Interesting, what do you think Dempsey did better than Tyson? I have always seen a prime Tyson as having better defence, and although Dempsey might have had better fundamentals I dont think he would have lasted long enough for it to matter, Dempsey came forward, and he is not lasting in the ring against a fighter who is faster in hand and a better combination puncher and has 30 lbs of extra muscle on him.
The student beats the teacher. Mike Tyson modled his game off of Jack Dempsey. Right down to the hair cut. Tyson is a bigger stronger and faster version of Dempsey. In any sport it's a saf bet to go with bigger stronger and faster.
I have always thought that a young Mike Tyson, or a prime Joe Louis [circa Max Baer], would be the best threat for a shoot out with a prime Dempsey because of their power and handspeed. I see todays posters feel that all Tyson has to do is show up ,throw some uppercuts and sayonara, Dempsey...They fail to realize that young Dempsey, studying Tyson with the wily old coot Jack Kearns would not concoct a plan for a Tyson EARLY attack...Dempsey could move very Fast on his feet to thwart Tyson's attack, and with his longer arms and deadly left hook, had the power and the short inside combinations to flatten anyone, any weight ,any size as shown by his record...And Dempsey inside was probably the greatest and roughest inside heavyweight ever... Look at how he flattened such tough big boys, [though not great fighters] as Al Palzer, Carl Morris, Fred Fulton, Luis Angel Firpo , unfloored Jess Willard at 250 lbs etc. Remember also Mike Tyson didn't ko all his opponents [Bonecrusher Smith] and he had his flaws , as shown with a Buster Douglas...No fighter is invincible including Mike Tyson. I feel in a fantasy bout between a prime Dempsey and Tyson, aided by their trainer's , Jack Dempsey would have a helluva chance against Tyson and VICE VERSA...
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Guys, come on ... can we get real ...? Dempsey's biggest weakness as a championship fighter besides horrific , destructive inactivity was lack of discipline in the ring ... when hit he saw red and slugged it out .. it was ok against small Carpentier and a decent but not great Brennan ... he was almost ko'ed by a decent sized, very hard punching Firpo because he did not back off when hurt ... a prime Tyson, 28 pounds of muscle stronger, at least as fast and likely a bigger two handed hitter, who starts lightning fast is a horrible match up for a Dempsey who gets hit and charges in ... I don't se it going long at all ...
He was disciplined enough against Willard. Against Firpo, I think he just didn't take him seriously, and almost paid the price.
How do you compare on any serious level a 37 year old , highly inactive Willard and a prime Mike Tyson as any sort of level to gage Dempsey ? ... It wasn't that he did't take Firpo serious but that Firpo, as wild an unorthodox as he was, was big and strong and hard punching and exposed him .. you can't be serious with these responses ... you seem to be preaching to the newbies or something ..
I think that despiue Dempsey being a better infighter it will be disaster if he came forward trying to fight that way, and since despite the first seconds of the Willard fight Dempsey was essentially a come forward fighter, it's going to turn into a brawl and no way is Dempsey surviving that. As for defence, Dempsey tended to go wild as can be seen from his fight with Firpo and in a fight against Tyson that would be absolutely disastrous. I just can't envision how Dempsey wins this.
Your analysis might be right, but Dempsey certainly shouldn't be dismissed here. Fights between two guts or glory finishers are inherantly unpredictable.
he, I totally agree with your LAST sentence. Yes Tyson might not last long. P.S. this B.S. about a fighter [ Dempsey in this case } being rocked by another fighter [Carpentier or Brennan] as a weakness, although he flattened both PRONTO is silly. It is the horse that get's to the finish line FIRST that counts...There has NEVER been a major fighter who hasn't been rocked and socked on occasion...A Louis, a Dempsey, a Clay/Ali, A Frazier, a Ray Robinson etc, ALL have been hurt in a ring. That is the nature of the game...Every fighter gets tagged, gets hurt, but this doesn't alter the fact that they survived and prospered...Same with a tough old S.O.B. Jack Dempsey...If an aware Dempsey in a fantasy fight hits Tyson with the one-two blurring punches that flattened Firpo in the 2nd round, he Mr Tyson visits LaLa Land for sure...And if Tyson connects on Dempsey's mandible cleanly, a Dempsey or Ali also says goodnight...I'll say this one more time. If a Mike Tyson took the punches of a Jack Johnson that Jess Willard took for 25 rounds in a 105% Havana sun, Mr Tyson would have quit long before...The oldtimers might have had their faults, but toughness and ruggedness , they had in spades...ciao...
The best way to beat Tyson is not to box him and take the chance of getting caught with those wide hooks but instead pushing him back on his heels, hitting him to the body working in close....ala Dempsey. Certainly Dempsey had what it took to beat Tyson and certainly Tyson had the punch to also ko Dempsey. Jack had the heart and will to win of a all time great......Tyson something short of this.
Dempsey's attack was so one-dimensional and easily derailed by fighters so much less than Tyson that I can't give him much of a chance. Were he coached differently and not coddled like the commodity he was during the last 10 years of his career I may think differently. He certainly had the physical talent.