Dempsey vs. Marciano

[butterfly1964]

shut the **** up

But it's true.

[leff]

shut the **** up

so because his parents was slaves he had a worse early life than dempsey who was a hobbo as a teen?

[Kid Achilles]

Johnson would have never been a slave, and as I've already said he lived in a milder climate, had better a better time of getting safe work (hard physical work on the dock but being a longshoreman is much safer than blasting mines with dynamite and fearing cave ins and poisonous gas) and getting starting in boxing. Johnson matured physically pretty fast and was making money and a name for himself in the sport pretty early in life. He had some setbacks but he was able to stay well fed enough to maintain a 180-190 lb physique (as opposed to Dempsey's 130-150 lbs at the same height) and ride in the carts of trains, which is a higher and safer position than gripping the bottom of the rail and hoping you don't fall off, as Dempsey had to do.

Remember, he was known as the Galveston Giant, he was not starving to death.

Yeah Johnson had to deal with racism, which was horrible at the time, but there's nothing worse than starvation and dealing with harsh weather and conditions with no one to really trust or look after you. Dempsey was known to walk for miles in the hot sun from one town to the next, just to fight an exhausting bout for a few bucks to eat. Later he may have to fight to hold on to that money again from those who would take it.

I'd much rather be a teenage Johnson than a teenage Dempsey. One was muscular and decently fed and going somewhere in boxing, the other was a scraggly stick who couldn't trust the hobos he slept near, with no real hope in sight.

[Kilrain]

A prime Dempsey vs. prime Marciano would probably resemble the fight that Dempsey had with Firpo. A lot of heavy leather being thrown and both men hitting the canvass. It is not clear to me who is the last guy to go down.

That's how I see it, which isn't seeing it at all I suppose, it's just so damn hard to make a prediction on this one. Like a lot of others, I see Dempsey having his best chance early, with the Rock steaming all over him if it goes past 5. This would be the mother of all pit fights, though.

[Mr Ribtickler]

Dempsey would do too much damage early on.As tuff as Rocky was the Maulers ferocity would tear him up.We'll neva know for sure tho.Would b helluva brutal match!

[billeau2]

Marciano definetely had more stamina, but how do you know he could take it more? Dempsey had amazing recuperative powers. Also heart would be equal. For some fighters, after a certain point heart is not measurable, and both these guys had all the heart you could want. Dempsey was a fast starter, probably the fastest starter in the history of boxing. Marciano was a traditionally slow starter and very vulnerable in the early rounds. Dempsey was able to hammer Jess Willard around the ring, whose chin was much better than Marciano's. If Dempsey hit Marciano with those cat-quick blows of dynamite, Marciano couldn't stay on his feet. I'd say Dempsey takes him out early in no more than four rounds. If Marciano gets past the six round, then he wins, but I doubt the fight would last under the fury of Dempsey's attack.

You keep referring to marciano's chin....How would you know how much measurably better Demsey's chin is than Marciano considering the number of times Marciano's chin was challenged? Dempsey meanwhile was beat around the ring by the wild man of Pomona spain and almost lost that fight....was down against the much smaller Tunney.

I am not sure who would win, still thinking about it but your lack of logic combined with the willngness to call others stupid is irritating.

[billeau2]

One interesting thing about this fight is how marciano fought many types of guys but, unless one can call Starza a swarmer....the rock never really had to fight fire with fire.

Dempsey's pace would be an interesting feature in this fight. How long could he attack Marciano?

Meanwhile Dempsey, showing an occasional weakness for very technical fighters (Tunney) never fought a swarmer on the order of the rock. Firpo was te closest in this regard and Firpo did get to Jack, albeit that was a weird fight and I would hesitate to think Firpo's crazy initial rushes was anything that exposed Dempsey.

Hard fight to call....Stamina wise maybe the Rock. Both guys had whiskers. Taken in parts, Dempsey's great punch selection was presumably something that the Rock had dealt with (Ezzerd Charles, Louis, etc) but again, not with the pressure Dempsey could bring.

I am on the fence with this one.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Not a big fan of either,, i think they are horribly overrated,,,

but if i had to pick, i would say marciano would stop dempsey in a wild brawl that would only last a few rounds... I think marciano hits harder and has a better chin...

[GeneralZod]

I'm joining the late bump crowd.

Rocky by 10th round TKO. Both bleed like a motherfcker and it's dead even until someone drops, i give Marciano the edge by his chin and KO power.

[ShoulderRoll]

Dempsey hit harder, had better footwork and head movement, and was technically more sound than The Rock. I'd pick him to win.