how would langford /dempsey gone

[Greatest1942]

It depends...It depends on the weigh both turn up in..Sam Langford was perhaps one of the greatest punchers of all time..saying he would have no chance against Dempsey would be a lie...Anyone who boxed Sam multiple times was at one time or the other knocked out cold by a single shot..a single shot mind you...in every weigh this happened..and Sam even though he was short had a pretty good reach....

Dempsey I dont think will want this fight to go long...he was a kind of early rounds guy, the longer the fight will be Sam has a better chance of catching Dempsey and knocking him out cold. If however he survives Dempseys early onslaught...but again if Firpo can catch Dempsey the shorter punches of Sam can too...dempsey was at his best against big guys who were huge targets, a prime Sam will be a small target, slippery it will hit like a ton of bricks if Sam did catch Dempsey while he was being reckless..good bye Jack.

Ed "Gunboat" Smith, and many others said "the hardest hitter I ever faced was Langford" . And lastly for every one who just insulted him hear it from the man itself :-

'I think Sam Langford was the greatest fighter we ever had. In 1916 I came here and had a couple of fights and won them. I was managed by a fellow named John the Barber. After winning these two fights he said, "I got a good fight for you." I said, "Who is it?" He says, "Sam Langford." I said, "Not me! Goodbye!" He was a great fighter and I didn't have the experience to fight a man like that. He was a hell of a puncher, never been licked, so why should I get my brains knocked out for nothing? Even at my best I don't know whether I could lick him or not. He was a good man, good puncher, rough, tough.'

Jack Dempsey 1970.


ps:- Scott if the book you bought is Sam Langford: Boxing's Greatest Uncrowned Champion, by Clay Moyle I highly recommend it , its a great one.

[louis54]

langford said dempsey was the best heavyweight ever. both were great fighters obviously but i still cant think of one single thing langford does better or as well as dempsey except perhaps power. name one ?

[Greatest1942]

langford said dempsey was the best heavyweight ever. both were great fighters obviously but i still cant think of one single thing langford does better or as well as dempsey except perhaps power. name one ?

First of all, stamina..Dempsey didnt have bad stamina..he generally went all out in the early rounds against big guys, but he could box well for a long time when needed as he did against Gibbons. However I have to give the edge to Sam who was consistently in fights which went far longer and did carry power at the same time to KO guys very late.

Secondly Sam would have faced much more varied competition than Dempsey ever did. Dempsey didn't fight blacks generally and when he did fight he allegedly broke his three ribs.

Experience and stamina goes to Sam in my view.

[Greatest1942]

First of all, stamina..Dempsey didnt have bad stamina..he generally went all out in the early rounds against big guys, but he could box well for a long time when needed as he did against Gibbons. However I have to give the edge to Sam who was consistently in fights which went far longer and did carry power at the same time to KO guys very late.

Secondly Sam would have faced much more varied competition than Dempsey ever did. Dempsey didn't fight blacks generally and when he did fight he allegedly broke his three ribs.

Experience and stamina goes to Sam in my view.

And ohh according to a common opponent Sam had a chance definitely :-

"Langford versus Dempsey, both in their prime would have been bad news for Dempsey. He could be hit easily with a right hand and if anybody had a right hand it was 'The Tar Baby.'"
-- Gunboat Smith, in a 1942 article in Fight Stories

[Anthony342]

Tar Baby? That's what they called Langford in the papers back then? I'm surprised nobody called Jack Johsnon spearchucker, geez WTF, that's messed up.

[rightsideup]

Tar Baby? That's what they called Langford in the papers back then? I'm surprised nobody called Jack Johsnon spearchucker, geez WTF, that's messed up.

Jacks offical nick name was the gavelston giant I believe but he was called worse names in print as was joe louis almost 15 to 20 year's later.

[ShoulderRoll]

Dempsey didn't fight blacks generally and when he did fight he allegedly broke his three ribs.

Interesting. What's the story behind that?

[rightsideup]

Interesting. What's the story behind that?

I know he had his rib's broke in first series of fight's in new York and supposedly earned so little he rode the rails hobo style to get back to colorado. The fighter that broke his ribs was john lester Johnson and the book I got this info from does not identify his race.

[rightsideup]

I confirmed that the fighter that broke Dempsey's ribs was indeed an African America and that he also became a film actor with 35 credits after his boxing career. Dempsey claim's it was the most painful blow he ever received.

[Greatest1942]

Interesting. What's the story behind that?

Dempsey, who was interviewed by Nat Fleischer before the publication of his Dempsey biography, stated how Johnson's effective body-punching taught him the importance of throwing downstairs.

One newspaper report said that "Dempsey failed to live up to the reputation that he earned in Salt Lake City, and was an easy mark for the local boxer."

You might want to read this too :-

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...+johnson&hl=en

And lastly, the above also states, that before the Dempsey fight Johnson was Ko'd by Sam Langford.

LAter on Dempsey climbed down from a ring where Joe Jeanette was present.