How differently would we rate them today ? Many opinions on Johnson's defensive mastery or Dempsey s ferocity are shaped by the limited footage we have . Without it we would have to rely on reports as such. Pretty much like the likes of John L?
Dempsey would basically be seen exactly as Sullivan currently is, except his trademark punch being his left hook rather than his right cross. It’s possible that Johnson garners comparison to Ali and other slicksters later on rather than for his clinch work, from descriptions of the Hart fight for example it seems as if he liked to use movement.
It would be devastating to have had no footage of Dempsey imo. The Willard massacre had to be caught on film to give it justice.
It's as important to the history of this sport as footage of Corbett's thong is. Wouldn't be the same without em
Yes, However, whilst impressed by the skill in his slipping, rolling and setting up the first knock down, am I the only one wholly dubious about what we can draw from subsequent knock downs when you're allowed to stand over a man that's clearly hurt and punch him before he has chance to really gather himself?
I wonder were that thong is at right now; it has to be in some glass protection case in the boxing Hof or something. That is boxing's most important relic.
Compare a great boxer while, with no films of his matches, by the fighters he fought who are filmed, should give you some reflection on their bouts, exactly their styles of fighting and how good he was in there with all of them. Followed by Newspaper clippings of each of his fights. There are hundreds of great fighters that were not filmed and you can review their ability via newspapers of time.
Yes that's fair. The neutral corner rule should have been implemented from the start. Its possible that the guys wouldn't have been able to beat the 10 count anyway. But yes, that does make it hard to assess Dempsey.
