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I received an email from a boxing enthusiast and he challenged me on the topic of - Could Jack Dempsey really beat Jack Johnson if they ever fought? His point was that Jack Dempsey couldn’t carry Jack Johnson's jock strap and made an excellent case for Johnson's superiority. So I asked boxing historians for their view. Both fighters had common opponents, Jess Willard and Fireman Jim Flynn. Willard defeated Johnson whereas Dempsey destroyed Willard. In the reverse, Johnson slaughtered Flynn whereas Dempsey was knocked out in his first fight with the Fireman. (He did revenge the loss with a one round knock out in their next encounter.)
But let us disregard these fights. Willard defeated an out of shape and old Johnson, who spent the previous three years overseas and avoiding prosecution from the Mann Act. When Dempsey fought Willard, Willard had only fought one time in four years. What we need to examine is boxing style. Dempsey fought boxers such as Tunney, Gibbons and Carpentier. He easily beat Carpentier and out slugged Gibbons. However, Tunney easily beat Dempsey twice. Tunney was a boxer in Johnson's class and showed that a great boxer could beat Dempsey. My critics will remind me that Dempsey had not fought in three years and was 31 years old. My counter is that Dempsey was only three years older than Tunney and in the rematch, it was Tunney who had taken the whole year off while Dempsey defeated Sharkey in a elimination fight. Dempsey did not have the excuse of being rusty in their second match. It was my belief that the Dempsey who defeated Willard would have probably beaten Tunney but the 1923 version that scratched out a decision against Gibbons would have had difficulty in beating Tunney.
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But let us disregard these fights. Willard defeated an out of shape and old Johnson, who spent the previous three years overseas and avoiding prosecution from the Mann Act. When Dempsey fought Willard, Willard had only fought one time in four years. What we need to examine is boxing style. Dempsey fought boxers such as Tunney, Gibbons and Carpentier. He easily beat Carpentier and out slugged Gibbons. However, Tunney easily beat Dempsey twice. Tunney was a boxer in Johnson's class and showed that a great boxer could beat Dempsey. My critics will remind me that Dempsey had not fought in three years and was 31 years old. My counter is that Dempsey was only three years older than Tunney and in the rematch, it was Tunney who had taken the whole year off while Dempsey defeated Sharkey in a elimination fight. Dempsey did not have the excuse of being rusty in their second match. It was my belief that the Dempsey who defeated Willard would have probably beaten Tunney but the 1923 version that scratched out a decision against Gibbons would have had difficulty in beating Tunney.
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Good article, very cool. Two great old school boxers, man. I gotta go with Dempsey. It sure would be a fight I'd like to see. I gotta tell ya, you guys crack me up sometimes. Somebody's callin' Johnson~Jackson three times in this article. Hell of a fight, but I'm in Dempsey's corner. 
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