I made a comment in a hot takes thread that Dempsey was probably the most Athletic of all of the heavyweight Champions. I'm going to back up my points here. 1)Dempsey weighed around 190lbs in his prime he consistently levelled guys who weighing over 220lbs like they were nothing. The men he beat weren't bums either. They were contenders. The argument that these fighters were bums because of the time period holds no merit because Dempsey was fighting under the same conditions. 2)He was fast, quick on his feet, great hand speed. Dempsey is unique in this regard because he was one of the fastest hard hitters in the divisions history. 3)He had solid whiskers and underrated physical strength. Guy could take a punch. Adding onto this he was difficult to tie up in the clinch as well. 4)Killer instinct... watch the willard fight. He could even box technically when he needed too. One of the most complete specimens to ever box. Few could really match him. The Manassah Mauler was a genuine freak.
I am a big fan. His speed and power is ridiculous. I wish we had footage of him prior to his title reign. One of the best fighters at taking on bigger men.
I see him as having been more of a method based monster to be honest. His technique was highly nuanced, and it seemed to come to him instinctively. There have been many fighters his size with comparable power, and perhaps even comparable speed, but what set him apart was his ability to apply it.
Wow it's amazing the lengths boxing fans go to not learn about their sport. No, not really. He has a size and rules advantage. Change the rules just a bit and the size is no longer an advantage. Amazing! Or, conversely, continue believing is magical people who are special and akin to gods.
Yeah but moderns would wreck him....LOL. Today's fans will do anything to believe everything today is better than it's ever been.
He was a quantum leap in his day but he was also a creature of his time. Smaller gloves made for more impactful punching. Credit to his genes and bone structure that it did not lead to hand problems, fractures, etc., but also some more modern guys his size might be considered on par as punchers if they had the same equipment. And imagine Foreman or Tyson or Liston with those gloves that were basically tight hand covers with little to no padding. Likewise, Dempsey fought in an age where he power was compounded by being able to hover over a man whom he had knocked down and hit them the second they arose. No neutral corner, no mandatory 8-count. We only have one example of how that time to recover impacted a Dempsey fight, and that was against Tunney. Granted, in a later era he would presumably have known to go straight to the neutral corner so the count could begin immediately, but having to be farther away instead of standing over a fallen foe and that opponent getting an 8-count to recover might make all the difference in what kind of puncher Dempsey would be regarded as — if he scored some knockdowns but failed to finish (as with Tunney), we wouldn’t be marveling at his ‘killer instinct’ and more likely consider him a guy who couldn’t finish. So put 10-ounce gloves on him and make it so opponents got the mandatory 8-count and he had to go to a neutral corner (giving the opponent more time to recover as he comes across the ring) — not to mention the way referees evaluate guys for another few seconds nowadays — and perhaps Jack isn’t so special. Or maybe he would be. But most athletes are adapted to the rules of their day and the ones best suited to succeed under those rules rise to the top. I’m not sure Dempsey would rise to the top by later rules, although at the very least he’d be looked upon as a top cruiserweight.
When factoring physical size and looking at in the ring athleticism, did he really have an argument as being more athletic than Ali? Also when factoring the average size of their opponents did Ali not go up against larger men than Dempsey did? Dempsey was certainly a great all around athlete and martial artist. Boxing, catch-wrestling, judo. I keep saying he'd have made a great Mixed Martial Artist had it existed back then.
The big boys he knocked over were all deficient, from a Carl Morris who took more bets on if he'd show up to the fight than if he'd win, to that gangly rodeo hand who was stiff as Kansas windmill, to that Minnesotan china-mandible who was the blueprint for David Price. Jack had great killer instincts and could sell out for four rounds unless he was against Fat Willie Meehan. But he also had lapses where he was not defensively responsible, where he was over-extended and where he was plain punched out. A natural born fighter if there ever was one.
Congrats you can't read. I made mention of Dempsey fighting under the same rules as these giants because he was fighting under similar conditions to highlight that these fighters were good for their time. Unless you think Dempsey was so far ahead of his competition that he may as well have been superman
I really don't know what you got out of what I said but that response doesn't detract or defend. I am telling you his size was an advantage back then because of the rules he fought under. ... ... ... ... ... whining "giants" fighting under the same rules is a non-point. Yup, a requirement for what I said to be true. I certainly would need those 200+ fellas to be fighting under the same rules wouldn't I? So TF is you even talking jabroni? While accusing me of not reading.
Well funnily enough he has a grandson who got into MMA and he was a big guy with good punching power and a solid chin. Unfortunately, his ground game and defense were not that great and he lost a lot of decisions before fading into bolivion. As for the thread, yes, Dempsey had very underrated athleticism. He's often overlooked because his era wasn't particularly glamorous or advanced compared to some other eras. But Dempsey himself was an athletic specimen. Depending on his dribbling and passing skills, he might've made for a good point guard, or a cornerback in football.
The fat...out of shape..."man boob" fighters against a guy who was once called "the most dangerous unarmed man in the world"? Yeah...and then you woke up! Hard Times make hard fighters...the Dempsey that destroyed Jess Willard in Toledo on July 4, 1919 was described as a "Stone Cold Killer" by several notable boxing historians...