Lennox Lewis vs Jack Dempsey

Lewis's size yes, Lewis's power? No.
Lewis took shots from hard hitting guys who imo hit as hard or harder than Dempsey, but then I'm one of those who believes the HW division (and only the HWs) has changed dramatically with time.

I believe a guy who was put down by smaller, less skilled men stands little or virtually no chance against elite modern super HW's but overall I've got nothing new to add to this argument Janitor, it's all been said.

As Seamus said, great fighter, for his time.

 

FFS janitor, i really respect your passion for old fighters and believe me or not i really like Dempsey, but please ..note the fact that you're wrong.
I'ts so painfully obvious that Dempsey would be outgunned, outweighted, outsmarted and outskilled...it won't even be competitive.


He couldn't beat a fat **** Meehan, got ktfo of the ring by a very crude Firpo and got Ktfo in 1 round by a terrible Flynn.

Dempsey was marvelous in his time and really revolutionized the sport, made it the most popular sport in US and i believe that he would had been too much for any other HW before his time...including the much overrated Johnson.

There's no point in comparing fighters from 100years to modern HW, vintage HW won;t even be hw nowadays.

 

I've stayed away from this because these threads become so predictable ...

Lennox Lewis was the best super heavyweight that ever lived. To imagine a 188 pound Jack Dempsey getting past his jab and surviving his power shots coming in to me is pure fantasy ... Giving up about fifty pounds of muscle is a hell of a handicap ... Comparing a prime Lewis to a 37 year old, inactive Willard is a joke ... comparing him to Fulton may be a bit more realistic but still a stretch ...

Pound for pound is one thing. H2H is simply another ...

 

Willard isn't in the strasphere of Lennox, especially innactive 37yo Willard and yes I do think Lennox is P4P better than Dempsey. I don't even think Willard has a chin as good as Lennox, when did Willard ever take punches from HW punchers like these?

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIRShCBKwng[/ame]

 

:deal THIS....

 

:deal THIS....

 

:deal AND THIS - IN A BIG WAY :good

 

It seems that most people don't understand the concept of diminishing returns and how it applies to boxing, most notably with boxers in the CW-HW-SHW size and weight range where it is most applicable.

 

There is certainly a diminishing return on power and chin although there is no diminishing return on height and reach and Lewis has that in abundance.

 

Agreed but most don't acknowledge this and a height and reach advantage for Lewis, while significant, is not insurmountable. It comes down to styles more than anything else with Dempsey's being about as ideal as possible for a smaller HW.

Dempsey is the same height and reach as Mercer 77", think about that, how much he was able to hit Lennox and how much more suited Dempsey's style is. Regarding clinches and how people dismiss Jack because "Dempsey would be mauled and dominated in clinches' because he isn't a fat out of shape 238lbs like Mercer was my post here addresses major oversights in that thinking too.

Dempsey fights at what St.Pierre walks around at and Laraque is 20-30lbs heavier than Lennox is. If St.Pierre is stronger than Laraque (according to Laraque) and along with superior technique can dominate him than Dempsey who is much closer in size to Lennox sure could.

 

The black guy wins

 

was dempsey more skilled than lewis to start off with.

 

In the past 20 years, how many of these cruiser-types got to the highest level of the division? Byrd? I'll even give you half credit for Holyfield because of quite obvious doping, but he was a legit 6-2 1/2, and fought well at 215. Mike Moorer was on a starvation diet to maintain the LHW and basically outgrew it at 23. He carried 220 well. Now, how many even of these were swarming, power punchers? What happened to the undersized, power punching heavy?

 

Anyone thinking Dempsey can stand in front of Lewis and take the bombs that Mercer did it making a leap of faith. Dempsey never really fought many punchers. The only notable one (Firpo) makes Mercer look like Sugar Ray, yet he still managed to knock Dempsey down two or three times.

For that matter, can anyone imagine Mercer being dropped by a former light-heavyweight not known for his power?



Dempsey has a fantastic left hook and a very aesthetically pleasing style, but you have to be realistic and acknowledge the gap in size combined with talent here.

 

No

Holyfield carried 205-220 very well but Byrd and Moorer did not, both of them carried ineffective muscle and bodyfat, in essence they weren't strong 210lbers