Jack Dempsey was the greatest fighter that ever lived - Joe Louis

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Melankomas, Apr 9, 2025.


  1. Melankomas

    Melankomas Prime Jeffries would demolish a grizzly in 2 Full Member

    6,995
    8,667
    Dec 18, 2022
    Found a quote attributed to Joe online

    “Jack Dempsey was the greatest fighter that ever lived. I always have thought so. I never saw Jack fight but I saw the movies of his fights with Gene Tunney and Jess Willard. That Dempsey was a great fighter, a great puncher. He just kept coming at you all the time. Hype Igoe, the old sports writer, used to tell me I could have beaten Dempsey because I had a better jab and could keep my balance better. This is the kind of fight I would have liked to get paid for but not fought. We'd have made a lot of money.'

    - Joe Louis
     
    Melankomas, Apr 9, 2025
    Melankomas, Apr 9, 2025
    #1
    dmt and InMemoryofJakeLamotta like this.
  2. InMemoryofJakeLamotta

    InMemoryofJakeLamotta I have defeated the great Seamus Full Member

    16,316
    11,768
    Sep 21, 2017
    I think Louis stops Dempsey after some shaky moments, perhaps getting floored and hurt. But I wouldn't bet too much money on either.
     
    InMemoryofJakeLamotta, Apr 9, 2025
    InMemoryofJakeLamotta, Apr 9, 2025
    #2
  3. dmt

    dmt Hardest hitting hw ever Full Member

    11,429
    17,313
    Jul 2, 2006
    If you are looking at all fighters from the first half of the 20th century, Dempsey is certainly one of the more impressive ones on film which is remarkable since a lot of his best fights weren't even filmed.
     
    dmt, Apr 9, 2025
    dmt, Apr 9, 2025
    #3
    robert ungurean likes this.
  4. SolomonDeedes

    SolomonDeedes Active Member Full Member

    1,424
    2,241
    Nov 15, 2011
    This would have been a pretty uncontroversial choice when Louis said it in 1964. At the time, the majority of people who weren't picking Louis himself would have been picking Dempsey (though Nat Fleischer was still keeping faith with Jack Johnson).
     
    SolomonDeedes, Apr 10, 2025
    SolomonDeedes, Apr 10, 2025
    #4
    InMemoryofJakeLamotta and Bokaj like this.