My Dad's Top 10 Heavyweights

Well said.

 

I 100% agree.
I will say that Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey are near-enough interchangeable on my list, joint number 1. But when pushed to choose one above the other I'd have to say Dempsey, for the very same reason you've explained. :good

 

Dempsey # 1? atsch

 

Yes, Dempsey at #1, and Burt has explained the reasoning well.
Although on another day I might say Louis over Dempsey. Both men are tops for me. :good

 

Great to see Langford got a mention. Do you know if your dad ever seen him fight ?

 

Louis and Ali are a lock for top two imo.

 

Of course they are.

 

Dempseys a great fighter and if his contemparies deemed him #1 of the first half of the century then who are we, who never saw him in the way these guys have, to dispute them. On the other hand, i personally can only judge for myself on what ive seen and for me Ali and Louis are a tier above the rest

 

Louis was great. Too bad about the Schmeling fight though. But at least his vulnerabilty gave his rematch that air of drama; you never knew who was going to be lying flat. reminiscent of watching a Hearns fight

 

Langford was too short. Today's heavies, most notably Bowe, would squash him in two, ala Bert Cooper

 

I agree........ Sammy Lang was somewhere like 5' 8" or 5' 9" tall at best and anywhere from 185 to 200 something pounds depending on his age and shape...... But yes, he'd be like James Toney, very competitive but not capable of being the linear champ against today's monsters........

MR.BILL

That goes for the over-hyped Joe Choyinski, as well.......

 

This seems like a very well-informed list. He clearly knew his stuff. Thanks for posting this.

 

As someone who is fairly old, I want to say that we shouldn't overemphasize the consensus that Dempsey was the greatest fighter of the first half of the century. I remember plenty of discussions on the radio and TV back in the forties and fifties and Johnson, Jeffries, and Langford, as well as Louis, always got plenty of support. Nat Fleischer rated Johnson #1. Tex Rickard rated Jeffries #1. Jack Gibbons, Tommy's nephew, rated Johnson #1. I was always surprised back then when it wasn't Dempsey or Sullivan who was named the best, but men I didn't then know much about, Johnson or Jeffries.

 

I looked up Sam Langford on the internet and got these quotes from Clay Moyer of IBRO.

"The hell I feared no man. There was one man I wouldn't fight because I knew he would flatten me. I was afraid of Sam Langford."-----Jack Dempsey

"Langford was the greatest fighter who ever lived."-----Joe Jeannette

"I'd pick Langford to knock out Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano."-----Frank Erne

"Who's the best heavyweight I ever saw? That's an easy one. Sam Langford and nobody ever came close to being as good as he was at his peak. Why, old Sam could do everything. He could punch from any position and hit hard too. He was a master boxer, difficult to hit, but if you did land you might just as well try to make an impression upon the floor of the garden. He would take all the heart out of you and then give you a fine pasting. He ruined me. I was all through after that last fight with Langford in Boston."-----Gunboat Smith

Interestingly, Gunboat Smith fought Dempsey in 1917 and 1918.