Similar in size, Dempsey was just a little bigger... about 1/2" taller and a slightly longer reach, the weight was close. Dempsey is stronger and punches harder but Charles could punch and was far from weak. Charles is the better overall boxer and is faster but Dempsey was not slow. Who wins? Charles has the better resume IMO. He beat many Hall of Famers like Charley Burley x2, Jimmy Bivins 4 out of 5, Lloyd Marshall 2 out of 3... he definatley got better after the losses to Bivins and Marshall. he also beat Joey Maxim x5, Archie Moore x3, Teddy Yarosz, Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott 2 out of 4 (a case can be made for 3 out of 4), and plenty of other good fighters. He lost twice to Marciano. Dempsey beat Billy Miske x2, Jess Willard, Georges Carpentier, Tommy Gibbons, Luis Firpo, and Jack Sharkey among others. He lost twice to Gene Tunney.
Ezzard Charles didnt have the chin to take dempsey's shots. I think it would be similar to the marciano fights. Charles could give him some trouble with his slick blackness LOL. For other posters: Please dont ruin this thread by bringing up racial issues and the color line involving Jack Dempsey I think we've all had enough of that
Hard fight to call.. Dempsey had fast hands and was quick on his feet, which may have proved as an equalizer for Charles' fluidity and skill.. And needless to say the power would be more than enough to force the KO. But Ezzard was tough as nails. He was a mechanically sound technician with lots of tricks up his sleeve and had no problem boxing the full distance. Not sure who takes it, but Jack should probably be favored.
unlike the useless dempsey-haye thread, this one is actually an interesting match up. As much as i like Dempsey and believe he is underrated on this forum, Charles has the boxing skill to cause him problems. I see Dempsey winning a decision, something like 9-6 or 10-5. There's always a chance that Dempsey can put him away, ofcourse, but then again Charles did last the distance with marciano who hit just as hard. Dempsey by late stoppage or decision but Charles would definately frustate him and win some rounds.
Marciano hit a bit harder than Dempsey I think. But Dempsey´s faster hands and ferocious style means he is more dangerous IMO. I think the chance of Dempsey knocking out Charles are higher than Rocky´s. I think he does that here, Charles is more skilled and very tough but there are few fighters around Dempsey´s size I´d pick to beat him. Charles isn´t one of them.
I would lean towards Charles to take a decision. At his best, he isn't much smaller than Jack and was flat out better as far as I see. Dempsey's dangerous as always though.
In the early fifties Gene Tunney had an article in which he said that Dempsey could beat the top five heavies in one night, and these included Marciano, Charles, and Walcott. He said that of the five, Charles would last the longest and be the most difficult. In any event, I see a Dempsey-Charles match being a very good, exciting match. I believe it would resemble the first Marciano-Charles match, with Dempsey grinding him down but Charles having plenty of good moments and rounds of his own. Dempsey by decision or late-round stoppage.
very competitive fight, Charles underrated at heavyweight and Dempsey as well, While Jack may have exhibited a bit more speed than Marciano, he did not have the relentless stamina or the late power. Charles could box very well when he wanted to but he could also fight inside and be very successful, Dempsey hit very very hard and Charles also no slouch for 190+...Dempsey could hurt and KO CHARLES and Charles could hurt Dempsey, my feeling is over 10 rounds Jack could win a close UD, over 15 Charles may be able to take the decision.....both men could be KO'd but if it ends the quick route I like Jack to be the Victor
