.) His opponent was an unorthodox pressure fighter: quick, highly active, and constantly forcing the action. At times Louis looked unusually passive and even a little uncomfortable. He eventually knocked out the smaller man, who seemed a little chinny and was rather feather-fisted. But I remember thinking that if a fighter of Dempsey's caliber had been applying that kind of pressure with his power, Louis could have been in serious trouble... (The Galento fight maybe provides another point of comparison...)

Nevertheless, Joe Louis was never knocked out early in any of his 69 professional fights. Yes, he lost the first Schmeling bout, but he was still a little green and probably not at his best... although, as a Schmeling fan, I'm not especially fond of making too many excuses for Louis. In any case, Schmeling dismantled him methodically and didn't stop him until the 12th round after repeatedly landing clean right hands. I don't think a Dempsey victory would unfold in the same way.

Of course, Louis was dropped on occasion, sometimes because he was off balance. Dempsey himself was knocked down and rocked at times though. I also think Louis wasn't equally sharp throughout his career. His performances certainly fluctuated.

That said, Dempsey never fought, let alone defeated, anyone remotely as good as Joe Louis. He was a knockout artist in his era, but against considerably weaker opposition, and of course he didn't knock everyone out.

On the other hand, Louis could knock Dempsey out early himself. He had physical advantages as well, and I think he would hold a clear edge if the fight went into the later rounds because of his superior jab.

At their absolute best, I'd favor the more proven fighter, Joe Louis. Maybe 70 : 30... That said, Dempsey would be a very dangerous opponent, especially if Louis wasn't at his very best.

 

Apart from Wills, what other black HOF's were there for him to defend against?

 

Joe was the better fighter but stylistically this lines up a bit on the side of Jack, the best version. If Tony Galento can catch a prime Joe Louis with a left hook then Jack Dempsey might be to the left hook what Max Schmeling was to the right hand. On the flipside, slow, telegraphed Luis Firpo caught Jack so what could a two handed sniper like Joe Louis do?

Bettor beware!

 

4. JHL is also on in the IBHOF.