How Would A Prime Johnson Vs Dempsey Fight Have Rolled?

Johnson rips Dempsey apart on the inside, I think Johnson has a strength advantage and had the defense to nullify Dempsey’s offense.

That said, how long could he do this for? Dempsey was a very formidable infighter himself and I don’t think Johnson could knock Dempsey out so he would have to be perfect on his way to a decision or late TKO.

 

I picked Dempsey (I suspect Johnson can’t take his left hook) but that’s not an unreasonable conclusion to draw IMO.

 

I love Dempsey the man and the legend but when you compare their records , their level of opposition it is absurdly in favor of Johnson who has become ridiculously underrated ...

 

Dempsey too ferocious. I don't think Johnsons defense was better than dempseys offense. Those inside left hooks are a killer.

 

I’m a massive Johnson fan and I might be overcompensating for that, but I really think the styles work well for Dempsey here.

I’m not sure the 15 rounds work in Johnson’s favour either. We have to consider if Johnson eats some big power early how does he fight back leaving himself even more exposed?

We also have to consider performances against Marvin Hart. I fully subscribe to the idea that in the modern day Johnson wins that, but is Johnson going to be too defensive and lacking volume to get a decision?

Again, with more modern scoring we could favour Johnson but assuming we match them prime for prime in their time frame, does Dempsey just win in volume on its own?

As I mentioned as a Johnson fan, I don’t need to mention why he should be favoured, although I will. His physicality, defensive abilities, good work on the inside and also underrated punching power cause Dempsey all kinds of problems. I’m just looking at this from the other angle