Greb over Dempsey? Why not

Greb over Dempsey? Why not

Although history didn't get to see this match as Dempsey avoided Greb, after some review, and thought, I think Greb has a real shot at defeating Demspey.

Reasons?

1 ) The Meehan fights. Meehan, who as about 5'9" tall ( Close the Greb who was 5'8" 1/2" tall ) went 2-1-2 against Dempsey. The fleshy Meehan who didn't train hard, used speed and movement to foil Dempsey. Greb was described as very fast and hard to hit.


2 ) Greb's durability. Only stopped twice in 119 fights ( 1st time in his 6th pro fight when he was 142 pounds and giving up weight ) , Greb is ultra-durable and proved it vs. a good amount of light heavyweights.


3 ) Results vs. common opponents. It's a well-kept secret to many boxing fans that Greb, in fact did better than Demspey himself vs. the same group of common opponents. Hmmm....


4 ) Energy level. Dempsey is best described as a front runner type, who seldom scheduled 15 round fights, and seldom scored late-round KO. His own wife called him a 4 round fighter. Greb had limitless energy and could out work Dempsey in the later rounds.


5 ) Dempsey had issues with boxer mover types. We saw this on film vs. Sharkey and, of course, Tunney. Greb, according to Jack Johnson, was the fastest fighter he ever saw. Greb was also a man that was very hard to time, capable of beating his man to the punch, or peppering them with combinations,. Greb's up and down, circle around type of movement was hard to predict and time.


6 ) Dempsey vs. Greb encounters. Sparring sessions in the ring. Read them; they will open eyes.

[url]https://www.harrygreb.com/dempsey_greb.html[/url]


7 ) Dempsey didn't want this fight.


Final thoughts, if we are taking them at their best, I'd be inclined to pick Demspey in a 15 round fight that would not be easy. However, Dempsey wasn't a consistent performer, and Greb could upset him if he made it past the first 5 rounds without major damage. If we are talking 1924 or 1925, the odds to me are close to even!

 

??? This has nothing to do with Mcvey. This is a fight between 2 ATG's that could have happened. I gave reasons why, and ended up picking Dempsey.

 

Who's a slender favorite? I set the round limit to 15.

 

I agree your comments on power.Dempsey > Wills by a good margin.

Dempsey ducked Langford too. You can add Jeannette as well. Both were well past their prime when Dempsey had his chance to fight them.

To satisfy what the poster Mcvey is looking for, I will go off tangent once in this thread quote from Unforgivable Blackness and after that, focus on the topic at hand, which is Greb vs Dempsey. If someone wants to start a thread speciality on that topic, go for it.

After winning the heavyweight title, Johnson refused to fight Jeanette again, despite numerous challenges.

Source: [url]https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/unforgivable-blackness/johnsons-contemporaries[/url]

We already know Johnson pulled out of a signed contract to meet Langford in 1909. How much was that one for?

$60,000 offer to Johnson.

Langford, McVey, and Jeannette Would Be His Opponents in Australia.

Source: [url]https://www.nytimes.com/1912/09/13/archives/60000-offer-to-johnson-langford-mcvey-and-jeannette-would-be-his.html[/url]

I could list many more, point proven. As for Greb chances I would say very good. Demspey was losing vs Bill Brennan until rallying late. and was hit too easily by the likes of Firpo. Although Greb would be giving up about 10-15 pounds, I think his defense, movement and speed, combined with an excellent chin, and Demspey being a bit of a front runner gives him an excellent chance.

If Klompton wants to ring in and elaborate on how Greb bettered Demspey's opponents better than the mauler himself did, I'm more than sure he can clean up on that topic.