Joe Louis against Buddy Baer or Jack Dempsey against Jess Willard? The size difference between Willard and Dempsey was greater, but Baer was arguably better than Willard. Thoughts?
The most impressive one round pounding that I ever saw, was between lightheavyweight prospect Anthony Hembrick vs Booker T. Word. The fight took place in the spring of 1990. Word was a 16-1-1-13 prospect, facing Hembrick who was 14-0-0-10. Hembrick apparently had an impressive amateur career, and was favored to beat word. It happened at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Hembrick, had a big ring entrance with military guards doing an elaborate solute to his announcment. The result, was Word flooring him three times, and utterly destroying Hembrick in a single round. Pinklon Thomas lost to Mike Hunter via decision, on the same evening.
Schmeling was beaten before he even came into the ring that night. He had an entire country breathing down his neck like he was some evil, arch fiend.
Sorry , Baer was definitely better than Willard,imo.Louis had been left hooked through the ropes in their first fight ,and taking no chances ,went straight on the offensive in the return,that final right hand was a text book shot,and the huge Baer ,pirouetting to the floor ,like he was trying to screw himself into the canvas,clinical destruction.In the book "The Harder They Fall", the writer who is building up "Toro Molina2is in the famous New York boxing bar "The Neutral Corner",on the back drop they are showing the Dempsey Willard massacre,its described in the book as "Dempsey looking like a half starved timber wolf attacking a steer", a writer talking about the fight said ," the only reason Willard didnt die was because he was too strong to bleed to death in three minutes". I think the Dempsey v Willard fight is about as competitive as some thing you ,d see in a slaughterhouse,on that day Jack might have whipped anyone.
Willard was one brave mofo,god knows how he got back up,and later on in the next round even got in some good shots himself,though of course only the odd one or two.
You got Patterson in you top thirty heavyweights, all time? Well Liston destroyed him in one round twice. Certainly the most impressive pair on record.
I`d say Bennie Briscoe`s one round blowout of Eugene Hart in their return bout was pretty damn impressive, and "Cyclone" Hart`s one round demolition of Kitten Hayward wasn`t too shabby either. As for the question being posed in the thread, I would say Dempsey`s one round destruction of Jess Willard was more impressive than Joe`s first round KO over Max.
Well, since Dempsey didn't ko Willard in one round but three rounds, then by default the answer would be Louis-B. Baer II I suppose.:huh
You are right, Dempsey did not stop Willard in the first, but did give him one hellacious beating, which is what the thread is about...