'19 Dempsey vs. '52 Marciano.... Take it or leave it?

Bruno rocked him but Tyson didn't go down, Ruddock rocked him but Tyson didn't go down, Holyfield dropped him and stopped him, Lewis dropped him and stopped him. He was also dropped and stopped a few other times!

Tua has never been down... almost vs. Rahman (it was after the bell).

Sure, their level of opposition is different though.

 

Tua did eat some tasty punches from Lewis but never went down. He also ate plenty of shots from Ibeabuchi, Rahman, Maskaev, David Izon, and a few others but barely even blinked.

 

Tyson and Tua both proved their chin against much bigger and better punchers than Dempsey or Marciano.

 

Thanks apollack!

I's asked apollack to expand on his statement that he'd pick Marciano every time.

 

They both would beat Vitali. What a overrated fighter Vitali is. Now I hear that big oaf is going to fight Shannon Briggs in October . Talk about being fed a long list of gooftroopers(Kevin Johnson, Albert the bum Sosnowski, now poor old Shannon Briggs). Just retire please...your legacy ain't gettin any better unless you fight some real challengers. Just sit back and watch your brother. He's doing all the hark work(Chambers, Chagaev, Ibragimov, now Povetkin).

 

Dempsey ranked 12-15 by you and Rock at #10 now that's funny, either could bang with any HW in history and have a shot to beat any of them.

 

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I would rank Marciano higher in terms of who's greater.

Dempsey was better though. Quicker hands, quicker moving in, just as strong. Jack put together his power shots better, more fluidly. The Manassa Mauler was certainly more accurate. That is probably the biggest factor.
Rocky is going to be eating more punches square.
Dempsey TKO 5.

 

After considering your post I agree, Unlike Tunney, Rocky comes right at Dempsey the most savage attacking heavyweight of all time. I definitely could see Rock getting dropped early , Marciano may rally in rounds 3 to 4 but as you say the punishment will accumulate.

 

I have to tell you , I have been really carefully rewatching Marciano fights lately and the more I watch the more impressed I am. The guy was about 5'10" or so and 185 pounds but really maximized his strength , stamina and power .. he was such a smart fighter , so much smarter than Dempsey who really got hit, saw red and lost it .. in a head to head Dempsey's only shot to me would be a very early KO and I just don't see that .. I see Rocky doing a number on him and stopping Jack in 8 rounds or so, really beating him up .. I can also see him having an even shot with Frazier which I never did before.

The mistake in perception about Marciano is too many try and rate him all time as a heavyweight which is not fair. It is the only division without weight limits and Rocky was a small heavyweight by any standard .. he would not match up as well against physical goliath monsters .. Rocky should be rated as a pound for pound fighter and in that category he was fantastic.

 

Dempsey was a very quick murderous puncher, savage in close with short and tight combinations. He would be all over Marciano within the first ten seconds of the fight at the very least cutting him to ribbons. If Rocky can get through the first 6-8 rounds which I believe is highly doubtful it becomes a fight. My pick is the ref stops the fight in five rounds with Marciano a cut up bleeding mess.

 

Rocky started slow Dempsey was fast out of the gate ,this leads me to agree with this post.Dempsey was quicker of both hand and foot and defensively better imo.When Marciano attained the crown he was seen as a poor facsimile of Dempsey.This was harsh ,but the edge goes to Jack for me.

 

The truth is that Marciano was far more consistent and focused fighter. At their best, it's very tough to say. Dempsey looks spectacular against Willard and he looks very good against Gibbons who was tough opponent to look very good against. On the other hand, although devastating, his work against Firpo and Brennan makes him far more beatable.

He could fight very rough and I think that Marciano would look better in that type of fight because he was more patient and focused. On the other hand, Dempsey was much faster and he could drop Marciano with some lethal counters.

Almost impossible to pick, but in a series I'd pick Marciano more times than not because I trust his consistency more.

 

Although rusty Dempseys short arm punching and combo punching was incredible vs Firpo. Watch closely the knockdown just prior to the ko. Incredible.