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Dempsey was incredible in his rise to the top prior to his winning the title. Carl Morris and Fred Fulton were two of the best heavyweights of the era, both 6'4"+ and Dempsey knocked them out in under 30 seconds each. I believe that Fulton was the #1 heavyweight in the world when Dempsey KO'ed him in 18 seconds. I don't need to remind anyone of the demolition job he did on Willard, who absorbed Jack Johnson's (who was past his prime but still a powerful and very skilled puncher as well as a heavy man) best punches while hardly taking a backward step. Willard had never been knocked down in his life until Dempsey, and it wasn't because of a great defense: his chin was cast iron, and Dempsey cracked it.
He was the Mike Tyson of his era, if Tyson only had a champion's heart. The only thing Dempsey lacked was a great defense. In all other areas he was top notch. Offensively he was perhaps the perfect fighter, who was always set to strike with full bodyweight behind his punches at every range. He possessed great balance and leverage and was just as lethal six inches away as he was at long range. Unlike Tyson, Jack knew how to handle himself in a clinch and got the best of those situations. Tying Dempsey up or even moving towards him for any reason was rarely a good idea. He didn't mind fighting dirty because he knew he would get away with it ("They'll only warn you thefirst time" he was known to say). He was a guy who came from nothing and would do anything to win and get ahead in boxing. He fought with the intent to kill.
In my estimation he was one of the greatest pound for pound hitters the sport has seen. Round 1 of Dempsey-Willard is IMO the most impressive display of P4P punching power in recorded ring history because there you actually see a much smaller man annhilate a massive Lennox Lewis size guy who had a reputation for having an iron chin. This isn't a Thomas Hearns where you might speculate that he could probably KO a light heavyweight if he could get in a hit first; this was a 180 pounds man climbing into the ring with a world champion 65 pounds heavier than himself and actually tearing the larger man a new *******. I'll take Dempsey over Julian Jackson, who only knocked out men his own size, as a better P4P hitter seeing as Dempsey gave us physical proof of his ability to hurt larger men. The only comparable giant killers were Sam Langford and Joe Louis.
Jack Dempsey is without a doubt a top ten heavyweight. I have him at the bottom for his less than impressive title defense record, but make no mistake that in terms of talent and fighting ability he was a top fiver. Physically and psychologically, he ranks among the most gifted heavyweights.
He was the Mike Tyson of his era, if Tyson only had a champion's heart. The only thing Dempsey lacked was a great defense. In all other areas he was top notch. Offensively he was perhaps the perfect fighter, who was always set to strike with full bodyweight behind his punches at every range. He possessed great balance and leverage and was just as lethal six inches away as he was at long range. Unlike Tyson, Jack knew how to handle himself in a clinch and got the best of those situations. Tying Dempsey up or even moving towards him for any reason was rarely a good idea. He didn't mind fighting dirty because he knew he would get away with it ("They'll only warn you thefirst time" he was known to say). He was a guy who came from nothing and would do anything to win and get ahead in boxing. He fought with the intent to kill.
In my estimation he was one of the greatest pound for pound hitters the sport has seen. Round 1 of Dempsey-Willard is IMO the most impressive display of P4P punching power in recorded ring history because there you actually see a much smaller man annhilate a massive Lennox Lewis size guy who had a reputation for having an iron chin. This isn't a Thomas Hearns where you might speculate that he could probably KO a light heavyweight if he could get in a hit first; this was a 180 pounds man climbing into the ring with a world champion 65 pounds heavier than himself and actually tearing the larger man a new *******. I'll take Dempsey over Julian Jackson, who only knocked out men his own size, as a better P4P hitter seeing as Dempsey gave us physical proof of his ability to hurt larger men. The only comparable giant killers were Sam Langford and Joe Louis.
Jack Dempsey is without a doubt a top ten heavyweight. I have him at the bottom for his less than impressive title defense record, but make no mistake that in terms of talent and fighting ability he was a top fiver. Physically and psychologically, he ranks among the most gifted heavyweights.
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