Dempsey has also KO'd more fighters in the first round than any fighter in history and his win over Willard was so brutal that it had some wondering whether or not his gloves were loaded, and Dempsey was certainly faster than Marciano.
That's all true but The Rock was never knocked out bro... Nobody even came close... And lets not try to compare Willard with the Rock my man... You lose all credibilty on that one. Don't forget how many times Dempsey was knocked down in his career as well. He was a savage for sure but the Rock puts him away late... And speaking of KO's, the Rock has the highest percentage of KO's in Heavyweight history with an 87% KO ratio... Tough to beat a guy who you can't KO, and who can KO you...
If Dempsey was unable to KO or TKO Rocky he could easily change his tactics and box his way to a decision if he had to. Both fighters were durable, Marciano slightly more so, but Dempsey was tough enough to last if it did wind up going the distance. Dempsey also had great stamina and was more than capable of going 15 good rounds in his prime, as he did so against Tommy Gibbons after a two year lay off when he was past it. And, while Rocky had a better right cross, Dempsey's left hook was superior to Marciano's. Anyway, I honestly don't think this fight would go past the mid rounds.
Yeah man it would have been one of the best fights ever!!! I too think Jack could've gone the distance, but I think he'd of been slowed tremendiously by the Rock's power shots for 14-15 rounds...
Yeah, it would have been a war. I'm actually glad it never could have happened in real life, as someone would have gotten seriously permanently ****ed up.
One of the great "what if" match ups. Hard to pick. If they faught 3X, hard to see one guy sweeping all 3 fights. Most likely 2-1 or even 1-1-1 between these two greats.
Actually I read somewhere that says during the 60s, Marciano was hardly in a typical top 10 greatest HW all time. Now, people are even arguing he is GOAT.
In that particular poll Marciano pulled in 7th with Dempsey 1st. The people that participated were boxing experts, many of whom saw both men fight first hand.
Punchers dream, fight is a war for 10 rounds with both men hit and staggered, Marciano punch rate increases afther the 4-5th round of give and take and is really coming on in the 9th and 10th when he lands a right hand flush on a tired Jack's Jaw, Dempsey goes down hard for the count
**** right! I don't know why so many people have this belief that Dempsey would tire and wear out so much more than Marciano. Dempsey would out maneuver, out speed and out land Marciano to a referee stoppage. I wish Duodenum was here.
I am a fan of both Dempsey and Marciano. Heres my take - Jack fought GREAT against BIG heavyweights. When he faced smaller heavyweights (in weight, not necassarily in their height) Jack sometimes struggled. Gunboat Smith gave Jack a tough fight and so did Tommy Gibbons, who was really a lightheavyweight. Also, Willie Meehan was a real pain to Dempsey as well. I think that Marciano would fight out of that funny type of crouch and slowly get to Jack. Dempsey would have his moments as well, but I think that Marciano would take the fight inside and slowly wear down Jack. Styles make fights. I think that Dempsey was actually the more naturally talented fighter and Dempsey would have handled the modern day BIG heavyweights with much more ease than Rocky. Rocky would have had more of a difficult time with the modern heavyweights because Rocky did not possess Dempsey's speed and footwork. Also, Rocky's short reach would really handicap him against these 6' 6" fighters.
Yeah, cause Dempsey couldn't fight inside for ****. I'm curious, what do people think Jack will be doing while Marciano is "wearing him down"? My guess, beating the living **** out of Marciano.
As for Dempsey having trouble with smaller fighters. Gibbons/Meehan and Marciano are nothing alike style wise. And are you referring to the gunboat Smith Dempsey dropped in 2? Gibbons himself said that Dempsey could beat anyone he could hit, I doubt Dempsey would have much trouble landing on Marciano. I also think you should keep in account that the two best punchers Marciano faced both dropped him and Dempsey has a much better left hook than Walcott did, also, if Ezzard Charles can last 15 against Marciano, I'm sure Dempsey could.