Who else could have finished Willard like Dempsey ?

Seamus, did you know that I've got a tattoo of a small sled on my ankle? I called it "The USS Rosebud" and it was the greatest sled in all the land when I was a boy. I named it after something I used to affectionately say to Peggy MacDonkel, the village slut. For those were good times. Times when a boy could do almost anything with the village slut and nobody said anything.

 

Heavyweights who landed body shots. No reason to lunge and jump and reach and stretch for willards head. Dempsey went out destructive for a round. Then floundered as bad as willard for two more.

 

Mike Tyson,George Foreman,And Joe Louis could have done a similar job on Willard.

 

Could have done, but crucialy, might very well not have done.

I think is was the one outcome to the fight that nobody expected in a million years, perhaps including Dempsey.

 

George Foreman. He never had any trouble dealing with giants like Jack O'Halloran..and though Willard was much better, I think George would have risen to the occasion.

 

I would say possibly not George Foreman.

There is no arguing with Foremans destructive prowess, but he was not so much a surgical finisher.

I also think that even the uninspired but competent Willard, would be savy enough to use his range to counter him, and this would delay a rapid resolution.

 

No, not surgical, but equally as devastating with his heavy, more clubbing punches. No way would Jess last more than 3 with him.

 

The only reason we even entertain the idea of Willard getting stopped in 3 rounds by anybody is because Dempsey did it.

I don't honestly know if Dempsey could have repeated the feat, but I do know that there were a lot of components to what happened that hot Toledo day.

Dempseys defence was crucial, because it alowed him to get down to business relativley free from impediment.

Willard making a couple of errors both forced an unforced also played a critical role.

I don't see these elements playing the same role in a Foreman fight.

 

Mike Tyson is the only one I see being able to produce anything near a repeat of the Dempsey slaughter - but only really based on Tyson being the closest equivalent in terms of competitive combination of natural hand speed-power-ad aggression although Dempsey used more savvy in the first round than Tyson would ever use which paved the way for the ensuing battering - can't really see Tyson having the movement to be able to go laterally and check Willard movement and show feints and quick changes of direction walk always etc and for me you also have to consider also that in this day an age the fight would've been over after the very first knockdown after one of the most hellacious left hooks in history in my book - not sure I see even Tyson stopping a behemoth like Willard basically with one shot?? Which for me is what Dempsey essentially did - Tyson may have made a cleaner finish with 2 or 3 knockdown a using combination - and foreman I definately don't see producing anything quick - he just wasn't pinpoint enough and was too slow - Willards whole game was based on anticipation he would react well in advance of anything George started to do - Louis may be able to do something destructive and quick a la Buddy Baer II

 

foreman and tyson. maybe lewis when he was pissed off and had a point to prove.

 

Ike Ibeabuchi

 

Bert Cooper

 

I think most if not all elite level punchers could once they realised the quality of their opponent especially within that ruleset and with those gloves.

Not only the usual calls of Tyson, Foreman, Louis and the like but Morrison, Cooper, Tua etc.