Jack Dempsey vs Lennox Lewis in their prime

[StarshipTrooper]

First i do agree that some people give current fighters too much praise and act like fighters from years past too little. But the opposite is also true, if you don't beleive me just look at sonnyboyx2's posts.

On the technique part, you simply cannot tell me that the way Dempsey fought would work for any fighter nowadays. I am aware that Tyson inspired his style on some of the things Dempsey did, but you have to admit that Tyson and Cus D'Amato made it much better. I need to put emphasis on the word "inspired". Because i think Tyson had his own style. For the record, no. I don't beleive Lewis would beat a prime Tyson, i actually think Lewis would get knocked out by a prime Tyson.

As far as the "i live in the present" line. It was just my way of saying that i am realistic. Jack Dempsey was a great champion for his time and i have nothing but respect for the man. However saying that he would still be the best against some of the greatest modern heavyweights is just living in the past and refusing to admit boxing is not the same sport it was 80 or even 40 years ago.

A well thought out reply! I certainly will agree that there are some posters who believe the old-timers are always better. The difference is that on the whole they tend to be a lot less obnoxious than most (not all) of the "present day blows away yesterday" crowd. That's why I respond most often to their posts. My personal view is that while the Heavyweight division has historically had it's ups and downs (unrelated to the passing of time), for boxing as a whole no era is inherently superior to another. Every era has produced it's share of greats and just because the Heavyweight division is threadbare at a given point in time doesn't mean the lower weight classes aren't producing great fighters. Case in point: In the 80s the Heavyweight division was pretty poor but look at what the Welters and Middleweights produced.

As far as Tyson and Dempsey, I think the connection runs a bit deeper than simply "inspired". I think "patterned" is a more accurate term. While Tyson's style of fighting was tweaked to better fit his own unique strengths and weaknesses I'm not so sure it was made "better". Dempsey was a better in-fighter than Tyson for example, while Mike preferred to fight at mid-range where he could get maximum leverage on his punches. Every fighter is a unique individual and I don't think there are any "exact matches". For the record I think Tyson Vs. Lewis is a terrific matchup and I'd favor Mike to win a 10 fight series 6 to 4. I don't see Tyson having it all his way any more than I see Lennox "mopping the floor" with Mike as some posters have made out.

Boxing may well not be the same sport it was 40 years ago but "not the same" doesn't equal "better". Watch Joe Walcott's fights for example: He did a lot of things that might be considered something of a "lost art" today. He had a lot of tricks of the trade that you only see Hopkins and Toney (both of whom watched Walcott heavily and took notes) doing which is the key to their success in recent years. There's quite a bit that current fighters could learn about technique from those old-timers.

PS. Keep posting in this section! You're a damn good poster and we need people like you with all the trolls we have running around. Green K given!

Poet

[Mugwump]

which fight of Lennox Lewis can i watch so as to see this mythical Great Jab that will keep the most ferocious champion in history Jack Dempsey at bay... i look forward to your reply

Who said anything about a "Great Jab"? LARRY HOLMES had a great jab. Lennox Lewis had an above average one (when he could be bothered to use it properly), which - coupled with the massive weight and size differential - would be enough to turn The Most Ferocious Champion in HIStory into a *****cat.

[Equilibrium]

A well thought out reply! I certainly will agree that there are some posters who believe the old-timers are always better. The difference is that on the whole they tend to be a lot less obnoxious than most (not all) of the "present day blows away yesterday" crowd. That's why I respond most often to their posts. My personal view is that while the Heavyweight division has historically had it's ups and downs (unrelated to the passing of time), for boxing as a whole no era is inherently superior to another. Every era has produced it's share of greats and just because the Heavyweight division is threadbare at a given point in time doesn't mean the lower weight classes aren't producing great fighters. Case in point: In the 80s the Heavyweight division was pretty poor but look at what the Welters and Middleweights produced.

As far as Tyson and Dempsey, I think the connection runs a bit deeper than simply "inspired". I think "patterned" is a more accurate term. While Tyson's style of fighting was tweaked to better fit his own unique strengths and weaknesses I'm not so sure it was made "better". Dempsey was a better in-fighter than Tyson for example, while Mike preferred to fight at mid-range where he could get maximum leverage on his punches. Every fighter is a unique individual and I don't think there are any "exact matches". For the record I think Tyson Vs. Lewis is a terrific matchup and I'd favor Mike to win a 10 fight series 6 to 4. I don't see Tyson having it all his way any more than I see Lennox "mopping the floor" with Mike as some posters have made out.

Boxing may well not be the same sport it was 40 years ago but "not the same" doesn't equal "better". Watch Joe Walcott's fights for example: He did a lot of things that might be considered something of a "lost art" today. He had a lot of tricks of the trade that you only see Hopkins and Toney (both of whom watched Walcott heavily and took notes) doing which is the key to their success in recent years. There's quite a bit that current fighters could learn about technique from those old-timers.

PS. Keep posting in this section! You're a damn good poster and we need people like you with all the trolls we have running around. Green K given!

Poet

I agree that Joe Walcott was a great heavyweight. I think he was ahead of his time, he had great technique and fought very intelligently. I have only seen some little snippets of him fighting because sadly older fights are hard to come by even on the internet.

Another great heavyweight from the past was Joe Louis, he's in my top 5 favorite fighters ever. He is a great example of a guy who's technique and skills are timeless, he may have been a little light compared to todays heavyweight, but i firmly beleive that Joe Louis could have been a champion in any era of boxing. The way he throws those crisp accurate punches still amazes me to this day.

And thank you, you're a good poster as well. Most people on this site can't have an intelligent argument without it turning to name calling. I visit this section a lot, i just don't post most of the time.

[Bushidō]

I'm sorry but this is a mismatch no matter what. Lewis would destroy him

[STILL_DETOX]

r u ****ing serious? i should report this post

[General Zod]

Are you going to turn this thread into another attempt at discrediting Lennox Lewis?

lmao

[MonsieurGeorges]

i also live in the real world and Boxing today is in dire-straits compaired to yesteryear, we dont have the great knowledgable trainers that were around in the past, fighters today dont do roadwork like they did in the past, todays fighters only have a quarter of the career fights compaired to the fighters of the past, the only thing that is better today is the amount of cameras used to film a fight, as many as 50 cameras are used at ringside so as the viewer can see from almost every angle, where in the old days one camera (flicker-film) was used from the back of the arena, so obviously a film today looks far superior than it did 100 yrs ago, but men are men they was born 100 yrs ago with a set of knackers just like we are today, as for technique i suggest go and watch Dempsey vs Sharkey and tell me Dempsey had no boxing technique, Dempsey rolled, bobed & weaved and was a devastating puncher, Jack Dempsey was the most aggresive fighter in Heavyweight history, that there is no doubt about, Dempsey fought 7 fights in 7yrs because his fights were extravaganzas, the whole world wanted to see a Dempsey fight.... Lets not forget that Lennox Lewis was not hard to hit, even a heavily sedated Mike Tyson landed punches on him, Frank Bruno landed almost at will as did Ray Mercer, Holyfield and Vitali Klitschko, to claim Dempsey would not hit him is ridiculous,

great post. green k

[Ascended]

Jack is destroyed 1st round only trolls say jack would win

[Nash out]

Jack Dempsey is still in his prime now. He's only been dead 39 years, no excuses for these olden day guys. Nash out.

[Willie Pep 229]

Jack Dempsey is still in his prime now. He's only been dead 39 years, no excuses for these olden day guys. Nash out.

Python

Jack Dempsey vs. Joe Louis - two coffins proped up in the corners with a referee waving the two fighters to ring center with Cleese hyper announcing the non-action.