He looks like he can outpace -- not just outpunch -- most heavies of his time. He moves exceptionally well for a heavyweight of any era up to the present day.
With exceedingly few exceptions, great punchers rarely get their due for any of their Boxing skills & finer points of know-how. Dempsey was in the usual crowd in this regard.
Wasn't Greb brought in for the Miske fight in 1920? And I always got the impression those sparring sessions were outdoors.
As can be seen, Dempsey did indeed know how to work with smaller sparring partners, and utilized them to work on his speed, defense, footwork, etc.
If you've read his technique book then you can see he is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the sport. He's not just a puncher. The man knew his craft
Yes, Dempsey had a very well considered and varied group of sparring partners to work on all facets of his game. Somewhat similar to Ali, Dempsey’s legs were an extremely important component to his absolute prime game. When those prime legs deserted him, so too did a big chunk of his overall effect - People often say that the last thing to go on a fighter is his punch - perhaps the first thing to go - and particularly notable if they were very important in the first instance, including aiding and abetting power and efficient delivery of same - would be a fighter’s legs?
Amazing footage. I had never seen this. I am a big big fan. I wish we had more footage of Dempsey from his pre championship days. I also wish he had a chance to defend his title more. The lead right is beautiful. I knew he was fast and had great head movement but i don't recall him using lead rights. Gorgeous. You can see how he was able to write a book on boxing technique. Without a doubt one of the most influential boxers ever. An amazing pionner whose techniques have been copied by many. Legend. This is why i love this forum - you always come across things you had never seen before.
Good point. Joe Frazier in his bio emphasised the importance of body torque in punches, the value of technique in the name of power. That’s true for almost any big hitter, the careful application of body mechanics. Someone like George Foreman, who can hit, hurt, & KO without paying attention to this stuff, is the outlier.
