You start by criticising other people for comparing Lewis to Willard Morris etc but then commit the same sin by calling Dempsey a cruiser. If he was then he was the cruiser. This is not Wayne Braithwaite we are talking about.
You left out one very important factor though. Could Dempsey take Lewis's power for an extended period the way Holyfield did? Evander Holyfield was 215 Lbs against Lewis, and all of it was muscle. Additionally, he had tested his chin numerous times against some serious modern day big men who could really punch. I'm not so sure Dempsey could hang in there with Lewis too long truthfully. He would also have to contend with a big man who could really move, jab, box, fight well off the back foot, and had reasonable defense. Big Bill Tate and Jess Willard hardly fit this description in my opinion. Once again, I don't always feel that size is everything, but in this case it definately matters. We are talking about taking a small all time great heavyweight vs a very large all time great heavyweight. This is not a matchup between an elite little guy and a big journeyman. There is a collosal difference, and one that people seem to forget when making these matchups.
I think you are selling Holyfield short here. First of all, he was great at taking a punch. He fought Bowe 3 times, Lewis 2 times, Tyson 2, Moorer 2 times, Mercer, etc etc yet none of them managed to stop him legitimately. Both his stoppages against Toney and Bowe III aren't really chin-related. This is what kept him in the fight against Lewis (and Bowe+Tyson, for that matter). No normal heavyweight should've remained on his feet after some of the uppercuts he ate against Lewis. Or the punches he took from Tyson in the 5th. Or that barrage in the 10th against Bowe, first fight. His durability was incredible. Second, he was great at counterpunching (he did it to Tyson all night long), knocked out Douglas with it, drove Foreman crazy with it, etc etc. His heart is also second to none.
Neither do, that's for sure, not that it matters as poetry in motion doesn't neccessarily = effectiveness. You should know that Marciano's unbelievable effectiveness belied his seeming ungainliness. There's been many a fighter cruising along looking like poetry in motion only to be left on their back with their eyes closed on the floor, dunlop logo in full view.
All fair observations but you see my general point. Hollyfield was always more sweat and grit than natural talent.
I actually doubt this. Against which punchers did Dempsey have his chin tested? The best punchers he faced were Fulton, Willard and Firpo. Fulton last about as long as Ruiz did against Tua. Willard didn't land much either. Only Firpo of those landed, and he knocked Dempsey down twice. On top of that, Carpentier (LHW) stunned him andTunney (LHW) knocked him down. Frankly i think his chin is less tested than most linear heavyweight champions in history. Of course, as you say, the fact that he blasted a lot of guys out early had a lot to do with that, but still. If he had to fight Briggs, Bruno, Klitschko, Tyson, Golota, Akinwande, Ruddock, Morrison, Tua, McCall twice, Holyfield twice, Mason, Rahman twice and only suffer one knockdown and one knockout, i'd be surprised.
I've got stories from guys a helluva lot more knowledgable than both you and i saying Marciano had a better defence than Dempsey. Given you guys try to tell us he is the heavyweight equivalent of Duran (or was it Pep) or better i always get a fair chuckle.