Dempsey vs. Marciano

[bklynboy]

being a slave is the worst thing u can be ...and if johnson didn fight he could always fall back on being a slave and get food huh?..if dempsey had it that bad he could of been somebodies slave to get food but who the **** would wanna be a slave get beat till you back bled watch you family get ****d.. white people just dont get it even afer all these years thats why things wll never change until every body is mixed

True. But slavery does not equal living in harsh conditions. Many ****** lived in very harsh and degrading conditions but many (while still in a subservient, degraded role) lived a soft physical life. The life of an Irish miner in 1850 was more brutal and much more dangerous than life as a slave in the American plantations. Notice that American ****** were not miners (it was much too dangerous).

You could never say that ALL blacks lived a harder life than ALL whites. You can certainly say that "most", or "on average" but not ALL. And Dempsey seems have had as rough an upbringing as you can get.

Re Johnson having had ****** for parents. You do realize that some ex-****** in the south ended up having ****** themselves. (But that's an aside). Jack Johnson was raised in 2 parent household in which the parents had enough money to take care of the necessities. See page 6 of

http://www.amazon.com/Unforgivable-B.../dp/0375710043

His parents worked blue collar jobs; saved enough to buy some property and build a house. I'm not saying that Jack Johnson lead a charmed, upper-class life. He did not. I'm not saying he didn't suffer from a brutal racism. He did. But his upbringing was, from all we can tell, much better than Dempsey's on a physical survival level (food, clothing, shelter, basic physical safety).

If you haven't read it I highly recommend reading Unforgivable Blackness.

[Anthony342]

Wasn't Unforgivable Blackness also a documentary?

[bklynboy]

Wasn't Unforgivable Blackness also a documentary?

Yeah. It was a Ken Burns documentary. Haven't seen it but it should be good. Ken Burns has made some excellent documentaries.

[billeau2]

Yeah. It was a Ken Burns documentary. Haven't seen it but it should be good. Ken Burns has made some excellent documentaries.

An excellent documentary, I think it is on Youtube. One could argue intelligently that Johnson's aspirations...which is what he is on the whole most famous for to the general public, came out of being raised to want more than the basic necessities which do appear to have been provided for him.

Guys like Dempsy on the other hand hardly felt entitled to a meal....Many people in his economic position literally worked for a meal provided. So your point is valid.

[Anthony342]

I believe Johnson also patented some kind of new tool when in prison as well.

[MisterHardtop]

they both were beasts back in da day. who do you think was better?

This is a scary match up, both men hit hard and they both came to fight. I'm too young (not everyday I get to say that) to have seen either box live but from what I have seen in videos and fight clips, Dempsey seemed to be the more dynamic of the two. He had better footwork, sharper reaction times and had that indefinable quality that makes such sportsmen so great.

Marciano on the other hand was far slower but he may have had a better chin and his heart is unquestionable. He'd take a beating and then, in the blink of an eye, his opponent would be gasping for breath on the canvas. A prime Dempsey could easily be the best opponent Marciano ever faced, could he take Dempsey's grenades? Could he land on Dempsey effectively enough to stop him? I just don't think so.

Dempsey by UD.

[louis54]

i would bet on dempsey. the one thing marciano had over dempsey was stanima everything else dempsey was better at and the one time hungry dempsey was everybit as determined as marciano ever was and was probably tougher. a war while it lasts

[StarshipTrooper]

i would bet on dempsey. the one thing marciano had over dempsey was stanima everything else dempsey was better at and the one time hungry dempsey was everybit as determined as marciano ever was and was probably tougher. a war while it lasts

I'd give Marciano the edge in power and chin too. Still, I'd expect Dempsey to hit Marciano a hell of a lot more than Marciano hits him. I don't think Rocky's brittle skin holds up under the kind of assault Dempsey would bring.

[elpistolero92]

Great mythical match up. Too close to call but will go for Dempsey KO.

[KidKwik]

I think Dempsey was better in pretty much every area of boxing. He'd beat Marciano, I won't say handily, but he would definitely beat him. As others have stated, Marciano's best wins came against old fighters. Rocky may have had a better chin and that's it