Riddick Bowe vs Jack Dempsey

Could & would. Bowe is not Foreman, & won’t bolt out of the gate on the attack. Perhaps Futch might convince him to go for that, & that would really be his only chance - he hits hard enough & has the energy & strength to finish the job IMO, but Dempsey is a lot faster, meaner & more bitterly determined. If the fight got going & we saw several rounds of action Bowe might have enough advantages to win this, but I don’t see him coping that well with Dempsey rushing him. He was every bit as hittable as Willard & a good deal less sturdy of chin.

It’s not impossible Bowe gets him out of there early but I would be fairly confident backing the opposite result.

 

Bowe liked to beat down the little guys it was like his thing.

And he's also a lot better than that stiff Willard.

I'm no Bowe fan but you'd have to somewhat favour him over the much smaller Dempsey. Bowe's chin was maybe only 'ok' but he recovered fast and had a great heart. Dempsey would have to plug him with the perfect shot early and bundle him out fast before he recovered. Bowe was hittable so its possible, but we have to remember that his offensive skills and infighting skills were also much superior to Willards. In addition he was a dirty fighter and would happily trade a point for a couple of shots to Dempsey's nuts to take the wind out of his sails.

I lean towards the guy who merely has to do his normal thing as opposed to the guy that has to have an exceptional day at the office.

 

Dempseys head might actually come off when he walks onto that big long rangey right hand

 

Dempsey couldn’t do anything with Bowe, he’d walk right into those uppercuts and didn’t have a backfoot game to do anything with Bowe, he’d get mauled, ragdolled in the clinch and obliterated, Bowe had better technique, more ability and was like 55lbs heavier, it’s unrealistic that Dempsey could have success going forward.

 

Bowe would annihilate Dempsey.

 

Willard has less skills than Deontay Wilder

 

The honest truth, and I know the super nostalgics don't wanna hear this, is that a circa 1920 great is too crude to beat a modern great. Louis was first "modern talent" heavyweight champ so to speak, and i would pick Louis over Bowe. But no heavyweight champion before Louis could handle Bowe.

 

Life and death? He beat the sh!t outta Holy in the 1st and 3rd fights, and only barely lost the rematch.

And do not tell me with a straight face that Dempsey had the skill-level of Holy. I'm sorry, but boxing objectively advanced, skill and talent wise, since the 20s.

 

Whose to say Dempsey beats Golota? He never beat anyone of Golota's ability.

You seem to be ducking the objective fact that Dempsey was an extremely primitive fighter by modern standards.

Like I said, Louis was the first heavyweight champion with the talent and skill-set comparable to modern-era heavyweights.

Dempsey is greater and historically more important than Bowe, but he'd get destroyed by the 92-95 Bowe.