Is it feasible to rank Wills over Dempsey in an ATG list?

Burt, that's your cue to mention race riots, etc.

 

Dempsey probably wasn't scared of wills but he could have forced the fight if he really wanted to.

He was practically king of the world when he was champ. It'd be like wlad saying blue wants to fight povetkin but his management won't let him. Ludicrous.

 

No it is not. What you are saying goes against written history from that period. Once again the writings of Fleischer are very clear in this regard. Thinking that Dempsey could change promoters fears and alter the tide of the times in order to make the fight is revisionism in it's worst form. Read the true story as it was written at that time....not various snippets in an effort to weave your own story!

 

interesting thread it turned out to be :yep

 

You haven't seen anything.

 

I wouldn't be part of any other boxing forum.

 

:rofl

 

I don't think Dempsey was scared of him but he undoubtedly could have done more to male the fight had he so desired.

 

That is not true based on the events as they happened when they happened. It's well written about by those that were there at that time! Why speculate and make up your own story?

 

Nat Fleischer will haunt your nightmares forever.

 

Wow, thanks for that extensive lesson is how to refute a man's argument without offering a single valid one of your own.

That poor Dempsey, eh? He had no say in what he did or didn't do, just a puppet on a string with no power to make money for others. He wanted that fight with Banana Sam for years, but that ******* Rickard wouldn't go for it, and made Jack sit on the throne for 3 years and fight losers of title eliminators as punishment. :-(

 

You are just sadly mistaken. It's called revisionism. Taking events that have already happened and twisting them to be something they are not. What Dempsey was is written in stone. Those that saw him, Louis, Marciano and Ali rated Dempsey as good or better. Arcel stated..."what Dempsey knew you can't teach" as one example. Fleischer rated Jack over Louis and we all should know how great Louis was....right? So here you are 85 or so years after he lost his title, after all those have already spoken of him as one of boxings all time great talents and you discount all this for what reason?

 

What you need to do is study a bit as to what those who saw Dempsey live, expert opinion, said of him. Fleischer is a great source and he wrote extensively on the subject. Unlike you and I he knew both men personally. He stated factually that Dempsey had no issue fighting Wills and it was Rickard who called the shots in this regard. If you want to make things up, go ahead, in the end you just get less educated concerning boxing history.