Wlad v Dempsey

Waldo isn't a 37yo innactive Willard with little athleticism or fighting skill, he's probably the fastest super HW of all time, arguably faster than Dempsey. And I'm not a fan of Waldo but it is what it is

 

Willard is no Wlad, and he was 37 years old, and he was coming off a period of inactivity, but he might have had the best combination of power, durability and stamina of any superheavyweight in history.

People ignore Willards positives and focus on his negatives in hindsight, having been presented with the unthinkable.

Again, its not like Willard was giving Dempsey stylistic problems, or being competitive in a loosing effort.

 

But Willard didn´t touch Dempsey, so we don´t know how he would handle a big hard hitter.....Willard´s power is irrelevant in the discussion....we know that DEmpsey wouldn´t fear Wlad´s power, that´s for sure, but I don´t know if it would be good for him.....

Willard had zero mobility while Wlad is pretty fast of feet for a big guy....

 

I still think Dempsey is faster than wlad which is important here

 

Fair points.

Wlad´s punch ? I think we should put it in question, we don´t have any example in Dempsey´s career that suggests that he would take a hard punch from a huge hitter like Wlad....

He didn´t show mobility in other fights, did he ? Obviously you can say that because of the duration of the fights (I´m talking about the Johnson fight especially) he had to save some stamina...

 

Willard:

Stamina - how many punches a round did he average over 10-20 rounds?

Durability - who was the biggest hitter he faced and how heavy was he?

Power - who was the most durable HW he proved his power against

I don't think Willard is particularly proven in any of those areas

 

agreed. i think willard was quite durable with proven stamina however to compare his skill, power, movement and technique against wlad's is absurd

 

Willard had zero mobility?? Willard was pretty quick on his feet when he needed to be - have you watched the Johnson fight?? - Willard when he needed to back up, did so quicker than Johnson could get him before he had gone and Willard was pretty much in sinc with Johnson a lot of the time - yes Johnson was old and hog fat but he was a fighter renowned for his natural reflexes and reactions and Willard was quick enough with his feet and his reactions to keep Johnson from being able to have his way as he did with everyone else to that point - Willards jab is actually pretty quick - Infact it is actually TOO quick a lot of the time for Johnson to anticipate and avoid and Johnson based his whole style around anticipation - Willard was actually very quick and very effective - surprisingly and when Johnson did let go with slashing flurries Willard reacted quick enough to ride everything and smother johnson's attempts - I think people need to watch the Johnson fight (the full film) to get more of an appreciation - he was actually pretty quick really I don't get why people think he was a slow lumbering fighter - he had quick reactions and he tried to fight on a manner where he was trying to out time Johnson - a slow fighter with no movement doesn't do that?

 

I do see a lot of similarities with Willard and Vlad as well - both often using little movement planting that wide stance, leaning back at the waist a lot - everything based on anticipation, neither being a true fighter, both trying to impose that height and at the same time use it to fight negatively - both 6'7" both in the region of 17 stone both prodding a lot with that jab to keep that distance both back straight up and became a little desperate and ungainly when the other guy went for anything big himself both fought with hands very low especially that left almost dangling by the waist - I'd actually say Willards reaction were quicker than Vlads but Vlad was more fluid in his movements but both generally stepped after their opponents and dominated the space in front of them but both were unnecessarily negative when you consider the physical advantages both enjoyed most of the time

 

Wladimir has no skill thats why he is a safety first fighter. Jack Johnson is arguably the greatest skill the HW division has seen and he lost to Willard.

Wladimir struggled to hit a moving David Haye who at times launched himself from several feet away and at times almost fell over and you want to suggest he has good footwork and skill? He hits non moving targets and when he gets into a Dempsey whos movement is 5times better then Haye and 10times the work rate.

Dempseys prime ended as soon as he beat Willard (Hollywood,Stardom,Nosejob) but we are talking prime here. Wladimir power is good but Dempseys chin is better. Dempsey KOs him in the latter round when Wladimir is tired with his hands out.

 

Zero mobility was harsh, okay.....but yes, I´ve seen the Johnson fight and that is not good mobility in comparison with other fighters, then again I´ve said that is hard to critize the guy since it was too many rounds and etc.....but in compariosn with Wlad´s mobility, Willard has not a good one IMO.

Wladimir has no skill ? C´mon now.
Haye didn´t fight, he ran scared, is hard to look good against someone that is just trying to see the final bell....why you don´t use as examples Wlad´s best performances ?

Wlad is a hard hitter, one of the hardest imo, his power is not simply good, it´s great. Willard was also a hard puncher but we don´t know if Dempsey could take it since Willard didn´t touch him.
You don´t know if Dempsey would be able to take Wlad´s punches because Wlad would be by far the biggest hitter to land punches on him....

 

Dempsey is a ATG top fighter, Wladimir hasn't exactly KO'd every top fighter and if he was such a hard hitter his fights wouldn't be so boring. Dempsey has only been KO'd once but the fight has been marked with controversy.

Dempsey movement,stamnia and his left hook are the greatest factors deciding this fight. He threw the left better then Frazier and Tyson.

Dempsey gets him mid to late.

 

Wasn't Groundhog Day Saturday?

 

Yah liek he deed to d Daveed Hey.

I would like to see how Wlad would react to Dempsey's bullrushes, I still don't think Wlad has overcome his habit of being cowed by aggression, and I could envision Dempsey weaving under Wlad's 1-2's and landing heavily. Still I'd pick Wlad to win.

I'm thinking this goes to about 15-20 pages, if Seamus comes.