Why not? Dempsey was 6'1" with a 77" reach and about 190 Lbs. A prime Hagler is 5'10" with a 75" reach and was still be ripped at 175 Lbs.
5'9" -5'9 1/2" depending on the source... I gave him 5'9 1/2" and rounded up, let's not get picky. Dempsey wasn't quite 190 at his best either
There's a good chance that Jack Dempsey would send Marvin Hagler to hospital if he was given the opportunity to wind up with that left. That iron chin would receive an almighty dent.
i would position small money if long enough odds simply because hagler is in many ways the opposite of dempseys usual opponents(minus carpentier to some extent) and dempseys usual tactics may(!) not be enough.
Dempsey vs, Hagler...the Dempsey who had to fight bigger men in hobo camps in order to survive...the man who slaughtered Jess Willard on July 4,1919...the man who was knocked out of the ring against Firpo in 1923...had no idea where he was between rounds...and then KO's Firpo in the 2nd round in one of the greatest and wildest fights ever???...next question
I can only see Dempsey winning this. Hagler,as he put it himself,was a legit Middleweight. He was never seen in the ring at 175 lbs.
Or the man who was KO'd in 20 seconds by a .500 fighter, who lost repeatedly to a fat butterball and who, after fighting a black man once, found a way to avoid opponents of color for the rest of his career. Yeah, I'll take Hagler... if Dempsey even shows up.
Hagler would be too skilled to get taken out by Jack's sloppy brawling. Also, Jack wouldn't be able to hover over him if he did knock him down. Tho he wouldn't come close to it. I think Hagler would possibly TKO him late aftre a barrage of punches. I really see Dempsey as being to slow, and too low on skill. People should stop believing in fairytales.