There is not such thing, as a fighter that Dempsey could not hurt. The human body can only take so much. The fact that Ike and Tua could not put each other away, or even gain each others respect, is a mark against their credentials as punchers ans much as it is in favor of their chins! Even with the best chins in the divisions history, something gives when you match them against the best finishers!
The point that I was trying to make, is that we never really found out how good Ike was, and now we never will!
here we go again. Tua and Ibeabuchi fans say this like the two kids can duplicate this work rate over and over like they never did. Ike did not fight like that against Everton Davis and chris Bryd in his next fights did he? And when he did this 12 rounds of nonstop punching, because he admitted to not sitting down on his shots, did he cause any noticeable damage that one time? Dempsey hit hard enough to knock anybody out. That’s hard enough. He was more effective than Tua since he was able to knockout the very best around at his time where as Tua could not. He dropped the ball in big fights. of course film shows Dempsey was an extraordinary puncher.
I suspect that Dempsey did not have chin as good as Tua, but he was obviously much better at not getting hit cleanly. It would have told us more about the nature of Ikes punch resistance. Woa! Bold bold statement there! Mediocre at best I would say. The fact that he was only ever to prove them against B rate opposition speaks volumes!
Sorry Jan but there's some crap among this lot. All of it actually. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt both were big big punchers. We also know both had high level chins. Now Tua was a bit more proven in both due to Ike's career being cut short but we know he had at the very least excellent power and a fine fine chin. Trying to use their bout to discredit both their chins and power isn't going to fly. And no nothing need give when the best of finishers face the best of chins. SRR vs Gavilan x 2 is a fine example. Plenty went the distance with Louis, Hearns, Foster, Tyson etc etc ad finitum.
Dempsey couldn´t even put Willard to sleep when he was standing over him and hitting down on a shot target DOZENS OF DOZENS OF TIMES... Dempsey was a very sharp puncher, but he wasn´t heavy handed like Foreman, Ibeabuchi, Tua or Lewis etc. Imagine Tua or Ibeabuchi bombing on Willards face while on his knees with a fully winded up hook? 235lb of a rotating mass pendulum fully swinging in Willards face, while the shot man crouches on the ground? Do you honestly think Willard comes out of that round as he did against Dempsey? What a joke. The man would be out COLD. Lieing on the canvas getting counted out, hopefully getting up after some time without serious injuries.
Why does he need to be as heavy handed as Foreman if he’s knocking guys unconscious just the same? Jack got satisfying results all the same. A ten second countout is all that is required in boxing. Dempsey produced 44 official knockouts. Ibeabuchi didn’t have half as many fights as Dempsey had knockouts.
Tua had 2 less ko's and wins than Dempsey. Tua had 10 less fights than Dempsey. Tua had 1 less loss. Tua was never ko'ed. Ibeabuchi didn't have half as many fights as TUA had knockouts. Yet.............
Willard had to be physically lifted by his handlers and carried to his corner when the bell rang 10 seconds EARLY to end round 1. Willard had a great chin. His face was literally broken in multiple places from the beating he received at the hands of Dempsey. Sharkey described past prime Dempsey's power as "If Dempsey hit you on the shoulder he breaks your shoulder. If he hits you to the body it felt as if his fist came out your back. If he hit you on the hip he dislocated your hip." I don't care how hard you think Foreman or those other guys hit, whoever has there power described like this from a guy who fought everyone including Dempsey AND prime Louis is clearly a devastating puncher. We're all boxing fans here just give credit where credit is due. Tua and Ibeabuchi were awesome fighters but they weren't supermen. Their reputation as punchers has to be called into question when these two literally squared off in the middle of the ring and exchanged punches for 12 rounds and neither fighter came out with so much as a scratch. I'm not saying they couldn't hit, I'm saying they aren't these unbelievable punchers who couldn't so much as be knocked down. After all Tua was knocked out in the amateurs and knocked down as a professional although he was past his prime. Don't get me wrong, Tua had a terrific chin but this belief that him and Ibeabuchi could walk through anyone's punches is ludicrous considering how one dimensional these guys were.
That statement literally applies to every single fighter that ever laced up gloves. The difference is in likelihood. I'm sorry, what? No, something gives when you match them against the hardest punchers. Finishing ability only becomes a factor when you have a fighter hurt.
And the point I'm trying to make is that what we did see of him is enough to favour him over the 185lbs Dempsey. If the thread was about Ike's chances against someone like Lewis or Wlad then the question marks become a lot more pertinent to consider.
We're taking both fighters at their respective bests, right? So why worry whether Ike would be able to duplicate his performance repeatedly. The fact that he proved it once is all that matters. No he didn't, unless you want to claim that Dempsey was the hardest puncher that ever lived. That's a very difficult statement to back up. The very best around at Dempsey's time were mostly small men or oafs, so that comparison is a pointless one. Tua was a very limited challenger, but if you stood in front of him and let him hit you the chances are you wouldn't see the final bell. It shows him as a decent puncher with no otherworldly power who was able to hurt and drop a lot of the limited challengers of his day. There was nothing extraordinary about what he did.
Your point that there is enough to favour him can’t be proved though. If You only have just one of those performances to go on, it is not enough to go on. And that’s even if that performance stands up. The fighter himself didn’t think it did. It’s like Buster Douglas Tokyo night. At least Tokyo Douglas beat a great fighter.
That's where the Byrd fight comes in. We don't need to know any more about Ike's punch resistance here. He went twelve with Tua. That's about as ringing an endorsement as you can get. It really isn't. Tua was a hellacious puncher. Once again you're confusing finishing ability with overall offensive capabilities. A fighter can be limited but possess world class finishing abilities once he gets his opponent hurt. Tua was just such a fighter. Once you got caught by him you were as good as toast. But his physical and technical limitations meant that if you boxed smart you could avoid getting caught, since Tua was often poor at setting up and delivering his power shots against cognisant opponents.