Dempsey and Greb spar, talk about title fight

Dempsey KO 1

 

I have multiple sources which state Greb got the better of Dempsey during sparring, and Dempsey did not hold back during sparring

Greb has the skill speed angles men like Brennan Miske and Carpentier didn’t possess...the same type of traits Tunney used to easily outbox Dempsey

I think In a 10 round fight Greb is a live dog to outpoint Dempsey

 

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The bout with Greb was a real one. It was the best work-out Dempsey has had. The Pittsburgher was in prime shape, and although he weighs only 165 pounds he gave the champion a real honust-to-goodness battle. Dempsey hasn't seen so many gloves in a long time as Greb showed him. Greb was all over him and kept forcing him around the ring throughout the session. Dempsey could do but little with the speedy light heavyweight, while Greb seemed to be able to hit Dempsey almost at will. Time and again Greb made the champion miss with his famous right and left hooks to the head and countered with heavy swings to the head and hooks to the body.

--Greb Lightning Fast--

Greb was a veritable whirlwind. Twenty-five pounds lighter than the champion and about four inches shorter, Harry made the champion step lively. He had to jump off the floor to hit Dempsey in the head when the latter was standing straight, but managed to do it and landed without leaving himself open to Jack's snappy hooks and short swings. One of the most notable things about Dempsey's boxing is the fact that he is not hitting as straight as he did in Toledo. This is not a particularly good sign. Why he should hook and swing his blows more is a mystery. He can hit straight when he wants to, and when he does his blows carry a wealth of power behind them, for the champion knows how to put his powerful shoulders behind his punches and how also to get the necessary asistance from his legs by rising to the ball of the rearward foot when the punch gets over. It may be that Dempsey does not care to hit straight from the shoulder, fearing to punish his partners too severly.



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Sept 3, 1920

Greb Splits Dempsey's Tongue In Final Workout For Billy Miske


Benton Harbor, Mich., Sept. 2- With but one more day of hard work remaining in their training grind, Jack Dempsey and Billy Miske cast aside all restraint today and gave their sparring partners vicous maulings for six rounds. Speed was the watchword in both camps and after the workout Dempsey and the challenger declared they boxed at the top of their form.

Dempsey sparred three sessions with Harry Greb, Pittsburgh lightweight, and another trio with Marty Farrell, Pacific Coast middleweight. Miske felt the lack of capable sparring mates and he was compelled to set the pace himself. He stepped the first two rounds with George Wilson, a negro heavyweight, the second two with Jack Heinen.

Early in the third round Greb's head collided with Dempsey's mouth, cutting the champion's tongue so severly that he spat blood for the remainder of the round.



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Sept 3, 1920

Greb Swaps Blows With Champion-

It was Harry Greb who again today gave Dempsey his stiffest workout. The Pittsburgher was in fine fettle after the excellent showing he made against the champion yesterday. He was full of pep. With the call of time signalizing the beginning of activities, Greb promptly rushed Dempsey. The onslaught was so sudden that Jack was caught off his guard and it took a solid left hook into the body, plied with all the force at Greb's command, which is considerable, to jolt Dempsey into action. Then the fur began to fly.

It was a whirlwind three rounds that these two fighters staged for the edification of the biggest crowd that has yet shoe-horned its way into the grandstand at the baseball park in front of which the ring is built. There were fully 2,000 people present, and they were treated to as much action in those three rounds as is usually crowded into eight of a real bout.

The bout caused the crowd to burst into cheers and prolonged applasuse. In fact, during the intermission between the second and third rounds Ted Hayes, who acts as announcer at the Dempsey camp, was compelled to request the spectators to refrain from urging either of the men to greater efforts.

-Dempsey Slows Up a Bit-

These three rounds were followed by three more against Marty Farrell, another middleweight. Dempsey perceptibly eased up in his work against his second opponent.

Although Dempsey insists that his wind is perfect and that he is not troubled by shortness of breath while working out, to those who have studied him closely it appears as if his wind might be in better shape. He was puffing very hard after boxing Greb. Of course, it was an unusually fast workout, but it seemed to take him longer than it should to recover his wind even after so strenuous a session. By this is not meant that Dempsey is likely to suffer from shortness of wind in Monday's battle

Four Round Workouts-

Both men limited their actual boxing to four rounds each today. And there were no firworks, not even when Harry Greb and Dempsey clashed, which usually is accompanied by old man speed stepping on the accelerator. It was the lightest kind of boxing, consisting cheifly of feinting and footwork.

(paragraphs about Miske skipped)

Harry Greb, looking as chipper as ever in his U.S. Navy Jersey and his black tights, climbed into the ring to take Dempsey over the jumps for two rounds of three minutes each.

Just as soon as they squared off it was apparent that there was to be none of the continuous slam-bang stuff which had accompanied their previous engagements. Greb did not rush the champion and they feinted and pranced about for a full minute before either made a real lead. Toward the close of the round they met near mid-ring and there was a sharp exchange of body punches. The second round was a little livelier, but it wasn't a cyclone, and the crowd was somewhat dissappointed. The fans had expected to see more of a real battling than had featured the jousts between these two.

Over 10rounds or more ,with smaller gloves I think Dempsey would slow up Greb enough to stop him.

 

A-G-E-N -D -A.

 

If we follow this logic we must assume a loss for Dempsey was a distinct possibility, whereas against Carpentier it was not.

 

I posted reports of the fight that stated Fitz handled Jeffries like a novice ,and hit him where and when he wanted. They said Jeffries only won because of the 12 years age gap and the huge difference in size.Fitz beat the **** out of him until his bad hands went on him. Its your thread if you want to turn it into a Jeffries v Fitz fight 2 discussion Im happy with that.
I didn't watch the football I visited my old Alma Mater which is due to e demolished to make way for a new primary school,they had an open evening.afterwards I, and an old class mate went down to a riverside pub [the Thames]and had a couple of pints before returning home. Nice try but I'm not a football fan ,we played Rugby at my school , nor am I particularly patriotic.
Here is one breakdown of the fight.
http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/on-...simmons-in-the-eighth-round-of-their-rematch/

Jeffries had reason to be confident. The much bigger man, he outweighed Fitzsimmons by more than forty pounds. Despite this, Fitzsimmons took the fight to the champion in the early rounds and inflicted a vicious battering. As early as the second, Jeffries was bleeding from the challenger’s sharp punches, which soon broke Jeffries's nose and opened deep cuts around both eyes. But Jeffries was nothing if not tough, and he waited patiently for his opportunity to strike back.

It came in the eighth round. After several blistering exchanges, Fitzsimmons inexplicably paused, lowered his guard, and spoke to Jeffries, taunting him. The champion’s response was a hard right to the belly followed by a thunderous left hook that put Fitzsimmons on the floor and ended the fight. When the challenger later approached the champion to congratulate him, Jeffries regarded Fitzsimmons through swollen, bleeding eyes and said, “You’re the most dangerous man alive.” Anyone looking at the combatants’ faces would have been astonished to learn the unmarked fighter was the loser, while the man sporting a visage marred by lumps and bloody gashes had proven victorious.

 

I agree that this is a lose lose situation for JD .. who wins? great fight here, I lean towards 65/35 JD. As far as JD and Tunney, I'm probably in the minority but I think these bouts say more about JD than it does Tunney. I mean a well past it JD was so close to landing more on a basically Prime Tunney, I really see a 1919 JD knocking out Tunney both times.

 

Carpentier landed one punch of any significance .The fight lasted less than four full rounds ,with Dempsey under instructions from Rickard to give the crowd a show , how many rounds did the Frenchman win?