Dempsey vs. Marciano

[butterfly1964]

they both were beasts back in da day. who do you think was better?

[M26]

Well, Jack Dempsey was the better boxer and had more speed than did Marciano.

How ever, Marciano had a better chin and more power, and I believe Marciano would come back from a solid beating to take out Dempsey later on.

Rocky Marciano by ko 5-8.

[cple]

My previous response to a similiar thread:

I have always maintained that Dempsey was a bad matchup for Marciano. Though Rocky does have the edge in one-punch power and possesses a slightly better chin, Dempsey has the advantage in handspeed and has a much more exspansive arsenal of punches. I think Dempsey would land two punches to every one Marciano lands. Add in the fact that Rocky was somewhat of a slow starter and Dempsey was one of the quickest and you have a tough day in the office for Rocky. I think Dempsey's initial onslaught would take a lot out of Marciano, leaving him too hurt to stage a comeback. Rocky definately has his moments, but Dempsey stops him on cuts late in the fight.

[Zhen]

Rocky's biggest wins were against top boxers who were past their prime. Sure he beat HOFers such as Louis and Walcott, but they were no longer at their best by the time they had fought Marciano.

[butterfly1964]

i believe dempsey would win, because in my opinion, their punching power were p4p the same. but in terms of dimensions, marciano was five-ten, 185, and had a 67inch reach. dempsey, however was six-foot, 195, and hed a 77inch reach. plus dempsey's hands were faster.

i would say dempsey wins in a 12 round ko.

[LethalRight79]

This fight would be very interesting, they both have short, heavy precision punches. I haven't seen to much of Dempsey, but from what I have seen, Marciano will stop him in the late rounds. I think Dempsey will knock down Marciano in the early rounds, but Marciano will tire him out for the late rounds and possibly stop him, but Marciano got cut a lot, I think it's either Marciano by Stoppage or Decision, or Dempsey knocks him out mid rounds.

This is a very hard matchup to predict.

[TuPrincipe]

My previous response to a similiar thread:

I have always maintained that Dempsey was a bad matchup for Marciano. Though Rocky does have the edge in one-punch power and possesses a slightly better chin, Dempsey has the advantage in handspeed and has a much more exspansive arsenal of punches. I think Dempsey would land two punches to every one Marciano lands. Add in the fact that Rocky was somewhat of a slow starter and Dempsey was one of the quickest and you have a tough day in the office for Rocky. I think Dempsey's initial onslaught would take a lot out of Marciano, leaving him too hurt to stage a comeback. Rocky definately has his moments, but Dempsey stops him on cuts late in the fight.

Fair point.

Dempsey reminded me of Mike Tyson in terms of pure adrenaline and agression. Can't take anything away from his fighting though. A purveyour of pain, unstoppable in his prime. How the hell could you knock Dempsey? His rise to the top was meteoric. The guy had every tool a heavyweight champion could ask for: heart, handspeed, chin, power, quick reflexes, stamina and underated boxing skills. The old guys like Ray Arcel and Lou Duval all claim he was the greatest heavyweight of all time. Maybe Ali or Louis could beat him, but he was nothing short of greatness.
Made the mold that Liston & Tyson would follow.

He would beat most heavyweights of the past and all heavyweights of the 90's. It's just too bad he partied his career away.

[M26]

Fair point.

Dempsey reminded me of Mike Tyson in terms of pure adrenaline and agression. Can't take anything away from his fighting though. A purveyour of pain, unstoppable in his prime. How the hell could you knock Dempsey? His rise to the top was meteoric. The guy had every tool a heavyweight champion could ask for: heart, handspeed, chin, power, quick reflexes, stamina and underated boxing skills. The old guys like Ray Arcel and Lou Duval all claim he was the greatest heavyweight of all time. Maybe Ali or Louis could beat him, but he was nothing short of greatness.
Made the mold that Liston & Tyson would follow.

He would beat most heavyweights of the past and all heavyweights of the 90's. It's just too bad he partied his career away.

Jack Dempsey was great, there is no doubt about it. However, his gameness would be his downfall in my opinion. Dempsey would be more than willing to trade with Marciano, and then it comes down to who hits harder and who can take the best punch.

Rocky Marciano had the harder punch and he most likely had a stronger chin as well. Dempsey could hurt him, sure, but not stop him.

I still say Marciano by knockout after a brutal and entertaining slugfest.

Rocky Marciano by ko6.

[Kid Achilles]

Does Marciano really hit harder? It's debatable. Dempsey KO'ed Fred Fulton, a huge 6'5" guy and a respected contender (I believe he was ranked #1 at the time) in 18 seconds. The job he did on Willard is still shocking, it seems unnatural to see a 180 lb fighter send a 250 lb man staggering around the ring like a ragdoll.

In terms of punching power, Dempsey is top ten all time material. I think Marciano may be as well, but you are selling Dempsey's punch short.

Bodypunching and inside fighting go to Dempsey. He had a method to his bodypunching, he threw short shovel hooks and uppercuts in close quarters. He threw them in combinations. You can see this in the Gibbons fight. Marciano on the other hand, a bit like Tyson, needed some space for his punches. He couldn't knock a guy out with 6" punches like Dempsey did.

The only qualities I give to Marciano for certain are stamina and chin. Footwork, punching technique, natural reflexes, handspeed all go to Dempsey.

Marciano always has a chance with "Suzie Q", but I think Dempsey stops him in the middle rounds, or perhaps even with an early assault.

[M26]

Does Marciano really hit harder? It's debatable. Dempsey KO'ed Fred Fulton, a huge 6'5" guy and a respected contender (I believe he was ranked #1 at the time) in 18 seconds. The job he did on Willard is still shocking, it seems unnatural to see a 180 lb fighter send a 250 lb man staggering around the ring like a ragdoll.

In terms of punching power, Dempsey is top ten all time material. I think Marciano may be as well, but you are selling Dempsey's punch short.

Bodypunching and inside fighting go to Dempsey. He had a method to his bodypunching, he threw short shovel hooks and uppercuts in close quarters. He threw them in combinations. You can see this in the Gibbons fight. Marciano on the other hand, a bit like Tyson, needed some space for his punches. He couldn't knock a guy out with 6" punches like Dempsey did.

The only qualities I give to Marciano for certain are stamina and chin. Footwork, punching technique, natural reflexes, handspeed all go to Dempsey.

Marciano always has a chance with "Suzie Q", but I think Dempsey stops him in the middle rounds, or perhaps even with an early assault.

I see your argument. Jack Dempsey was the better boxer and was also faster.

How ever, I can't help but to think that if you run after Rocky Marciano, you'r gonna take some shots in return. And Dempsey did not have the chin to stand up to those thundering shots in my opinion. Further, I still say Marciano had the harder punch. Dempsey had alot of power, sure, but he also hurt his foes because of his technique and speed (sort of like a prime Tyson). Marciano just needed one good, clean punch and it would be all over.

When asked about Marcianos punching power, Dempsey was quoted saying that Marciano definitely had the harder punch. To prove this he pointed to the fact that Marciano had power to knock you out with one single punch, while Dempsey more often than not needed several knock downs to end a fight.

Of course, Dempsey could very well just be saying this to be polite... But you never know.

Jack Dempsey would take control of this fight and give Marciano a good whuppin' early on. He would not be able to stop Marciano though, and sooner or later "The Rock" connects with a few bombs and Dempsey would go down for keeps.

Rocky Marciano by ko6.