Jack Dempsey vs Lennox Lewis

[billeau2]

That's a good point. Dempsey did face Jess Willard who was 6' 6½" and also Carl Morris who was 6' 4".

Size wouldn't be something he hadn't seen before or that he wouldn't know how to deal with. The bigger they are the more of a target the stomach is and Jack was an expert at inside fighting and body punching.

Just read his book for the finer points on how to throw shovel hooks. Most guys today don't even know what those are much less the details of how to throw them properly.

Luis Firpo was a big strong boy as well! the wild bull might have weighed in at anywhere north of 200 but was really strong and quite a puncher. For pure entertainment value the dempsey Firpo fight can't be beat. Point is I don't think they come much stronger than Angel Louis Firpo...no matter how big they are!

[billeau2]

whats so funny here is that if you really look at this match up objetively the following becomes apparent:

a) Lewis fought great competition for sure, but against smaller guys who could punch...guys who were nowhere near the level of jack, He lost twice getting KO'ed in the process. Tua is a horrible fighter to compare with Dempsey BTW, Tua has no foot speed to speak of...the best fighter to compare jack with would be a prime Tyson, considering Tyson learned his style from Dempsey...but the Tyson that fought Lewis was a shell, so unfortunately we lost that data.

b) Of all the guys Dempsey fought, the big guys gave him the least trouble. Firpo was probably the stongest guy he fought, and he dealt with his strength well... Willard was a bit past it but was not even a hard fight for the Mauler.

I think given these facts, and the fact that Lewis does not have the best footwork, i.e. there is no logical reason to assume he moves better than willard...only that he is perhaps a better fighter on the whole...

Things look pretty good for Dempsey. Again, I never predict because things like the rules in play, etc could cause many possible outcomes...just saying!

[billeau2]

He wouldn't beat him on points, he'd knock him the hell out. Tua survived because he was trying to survive and he has an iron chin. Dempsey would try to come forward, get clocked and go down for the count. It'd be a sickening mismatch, like watching Lomachenko get brutalised by GGG.

Tua had short arms and virtualy no footwork to speak of. As Sonny pointed out when Tua fought Lewis he carried too much weight, further immobilizing him. You just can't compare the two, you might as well enter an azz kicking contest with one leg and tell the bookie "it don't make no difference, I can kick me some azz now!" As in Dempsey with one leg would prolly move as well as Tua! lol

[Fury4daWIN]

Heavyweight vs cruiserweight is not the same as featherweight vs middleweight!

The weight difference is far more crucial in the lower divisions. I think Dempsey would have been able to go the distance with Lewis.

Dempsey wasn't even a big Cruiserweight. He was halfway between LHW and CW. A 200lbs CW would be at a substantial disadvantage against Lewis, so another fifteen pounds would only magnify the disadvantage. If Dempsey survives it's due to literally running around the ring avoiding any exchanges whatsoever. That's not how Dempsey rolled. He would have gone straight at Lewis attempting to knock him out. That gets him a one way trip to Canvasville.

[Fury4daWIN]

Tua had short arms and virtualy no footwork to speak of. As Sonny pointed out when Tua fought Lewis he carried too much weight, further immobilizing him. You just can't compare the two, you might as well enter an azz kicking contest with one leg and tell the bookie "it don't make no difference, I can kick me some azz now!" As in Dempsey with one leg would prolly move as well as Tua! lol

Tua's feet were rooted in mud, but he had the sort of resilience that Dempsey could only dream of. You're right, they weren't comparable, but a Dempsey fighting the way he did, coming forward, trying to get under Lewis's shots to manhandle him on the inside, would be a recipe for disaster considering how tiny he was. Lewis had hellacious uppercuts, and he'd employ them here, to devastating effect.

[ShoulderRoll]

Luis Firpo was a big strong boy as well! the wild bull might have weighed in at anywhere north of 200 but was really strong and quite a puncher. For pure entertainment value the dempsey Firpo fight can't be beat. Point is I don't think they come much stronger than Angel Louis Firpo...no matter how big they are!

Firpo was indeed very big and strong. But because he "only" measured 6' 2½" in height I could see some of the size queens on here blowing him off as not being equivalent to a "modern super heavyweight."

That's why I brought up Willard and Carl Morris as well since they are comparable to Lennox Lewis in terms of height.

[kafkod]

Dempsey wasn't even a big Cruiserweight. He was halfway between LHW and CW. A 200lbs CW would be at a substantial disadvantage against Lewis, so another fifteen pounds would only magnify the disadvantage. If Dempsey survives it's due to literally running around the ring avoiding any exchanges whatsoever. That's not how Dempsey rolled. He would have gone straight at Lewis attempting to knock him out. That gets him a one way trip to Canvasville.

No doubt Dempseys size would have given Lewis an advantage over him, and his aggresive style might have been his downfall.

So now I'm thinking what Dempsey would have looked like if he'd been fighting at the same time as Lewis and Holyfield, who was also a natural CW, and had used the same kind of weight and strength building ... erm ... diet ... as Evander used to beef himself up for the likes of Lennox, and had brought those shifting moves, which Lennox would have never encountered before, with him.

[Tom Cruise]

Firpo was indeed very big and strong. But because he "only" measured 6' 2½" in height I could see some of the size queens on here blowing him off as not being equivalent to a "modern super heavyweight."

That's why I brought up Willard and Carl Morris as well since they are comparable to Lennox Lewis in terms of height.

Fred Fulton also was 6'6 1/2" with 84 1/2" reach, though at 208lbs (when he fought Dempsey) he was light compared to LL.

Big Bill Tate who Dempsey regularly sparred with was 6'6", 230-40 odd pounds with 81" reach. Though Tate wasnt really on the same level as Dempsey as far as skills go, judging by the footage

[ShoulderRoll]

Fred Fulton also was 6'6 1/2" with 84 1/2" reach, though at 208lbs (when he fought Dempsey) he was light compared to LL.

Big Bill Tate who Dempsey regularly sparred with was 6'6", 230-40 odd pounds with 81" reach. Though Tate wasnt really on the same level as Dempsey as far as skills go, judging by the footage

Good call on both of those names.

[billeau2]

Tua's feet were rooted in mud, but he had the sort of resilience that Dempsey could only dream of. You're right, they weren't comparable, but a Dempsey fighting the way he did, coming forward, trying to get under Lewis's shots to manhandle him on the inside, would be a recipe for disaster considering how tiny he was. Lewis had hellacious uppercuts, and he'd employ them here, to devastating effect.

You are oversimplifying "comig foward." Dempsey used angles and differences in horizontal placement when he came foward, he attacked at angles. I don't know where your romantic notions of Tua come from, but sure thing Dempsey could only dream of the type of resistance the modern Tua posseses, no doubt due to evolution and modernity right?