Who had the best chance of beating Joe Louis ?

I just feel Dempsey overwhelms him quick.
I've no problem with anyone picking Louis ,and certainly the longer it goes ,the better Joe's chances.

 

Louis was 198 for Max Baer, 199 for Schmeling II, and 199 for Godoy II. He himself said that Max Baer was his peak performance, while I think Godoy II was his most evolved showing. According to boxWRECK, Dempsey came in at 200 pounds as early as 1918. While half an inch shorter, he had an inch more of reach. Size difference is negligible.

------------Dempsey------------Louis
Height------6ft. 1-1/2 in.--------6ft. 2 in.
Reach--------77 in.---------------76 in.
Chest, Nor.---42 in.---------------42 in.
Chest, Exp.---46 in.---------------45 in.
Waist---------33 in.---------------36 1/2 in.
Biceps-------16 1/4 in.-----------15 in.
Neck---------16 1/2 in.-----------17 in.
Wrist----------9 in.----------------8 in.
Calf----------15 in.---------------14 in.
Ankle----------9 in.---------------10 in.
Thigh--------23 in.---------------22 1/2 in.
Fist----------11 1/4 in.-----------11 3/4 in.
Forearm------14 1/2 in.-----------12 in.

Source: 1957 Ring Record Book and Encyclopedia

That 36 1/2 inch waist measurement for Louis was the thickest waist measurement of any heavyweight champion other than Carnera (38 inches) up to Patterson's reign. I was kind of surprised by this, but the waists of Jeffries and Willard came in at 35 and 35 1/2 inches respectively. That three and a half inches of difference between the waists of Dempsey and Louis would account for why Joe typically weighed more than Jack.

 

It's well known that Blackburn privately opined that Johnson would have beaten Joe, "Because he's a mover." Considering the acrimony between Blackburn and Johnson, that's a remarkable concession.

Not only would Tunney have been a horrible match for Joe, but I can't see Louis going the distance with a peak Loughran and winning. If Joe nailed him, Tommy would be dead, but Loughran would have been on highest alert for somebody like this. Sharkey got him out by surprising him with a lightning charge, but that wasn't Joe's thing.

A peaking Walcott, boxing for the decision as he did in their first bout, would have been a headache for Louis at any time in his career. JJW got taken out in the rematch because, not trusting the judges, he jettisoned his boxing and went for the kill. (Unfortunately for him, both matches were scored on a rounds basis. Under the ten point must system, he'd have been far more comfortable each time they squared off.)

 

Vitali Klitschko , George Foreman , Ali , Tyson , Holyfield , Tua , McCall , Puritty.

One of the reasons to why Tua , McCall and Puritty lost so much is because many of their opponents just tried to play the game by its ugly dirty rules of scoring so they actually got a recorded "W" for fighting a successful survival fight against them without trying to really win big , but Louis was someone who did try to really win , wasn't he ? so in these cases it will cost him dearly . Did Louis ever try to just keep his opponent at long range and escape whenever he gets close ? Louis was used to be the stalker and these guys were no Ezzard Charles , Jesey Joe Walcott nor Billy Conn.

And Carnerra was no Vitali , even if stylewise he was.
Even regarding sizes Vitali is even bigger than Carnerra which is critical at this point. And Louis could be hurt when hit , he did not have a James Toney defense nor a James Toney punch resistance .