Was jack dempsey better against large men?

[mickey malone]

Ha ha, I'll bet that Dempsey was more than handy in a streetfight. He'd have dived on Inoki and pounded his head into the canvas!!!!

Absolutely, and Randy Couture's game, to coin a pun, would'a suited him down to the ground.

[Sugarj]

Absolutely, and Randy Couture's game, to coin a pun, would'a suited him down to the ground.

Bless you.....

[C-ORTIZ]

I seem to recall this too. If I remember correctly there was no neutral corner rule in effect and a well worn Dempsey simply stood over the hapless fool waiting for him to rise after repeated knockdowns (as he had done with Willard many years before).

I also gather that he battered a young man attempting to mug him not too many years before his death.

A vicious guy Jack Dempsey. Legend!

This is why I have no doubt that Dempsey would have crushed Joe Louis or Jack Johnson. Too bad those fights didn't happen.

[Mikhnienko]

Oh Antonio Inoki? I read an article on that fight a while back that said that fight went that way because of a miscommunication. Ali's camp apparently thought that would be scripted, like a pro wrestling match, but Inoki thought it would be a real aka shoot fight. Had it been real and known it was real, I imagine Inoki would've used more of a varied attack and at least went for more takedown attempts, possibly a submission attempt at some point.

Dempsey would probably only need to land one good hard shot to hurt Inoki and then follow up with a few more to put him down for the count. Of course, he could also catch him with an uppercut during a takedown attempt or maybe a kick to the face. It would just be a matter of not being put on the ground for Dempsey.

Dempsey trained the US coast guard in hand to hand combat during WWII and incorporated boxing, wrestling, judo. During his boxing career he would wrestle in camp against very accomplished grapplers as part of his training.

[Sugarj]

This is why I have no doubt that Dempsey would have crushed Joe Louis or Jack Johnson. Too bad those fights didn't happen.

Well, Dempsey's prime was at least 10-12 years after Johnson's and at least 15 years before Louis's.

They're both tough matches to predict. I'd doubt that Johnson would've seen anyone with the combination of pace, ferocity, speed and power that Dempsey brings.

On the Louis front; you'd have to say that prime Dempsey was surely superior in almost every respect to the Max Schmelling that beat a sub par Louis. The Brown Bomber would have to be on his A-game......