Jack Dempsey vs Lennox Lewis

[juggernaut666]

As much chance and actually smaller than Marciano defeating Klitchko...no analysis needed.

[Pugilist_Spec]

As much chance and actually smaller than Marciano defeating Klitchko...no analysis needed.

I'd give Dempsey a better chance at beating a Klitschko or Lewis than Rocky. Taller, longer, faster hands and footwork, plus he's a hooker.

[Tom Cruise]

I think the size difference would be too much... but its worth mentioning that Dempsey struggled more with smaller opponents in his career than he did taller/bigger ones. He also regularly sparred vs the 6'6" height 84" reach 'Big' Bill Tate. The one of the sessions is on youtube and Dempsey looks very comfortable dealing with height and length.

Not surprising given his bob and weave style.

However Lewis wasnt just tall, he was heavy and a very good puncher and boxer. A step too far i think.

Maybe Dempsey has a chance early vs the green Lewis who fought McCall, or the overconfident one who was KO'd by Rahman. But prime for Prime, its Lewis all the way

[Fury4daWIN]

No light heavyweight beats any version of Lennox. It's as simple as that.

[The Old LefHook]

Dempsey wouldn't even be considered a real heavyweight today. Does Kovalev beat Tyson Fury? Of course not.

How about: Does cruiserweight Holyfield beat Tyson Fury? To me the answer to this is yes yes yes. A difference in quality can counterbalance a difference in size up to a certain limit. Henry Armstrong could never beat Jack Sharkey or Ingomar Johan's son, but Bob Foster could have beaten Frazier or Ali, for instance. I would give Kovalev a better chance to beat Fury than Foster had against Ali or Frazier because those matches were pure quality vs quality, the only disparity being size with no counterbalancing difference in quality. The great Foster fought great versions of those two great fighters. I would give Foster at least even chances against more than a few heavyweight champs if he had come in their eras.

Fury seems to be a low quality practitioner without a big punch, and Kovalev appears to be a high quality pug with a big punch for his weight though probably not enough horsepower to stretch Fury out cold on the timbers. Would Fury stand his ground or play cute for the show? This is important. Does Kovalev have any adaptability? We don't know these things. I believe cruiserweight Holyfield would have mopped the floor with Fury, though, because we know a lot about Holyfield.

[billeau2]

Size is an unknown variable...and people can assume otherwise but there are other factors at play that negate size. Dempsey beat big men equal in size and strength to someone like lewis. Dempsey was even bum rushed by the mad bull of Pompais... literally butted out of the ring and went to work on the guy. So...again we don't really know how much the size advantage would carry the day for Lewis.

We also know Lewis is susceptable to a big punch under some circmstances.

[ShoulderRoll]

Size is an unknown variable...and people can assume otherwise but there are other factors at play that negate size. Dempsey beat big men equal in size and strength to someone like lewis. Dempsey was even bum rushed by the mad bull of Pompais... literally butted out of the ring and went to work on the guy. So...again we don't really know how much the size advantage would carry the day for Lewis.

We also know Lewis is susceptable to a big punch under some circmstances.

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.

[kafkod]

The Mauler gets Mauled, get real guys. Dempsey would be a cruiserweight today.

Dempsey wouldn't even be considered a real heavyweight today. Does Kovalev beat Tyson Fury? Of course not.

The cruiserweight division was introduced because it was necessary. HWs were getting bigger, on average, due to higher calory intake during childhood, and boxing coaches were evolving new ways of training and fighting to enable the really big fellas to use their size to their advantage in ways that old Jess Willard never knew about.

Dempsey was tough as teak and fit as a fiddle. He also used shifting moves to cut distance quickly and land punches from long range. He would have an outside chance of catching Lewis out with a sneak attack like that, but 9 times out of 10 Lennox would use his height, jab and weight to shut Dempsey out and beat him on points in the same way he handled Tua.

[Fury4daWIN]

The cruiserweight division was introduced because it was necessary. HWs were getting bigger, on average, due to higher calory intake during childhood, and boxing coaches were evolving new ways of training and fighting to enable the really big fellas to use their size to their advantage in ways that old Jess Willard never knew about.

Dempsey was tough as teak and fit as a fiddle. He also used shifting moves to cut distance quickly and land punches from long range. He would have an outside chance of catching Lewis out with a sneak attack like that, but 9 times out of 10 Lennox would use his height, jab and weight to shut Dempsey out and beat him on points in the same way he handled Tua.

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.

[kafkod]

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.

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.