How would you advise prime Dempsey to fight pre/post exile Ali?

To call his manager and tell him to draw the race line

 

I'd tell him to fight Ali after the Inoki farce...

 

Is there really any room for strategy here? :huh

"Go be Jack Dempsey, and hope it's good enough (it won't be)"

That's pre, post...hell, 80's Ali..

 

Ali gave away body shots, and Jack could bomb away with both hands and two good eyes. At peak, he could also close more quickly than Frazier. I don't see Muhammad able to inflict substantial hurt on Dempsey. Henry Cooper raised some hell with a stand up style and a deadly left hook despite a fatal susceptibility to cuts and a less than first rate chin. Dempsey was around the same weight and height, with blinding speed and one punch power in both hands. Unlike 'Enery, he could take a shot, recover from one, had cut resistance and solid whiskers. Ali could resort to clinching, hugging and holding, but what was the nickname Damon Runyon gave Jack, and why? Wepner's rabbit punches pissed Muhammad off. I don't think he'd like the experience trying to tie up Dempsey in close quarters. Think Ali might attempt a rope a dope? Watch what Jack does to Willard when Big Jess tries leaning against the ropes. Dempsey's not tentatively pitty patting like Frazier did in the FOTC, or Foreman with those slow half hearted jabs in Kinshasa. No, Jack would hammer away full tilt.

Muhammad would almost certainly try the head games he applied with every top opponent not named Norton. It would backfire. Willard scared the hell out of Jack with his mass alone, and when the bell rang, "Jesus Christ! This is it! I'm not fighting for the title, I'm fighting for my life!" Dempsey was the worst guy in the world to try to psych out, because you might succeed in unnerving him, then be confronted with a wounded and cornered animal, the most dangerous kind. Sharkey created the stare down for the referee's prefight instructions with Dempsey. The Mauler was terribly unnerved by this. "What is that? What's he doing?" We know how that one ended up.

Hammer the body and torso, both hands, and when he yanks you down by the back of the neck, show him that you're the most miserable ******* in the world to try tying up in close quarters. The sooner you have him pissing blood, the sooner you compromise his effectiveness. In the power department, you have a right hand far deadlier than Chuvalo's, Norton's and Frazier's, and your left hook takes a back seat to none of theirs. If Muhammad ties you up early and invites you to hammer the side of his exposed body, leave him with a cracked rib or two, or maybe a separated rib cartilage to remember you by. When he tries moving away, be on him like stink on ****, like you were when Tommy Gibbons retreated to try gaining some rest.

Gaining a stoppage would be a desirable by product of carrying out your plan, by the aim is to win the decision by continually pressing and hammering to the body, getting under his telegraphed long range punching and swarming to the win on strength of sheer aggression. You're not Foreman, carrying around a physical mass which will tire you out. You're a lighter man with championship round stamina yourself.

 

If he did actually have to figth Ali though and I was his trainer I'd teach him how to throw a jab first.

 

Don't get hit in the head too much.

Try not to look too stupid.

 

If Frazier and Chuvalo could get inside on Ali, then Dempsey would too.

Prime Dempsey by TKO in 5 rds.

 

Bring a bat.

But in all seriousness, try to keep his hands up WAY better than usually, and let his **** go. If he waits, he gets clowned and probably stopped.

It would literally be a matter of seizing the moment by both horns. Your slower, smaller, and your out of your class, but you have a great punch, and you can get mean. My best advice as a trainer would be, let it go, son. Don't stop till he stops you or he cant remember his name.

 

He would have a prety good chance.

Stylisticaly, he would not be as bad for Ali as Joe Frazier, but he would still be prety darn bad.

Hist tactics in the Gibbons fight would work prety well as they stood.

 

try to make his attack and get ali in the corners - dempey's left hook will be his best weapon in this contest as that was the punch that felled ali e.g. frazier, cooper - frazier had great success with his left hook and dempsey had a great left hook.