Where do you rate Jack Dempsey and why?

I agree that his title reign wasn't something impressive, but H2H with other greats, i rate the Dempsey of 1918-1919, top 3 if not the greatest HW of all time.

He symbolized the perfect melt between boxer and fighter.
Certainly the greatest swarmer of all time, with a potentially great career ruined by bad management and racist times.





No.1, tie with Louis.

 

He's comparable to Liston in ranking. In other words, somewhere from 10-14.

 

top 3 under 200 pounds....i think he has serious problems with the modern heavyweights who also had skills..still i wouldnt count him out against any man.

 

I obviously rate him a lot higher than many people here.

Head to head he was an absolute phenom. I would not make any heavyweight much better than even money against him.

His resume is a lot better than most people think because history has obscured the significance of most of his key wins. Even his title reign is a lot better than he is given credit for because his title oponents were name fighters of the period.

He has rightly suffered a backlash over his failure to defend his title against Harry Wills and Harry Greb, but those leading said backlash have taken things too far in the other direction.

 

Somewhere in the #4-#7 range. Jack was a versatile fighter. I think he's mid/upper range in the top-15 heavy's. Now, I can't say there are any top-15 heavy's I think Jack would be a cinch against; but I also think he'd be a big problem for all of them, too.
I tend to rate on how I think they'd do if they came along at the same time, looking at various eras/conditions, and developing in analogy to how they developed in their own time. I put Sullivan, Louis and Ali ahead of Dempsey; Jeffries and Marciano along with him, maybe a bit ahead; Johnson, Tunney and maybe Holmes possible with Jack Dempsey, but probably a little behind.
If I were ranking them exactly on how they were in their prime, I would have Dempsey somewhat lower (and Johnson, Jeffries and Sullivan far lower).

 

According to his son, Jay Tunney, Gene Tunney said Dempsey was the greatest fighter of his era.

 

I think that there is a big diference between knowing the fighter and knowing what the win meant at the time.

Fred Fulton was touted as the heir apparent, Jess Willard was meant to kill Dempsey not beat him, Brennan, Miske and Levinsky were all good scalps when Dempsey beat them on the way up.

 

I don't rate him, the white north american title means nothing to me when discussing world level fighters and champions.

 

Is there any doubt in your mind that Sullivan and Jeffries would have dominated the heavyweight division with or without the colour line?

 

I think this is something many, myself included, tend to forget. Obliterating a well-respected champion like that should never be taken lightly.

Of course, Tunney must also been the clear underdog when he dominated Dempsey in their first fight. So, that should be seen in the same context.