Dempsey vs. Marciano

[Joe Beamish]

I can't give too much credit to the white guys who only fought other white guys. Not compared to Marciano, who defeated much better competition than Dempsey ever faced, excepting Tunney....another white guy who only fought white guys.

White heavyweights have never been good. Never. Except for Marciano.

[HOUDINI563]

You are making a mistake. Tunney and Dempsey were considered among boxing’s greatest talents. Dempsey DID fight black fighters. When the powers that be would not make a fight between him and Wills he himself searched for a promoter. An unheard of idea for a worlds hwt champion. There is no doubt that Dempsey wanted to fight Wills. No one wanted to see a black fighter have the chance to win the hwt championship. Tunney it appears never fought a black fighter. However he openly challenged Wills to a fight the winner to fight Dempsey. Wills refused.

[OctoberRed]

You are making a mistake. Tunney and Dempsey were considered among boxing’s greatest talents. Dempsey DID fight black fighters. When the powers that be would not make a fight between him and Wills he himself searched for a promoter. An unheard of idea for a worlds hwt champion. There is no doubt that Dempsey wanted to fight Wills. No one wanted to see a black fighter have the chance to win the hwt championship. Tunney it appears never fought a black fighter. However he openly challenged Wills to a fight the winner to fight Dempsey. Wills refused.

Houdini always sets the record straight with detailed info.

[The Old LefHook]

If you can't give too much credit, you must think whites are inferior and beating them does not mean too much, eh?

[Anthony342]

Houdini always sets the record straight with detailed info.

As did the original Houdini with his debunking efforts, much like James Randi today.

[HOUDINI563]

All magicians have difficulty surpassing Houdini. He did it all, created a persona unmatched by any performer since. So in the end current magicians fight to be rated alongside a man who died in 1926.

[billeau2]

All magicians have difficulty surpassing Houdini. He did it all, created a persona unmatched by any performer since. So in the end current magicians fight to be rated alongside a man who died in 1926.

I heard his magic was not so good. That he was more of an escape artist.

[HOUDINI563]

Magicians of the day were very jealous of Houdini. Houdini began as a pure magician but then formed his own type of magic.....the ability to escape from anything as if by magic. No one can be sure how good a pure magician Houdini was since aside from a short film clip of him performing card flourishes nothing exists to prove how good he was. However at his specialty he brought record breaking crowds to see him perform.

[Marchegiano]

I do honestly feel like colorline champions are hurt by the colorline. I have nothing against Dempsey. I am a fan. I don't necessarily believe he needs the Colored HW champs of his era on his resume for it to be a good resume, but, I do struggle to consider Dempsey a true World Champion given a good portion of the world's population was excluded.

[Ben Bolt]

I do honestly feel like colorline champions are hurt by the colorline. I have nothing against Dempsey. I am a fan. I don't necessarily believe he needs the Colored HW champs of his era on his resume for it to be a good resume, but, I do struggle to consider Dempsey a true World Champion given a good portion of the world's population was excluded.

Understandable, but a follow up to the thread I posted on Tommy Burns – he had some very harsh years after being defeated by Johnson. Not because he had lost the world crown, but because he had lost it to a black man. It was his fault.
If you were white in the 1910s-20s, it was a gamble to take on a black contender. Very much to lose if the outcome of the fight wasn’t in your favour.

In the 1930s, Joe Louis was directed by his handlers to take a low profile as the "provocative" Jack Johnson was still fresh in the establishment’s memory. If Louis had chosen another approach, it’s doubtful he had been allowed to fight for the heavy title.