Better finisher Joe Louis or Jack Dempsey?

LOL.. I know this thread was inspired by your recent dispute with Janitor.

But I'll say Louis and by a long shot. Joe destroyed legitimate champions and challengers with those lightening fast combinations like no one ever did before or after. Not even conversation worthy really.

 

I think they were both A+ class.
But even the best finishers can't finish every opponent perfectly every time.

 

He had Firpo out of there in less than 4 minutes.

His punches against Willard were landing.

Carpentier, Brennan, Sharkey are on film, and fairly sudden finishes. I don't see Dempsey letting anyone off the hook really.
I can't see much to criticize really.

 

Is this question about level of opponent ?

"Finisher" I take to mean someone who can finish a man who they have hurt, nothing more, nothing less.

I can't see Dempsey failed at all, any more than any other "great finisher" in his division.

 

It is a difficult comparison to make, because they are different kinds of finisher.

Louis is the kind of finisher who sets up an opportunity or takes advantage of one, while Dempsey is the kind of finisher who forces one.

Dempsey is likely to get the job done more quickly, while Louis is likely to get the job done while exposing himself to less risk, though in some situations Dempsey's approach might be safer.

 

...no one has mentioned the difference in the rules under which they fought. in dempsey's era a fighter could hit his opponent the second he got off the floor. the willard fight is the clearest example.

in the joe louis time the fighter who scored the knockdown had to go to a neutral corner until the opponent got up.

i don't know which fighter was the better finisher, but i'll say this: look at dempsey/willard and see how many times willard got up.
look at tunney2 and see what happened when the rule was changed.
also, use your imagination and try to visualize joe louis against willard under the dempsey rules and try to picture willard getting up that often....and even coming out for two more rounds.

 

I agree...NO ONE can knock out EVERYONE...As posted the BEST of Dempsey's ko's are not available today...Fred Fulton's ko for one example. A writer at ringside marveled at the vicious two punch combo that rendered Fulton unconscious in LaLa land in a half of a minute.At about the same period Dempsey flattened
Battling Levinsky in 3 rounds fot the first time Levinsky was ko'd in his long, long career. Carl Morris, though not a great HWt was flattened in one minute. Jess Willard, say what you want, was
Never floored before or even staggered, was annihilated by
Dempsey truly in one round by the 183 pound Dempsey who had to punch upwards to even reach Willard's jaw [try that critics].
Dempsey was outweighed by Willard about 70 pounds and floored big Jess SEVEN times and the referee Ollie Pecord for some reason did not stop the fight in the very first round...This is the same [though 3 year older] Jess Willard who absorbed a trouncing from Jack Johnson for TWENTY FIVE rounds in the hot
Havana sun without even being on woozy street before Willard rallied in the 26th round...So what the 70 pound lighter Dempsey did to Willard was impressive flooring this mountain man 7 times in the 1st round KNOWING well that Jack Kearns foolishly bet
a large amount of money on a Dempsey FIRST round ko...
In the Firpo fight Dempsey rushed out of his corner starting the first round bell and sailed into a clubbing right hand on Dempsey
that put Jack on ***** street for the remainder of the fight.
Though Firpo was crude he at this time was a large powerful brute of a man who had a monsterous right hand that could flatten anyone he connected with.Dempsey in his woozy condition still pulverized Firpo in the next round with the greatest one-two, so fast and potent you can hardly see it in slow motion film...
As far as Joe Louis , my favorite heavyweight, he took THIRTEEN rounds to ko a big ,brave but easy target Abe Simon to stop hitting big Abe cwith every punch in the book before thev referee stopped the bout with Abe Simon still on his feet protesting the stoppage..For the life of me I cannot envision Abe Simon lasting 13 rounds with the killer that was a prime Dempsey. So in conclusion both Dempsey, and Joe Louis along with a YOUNG Mike Tyson were the 3 greatest heavyweight finishers I have seen...

 

Exactly, I could list other fights where Joe Louis had his opponent down or hurt early, and failed for finish them for several rounds.

People assuming Louis would do this and that with Dempsey's opponents under whatever rules are basing such assumptions on nothing but sheer imagination.

Adding to burt's observations, it's perhaps worth noting (or perhaps not) that Buddy Baer took 3 rounds to stop Abe Simon, and Lem Franklin took 5.
Louis managed 13 rounds, and 6 rounds in the rematch.
For what it's worth.