Dempsey vs Harry Greb

Isn't there a quote attributed to Greb somewhere where he admits something along the lines that he didn't think he would beat Dempsey in an actual bout? Or is that hearsay?

 

I think Greb can certainly win on points.

The weight difference here isn't that big, Greb, from what I've read was quicker, more active and more accurate.

Without seeing any footage I can't pick a winner, but I certainly don't agree with those writing Greb off. I also don't agree with those putting much stock in the sparring session.

It's a shame, just like the Wills fight, that we hae two greats who competed in this division at the same time as Dempsey and we can't conclusively say who the best man was.

 

McG - thanks for responding to my post. I knew I had read something but it was a long time ago & I couldn't remember the specifics...if, as you say, Greb withdrew his offer to fight Dempsey for free, that would certainly indicate a drop in confidence.

 

First photo of them together is awesome aswell as scary. They're both staring at you as to say "we got a problem"

 

Dropped to just the standard procedure of fighting him for money.

What shows here is Dempsey's lack of confidence, in that he wouldnt meet this brazen challenger who would fight him for free

 

The fact that Dempsey refused to fight Greb tells me all i need to know about his confidence and chances of actually winning

 

FH, no this quote that Harry Greb uttered to a boxing writer " after 5 or so
rounds, Dempsey would kill me ",I read several times in old boxing magazines of the 1940s...
So why did Greb, believing this challenge Dempsey for a bout? He would have made more money for that one bout than a year of fighting town to town, and as the Bio of Greb's book reads ,"Harry Greb was fearless"...

 

I was agreeing with McGrain.

 

BB (hope you are keeping well), what you quote is something along the lines of what I remember reading:good

 

Yes FH, read it several times I sure did...We must remember now, during Dempsey's reign there was not as much demand for Dempsey to fight
Harry Greb as there is today on ESB...Especially after Dempsey kod the
Orchard man Carpentier in 1921, who was even bigger than Harry Greb.
Would Harry Greb, my favourite fighter of alltimes have had a chance to
beat Dempsey, both at their bests ? I believe he had a very slight chance of lasting the distance against a much stronger heavyweight, faster than
many middleweights of that time...Harry Greb's main forte was SPEED and
his absolute best weight was about 158-65 at most, so Dempsey at 187 or so would outweigh Harry by about 20 pounds...Harry Greb used to say that "I love to fight the big boys, cause they get in their own way"...
Dempsey's braintrust figured that to fight a middleweight like Greb would be a no win situation. If Dempsey loses, he loses his title and fortune. If Dempsey kos Greb, people would say," why doesn't Dempsey pick on someone his own size". Truly a no-win situation...