Do you hold it against Jack Dempsey for not fighting Harry Greb?

Greb was a more accomplished heavyweight than all of Dempsey's challengers. Make of that what you will.

 

Yes personally I do, and I have often defended Dempsey against his more vehement critics.

 

Greb was a lose lose proposition for Dempsey. If he wins it’s ehhh he beat up on a middleweight, if he loses its total disaster.
However Dempsey should not get a pass on missing out on Greb AND Wills. He had to fight at least one of them and he didn’t it does tarnish his legacy to me.

 

No. Revisionism history. The public would not have backed Dempsey vs a middleweight. At least Carpentier was light heavyweight champ unknown charismatic etc. Greb no. They wouldn't but it you revisionist turkeys. Even Greb said after 6 Dempsey would kill him. Real fight, Dempsey in 1 or 2. In the street, greb is mrdered.

 

I have sighted many articles that were calling for a Greb defence or at the very least giving it legitimacy. And contrary to your last mark Greb wanted the bout, said that he could win the bout and plenty of fighters Greb beat made it beyond 1 or 2... And one guy Greb beat actually best Dempsey.

 

Greb not facing Dempsey pales into insignificance in comparison to Dempsey not facing Wills, not saying Wills would have won, but he was legit challenger.

 

Yes....I've actually lost sleep about it after I read Compton`s book.
Dempsey gets crap for ducking Willis but he signed a contract in Willis' presence
But N.Y. Commission would not sanction the bout and anyway Willis' side did not come up with his portion of the purse.

Bottom line is, if you do a little research, Dempsey did not "duck" Willis but he most definitely ducked Greb. The public wanted both/either fight.

 

The sequence of events is complex in both cases.

In both cases, it is possible to reach a number of conclusions.

 

Yes. And we'd get to see Greb on film had it happened.

 

Exactly

 

Does it when the fact remains that Greb beat Brennan (FIVE TIMES), Miske, Gibbons and Tunney? And that Carpentier ran like a b*tch from Greb's attempts to make a fight? Really, does it now?

 

What happened to the contract that Wills & Dempsey signed? Did promoter Tex Richard put it in File 13 and forget about it.

 

Not really, it was a no win situation for Jack,the black mark against him,no pun intended, is his failure to fight Wills.
Greb fought Miske twice and won both times ,both were before Dempsey was champ.
He beat Brennan twice while Dempsey was champ
The last time Greb beat Tunney was in 1922,I think Tunney was a different proposition a few years later,and Greb was perhaps fading a little.Klompton would know the inside info on that.