"No one living today saw Dempsey at ringside, so like it or not, he must be...

You could make a similar argument about Tyson, Holyfield and Lewis as to who is tops in their era.

Since they never really fought each other in their primes, but what would be your point?

Dempsey, like Bowe, like Holfyfield, like Tyson, like Lewis, was neither a promoter nor a manager, he was a boxer.

And contrary to popular belief a boxer is suppose to fight the guy his manager and promoters put in front of them. He simply can't start doing the promoters job anymore than the promoter can do his. So suggesting that Dempsey ducked Willis is in my mind a bogus argument.

 

Van ,you are a breath of fresh air. The darn haters of the truth pertaining the Dempsey /Wills affair do not want to know the damn truth. It is programmed in their psyche, that Dempsey was a coward, he feared fighting Harry wills so much that he completely avoided him. A freaken
freaken lie. As any one with no agenda knows Dempsey and Harry Wills SIGNED for the bout with an out of NY State promotor Floyd Fitzimmons.
The photos of that signing has been on ESB numerous times. The bout was called off because the promotor could not come up with the required purse.
Harry Wills, pocketed the deposit money which was substantial...The reason Tex Rickard did not promote that bout was very very well known.
Because of the deadly race riots following the Jack johnson/Jeffries bout in 1910 in Reno, Nevada, in which many people were killed, Rickard refused
along with the NY State boxing Commission , to match a black heavyweight/white HW title fight. If he was ABLE to do the matching of Dempsey/Wills title bout and rioting and killing followed that bout,
Rickard would be arrested and through as a promotor. Everyone at that time knew that the risk was not worth the reward. In fact the slow moving Wills was an easier choice then a fast moving celebral fighter that Gene Tunney was. This was reported in many old Ring Mags from the 1930s on, and yet some posters who do not wish to know the truth refuse to accept the facts.
Hitler once said if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth.
But thankfully not in this case... Whether Dempsey won or lost that bout
is open to opinions, but not to deny the real reasons Dempsey and Wills never hooked up, is not debatable...Cheers V...
P.S. as you stated Dempsey did the fighting and his manager, Jack Kearns and his promotor Tex Rickard, did the matchmaking. That's what they get payed for...:good

 

My girlfriend has given up smoking and is on her period, she's really moody and nearly as bad as Rockysplitnose when you bring up the topic of Harry Wills

 

Cut Rocky some slack, FFS !

Why is everybody on his case ? He appears to have very difficult and troublesome menstrual periods.

I'm sure he will become more reasonable after menopause.

 

Preposterous.

How many opponents did Shannon Biggs knock out who were world class at the time?

I think that part of the problem that Dempsey is up against here is that he is facing a two pronged attack against both his record and his opposition. Dempseys crittic go after his record. The bigger is better crew don't go after Dempsey, they go after the larger fighters he beat.

 

Liakhovich

 

Surely Dempsey was one of the best offensive heavyweights ever. Power and punch variety are right up there and I don't think many would out brawl him, maybe Evander or Marciano but I dunno. Defensively he was pants but that weren't his game.

 

Don't worry Cuchulain I've got my evening primrose oil at the ready ;-) I've already been vindicated already so I'm calmer now following barefaced pigs admittance of his blatant trollism - ps you are in danger of falling into the SAD SAD LOSER category if you follow McGrain and powderpuff etc on the coat tails barefacedpig

 

i've read the article. it is quite good. and similar critcisms can be made against most or all of the great heavyweight champs.
None of them quite live up to the hype.
it would be easy to highlight how Muhammed Ali or joe Louis or Rocky marciano dont actually have the mythic powers or often benefitted from weak opponents.

 

As I've said numerous times barefacedpig I am Very Very calm ;-) your the one who keep swearing at people so I think it's you that needs to calm down haha