Battle of the punchers? What would this look like? According to the rules of the fight from the era when Max was champion.
This would be a ferocious fight. I selected Dempsey as the winner mainly due to the fact that he looked faster and was a more skilled puncher on film. I think these things would enable him to land more often on Baer than vice versa. But it’s not a given. Baer had an iron chin and a lot of punching power. Would be a tough fight.
So in my book this is Dempsey's fight to lose. Jack is more nimble, more explosive, faster and a better boxer. I really don't rate Baer very highly as a technician at all. I think Dempsey could play the matador all night and beat baer to a pulp. However, and this is a pretty big however, this depends on Dempsey fighting smart and not trying to slug it out with Baer. Baer had a fabulous chin and big power and he'd simply love to have Jack charging into him all night long. Unfortunately Dempsey had a tendency to slug it out when he didn't have to. I'm not saying that he couldn't win a shootout, but I think Baer's chances go way up if it is a shootout.
That's what I thought too. There is no way Jack Dempsey should engage in a trade of blows with Max Baer. Otherwise, Imo Baer would have won. That's why I voted for Baer , but in general it doesn't mean that the fight would be fought that way.
Dempsey worked with Baer in the early to mid 30s. Following his loss to Tommy Loughran, Baer complained to Dempsey that all he could see all night was Loughran's left jab in his face. Dempsey replied that the funny thing is you could have stopped that left in the first round. Max asked 'how so'? Jack told Max to hold out his left and Dempsey crashed a left hook onto Baer's left bicep. 'Ow! You broke my arm! And besides, that's illegal!' Dempsey replied 'Yeah, but they only warn you the first time!' Dempsey helped train Baer for his fight with Joe Louis after Max had lost the title to Braddock. Reportedly after one of the early rounds ended, Baer was expressing discouragement and Dempsey growled for him to get back out there and fight or he would knock him out in his own corner. To answer the question, I would pick Dempsey. BCS8 made some good points about it being Dempsey's fight to lose. If Dempsey fought like he did with Willard, he wins big, but if he fought like he did against Firpo he could once again find himself flying out of the ring.
I’d say Dempsey, besides power, he clearly had more strings to his bow than Maxie. This fight might see some common ground with the Firpo fight - but Baer definitely carried more durability than the Will Bull of the Pampas.
