Grading Dempsey's reign

[Daddy T]

I have to respectfully disagree that he would have stopped Tunney in the 2nd fight. It was Dempsey himself who initiated the neutral corner rule after a knockdown for this fight. The rule today is the same as for that fight, the count cannot start until the other fighter heads to a neutral corner. We can't blame Tunney for taking his time getting up anymore than we could blame Buster Douglas for taking his time getting up against Tyson. A fighter goes only by the refs count.

yeah until walcott made a meal of ali liston 2 - but yeah tunney wasn't hurt that bad

and on the original topic the lack of black fighters is a big stain on dempseys record too so B+

[CarlosG815]

Carlos, how would you rate his championship reign and why? I know you're a big Dempsey fan and Im not trying to belittle him, but Im genuinely curious.

It's hard to say. I really don't know enough about his reign but I do know that he went Hollywood after the money got to him. I don't think he really cared about fighting. He spent his life fighting to survive, and when he didn't need to fight to survive, he didn't care.

I think Carpentier was a better win than he's getting credit for, as Carpentier may have been a light heavy by today's standards but they were actually very close in size.

I understand why he never fought any black fighters, as the politics were worse then than they are today and if it were up to Jack himself, I am sure he'd have fought them. Nobody liked black people, nobody wanted a black champion, whites had the power and money in boxing, therefore blacks weren't going to get any shots.

There really isn't much to say. His reign had it's share of inactivity, but I think Firpo and Carpentier were good wins, and how he handles them was spectacular. I'd give his reign a B.

[BigStereotype]

It's hard to say. I really don't know enough about his reign but I do know that he went Hollywood after the money got to him. I don't think he really cared about fighting. He spent his life fighting to survive, and when he didn't need to fight to survive, he didn't care.

I think Carpentier was a better win than he's getting credit for, as Carpentier may have been a light heavy by today's standards but they were actually very close in size.

I understand why he never fought any black fighters, as the politics were worse then than they are today and if it were up to Jack himself, I am sure he'd have fought them. Nobody liked black people, nobody wanted a black champion, whites had the power and money in boxing, therefore blacks weren't going to get any shots.

There really isn't much to say. His reign had it's share of inactivity, but I think Firpo and Carpentier were good wins, and how he handles them was spectacular. I'd give his reign a B.

I definitely agree with that. From what I've read of Carpentier, he was no joke.

[IronDanHamza]

It's hard to say. I really don't know enough about his reign but I do know that he went Hollywood after the money got to him. I don't think he really cared about fighting. He spent his life fighting to survive, and when he didn't need to fight to survive, he didn't care.

I think Carpentier was a better win than he's getting credit for, as Carpentier may have been a light heavy by today's standards but they were actually very close in size.

I understand why he never fought any black fighters, as the politics were worse then than they are today and if it were up to Jack himself, I am sure he'd have fought them. Nobody liked black people, nobody wanted a black champion, whites had the power and money in boxing, therefore blacks weren't going to get any shots.

There really isn't much to say. His reign had it's share of inactivity, but I think Firpo and Carpentier were good wins, and how he handles them was spectacular. I'd give his reign a B.

I'm in agreement with this.

I believe Dempsey's reign is being a little to nitpicked here.

I give him reign a solid B.

[Steak]

He didnt beat the best fighters of his era, and his era wasnt that hot to begin with. He defended his title only once a year.

definitely not as good as a number of other Heavyweight champions.

Ill go ahead and say C+. slightly above average, but nothing amazing, and could have been a lot better.

[JAB5239]

It's hard to say. I really don't know enough about his reign but I do know that he went Hollywood after the money got to him. I don't think he really cared about fighting. He spent his life fighting to survive, and when he didn't need to fight to survive, he didn't care.

I think Carpentier was a better win than he's getting credit for, as Carpentier may have been a light heavy by today's standards but they were actually very close in size.

I understand why he never fought any black fighters, as the politics were worse then than they are today and if it were up to Jack himself, I am sure he'd have fought them. Nobody liked black people, nobody wanted a black champion, whites had the power and money in boxing, therefore blacks weren't going to get any shots.

There really isn't much to say. His reign had it's share of inactivity, but I think Firpo and Carpentier were good wins, and how he handles them was spectacular. I'd give his reign a B.

Fair enough my friend!

[The_Demon]

A solid B for me,not as good as the nuthuggers would have you believe but not as bad as some people make out,ye you can pick holes in his record but their are very few fighters in history in which you cant,Dempsey was one hell of a fighter and a top 10 ATG at heavyweight for sure

[Pastrano]

Dempsey's reign is no worse than Tyson's. Who did Tyson beat? Berbick=a pure workhorse with power but very little skill and speed, even his punching power was nothing to brag about. Bonecrusher= he was all about his punching power and reach, didn't even make an effort to beat Tyson. Pinklon Thomas= already faded, was doing well and outjabbing Tyson for four rounds before he was stopped. Tony Tucker= the best win of Tyson's career, but broke his hand in the 4th and before that lifted Tyson off the ground with a punch, was outboxing him too. Larry Holmes= coming off two losses to Spinks and 2 years of inactivity almost, aged 38, was starting to clown around and paid the price. Tubbs= outboxed Tyson before getting caught, always looked out of shape, but a good win. Spinks= was scared as hell and never was a natural hw, looked like a tennis player compared to Tyson. Bruno gave him a good fight, but was never a strong fighter mentally or HOF material.

While Dempsey didn't always fight the best guys as a champion, Carpentier was still one of the best p4p guys at that time and getting up after that monster punch that put him thru the ropes against Firpo took guts, not least stopping Firpo in the next round. Tommy Gibbons was a clever fighter and made Dempsey miss a lot, but still Dempsey knocked him out.

[JAB5239]

While Dempsey didn't always fight the best guys as a champion, Carpentier was still one of the best p4p guys at that time and getting up after that monster punch that put him thru the ropes against Firpo took guts, not least stopping Firpo in the next round. Tommy Gibbons was a clever fighter and made Dempsey miss a lot, but still Dempsey knocked him out.

Dempsey was pushed through the ropes against Firpo.

[RubenSonny]

Dempsey didn't knock out Gibbons either.