Punching Power: Louis or Dempsey?

Many years ago In an interview I read ,a reporter asked Jack Sharkey "who
would win in a bout between Dempsey and Louis" ? Sharkey was quoted as responding' well if you put them both in a small room and closed the door,
Dempsey would come out ". Dempsey was a rougher, tougher bar room
brawler, while Louis was more deliberate a puncher...My two greatest
heavyweights of alltime...They had what the real oldtimers called "bottom ".

 

Louis was the more effective power combo puncher, Dempsey may have had heavier hands but Joe put them together well...Dempsey -Tunney-long count-shows a great flurry by Jack...Joe Louis did it against Walcott 2 and Conn among others....this one is close

 

I think its all academic. Both guys are terrific punchers and both can lay out guys stone cold. The only way we would know for sure is if some kind of test was in place to gauge it, and that aint gonna happen

 

I'm picking Louis, for the reason that during many of his KOs, his opponents were completely out of it. Walcott, down and didn't get up. Schmeling, damn near killed, Braddock, unconscious for minutes, etc. That is not to say Dempsey didn't have his share of devastating KOs, but most of the time, his opponents were simply overwhelmed by his pressure, handspeed and of course power.. and they got up several times before the ref stopping it.

 

i think that dempsey was the harder puncher but louis was the better puncher. dempsey did hit a bit harder with a single shot but louis got better combinations.

 

joe

 

Dempsey hit harder, but (paradoxically) this made him less likely to get the instant knock-out than Louis. Dempsey's oponent's would be floored at the first blow, while Louis's opponent's would be able to stay standing just long enough to be smashed by a couple more blows - individually less damaging, but collectively more so.

 

Both great punchers, but I'd give it to Joe. More accuracy, combination skill and efficiency.

 

I think Dempsey had more pure power in his punches, but Louis was more accurate and had supperior timing, which led to more conclusive knockouts.

 

Bill is correct.

 

The hardest punch Louis ever delivered was the right uppercut which floored Uzcudun, this according to referee Arthur Donovan and Joe himself. For Dempsey, the hardest blow on film would appear to be the first left hook which decked Willard in Toledo, caving in Jess's cheekbone. Both victims incredibly beat the count. For sheer concussive force, I rate that hook of Dempsey's a little higher.

What Louis did is better documented on film. We know only from reports how Dempsey bounced Brennen six times in February 1918, dropped Miske thrice for the only time in Billy's career, and decked Gunboat Smith with a left jolt one minute in. We do see him hop Willard skyward with an inside hook to the short ribs as round three draws to a close, and he basically dropped Tunney with only two good shots.

Post number 5000 for me. How on earth did I ever reach this total?:scaredas:

 

D, time flies when you are having fun !:hi:

 

Man, you got that right, Burt! I merely lurked here for a while until I simply couldn't keep silent any longer, then got totally sucked into this. Posting has become quite the addiction. I don't submit commentary just to elevate my count total though, so it always startles me to surpass a milestone figure like 500...1,000...2,500...and now 5,000 submissions. I wonder if it will take another four years to hit 10,000. (That I'll have been active here for four years next month is another shocker.)

 

Yes he did. He said Dempsey hit him harder cause Dempsey hit him for 500,000 while Louis only hit him for 50,000.