was dempsey a bum?

[RockyMarcianofan00]

Hey kid achilles do you think Willard had a better chin then Marciano because I think thats garbage.....

[Kid Achilles]

I do. Marciano was very durable and had a lot of heart but he was rocked by men who were decent but not great hitters. Willard barely flinched when Johnson, who was a very good puncher when he tried and in that fight he was trying, threw everything at him. Willard had one of the best chins of any heavyweight champion. His ability to absorb punishment and keep coming was one of his most notable traits. I'd say he had a better chin than Marciano, yes.

[RockyMarcianofan00]

I do. Marciano was very durable and had a lot of heart but he was rocked by men who were decent but not great hitters. Willard barely flinched when Johnson, who was a very good puncher when he tried and in that fight he was trying, threw everything at him. Willard had one of the best chins of any heavyweight champion. His ability to absorb punishment and keep coming was one of his most notable traits. I'd say he had a better chin than Marciano, yes.

I'm a man who cannot catch a break...but at least he's truthful...

I still believe, however, people don't give Marciano's durability enough credit...Punchers or not the man was only staggered a handful of times, and knocked down twice, both of which he was up for before a 5 count...

[butterfly1964]

I'm a man who cannot catch a break...but at least he's truthful...

I still believe, however, people don't give Marciano's durability enough credit...Punchers or not the man was only staggered a handful of times, and knocked down twice, both of which he was up for before a 5 count...

Willard was never knocked down before he fought Marciano. Jack Johnson who is a considerably bigger puncher than Walcott or Moore beat up on him for 20 rounds, and he didn't even flinch. No way marciano could survive that.

[hemichromis]

Willard was never knocked down before he fought Marciano. Jack Johnson who is a considerably bigger puncher than Walcott or Moore beat up on him for 20 rounds, and he didn't even flinch. No way marciano could survive that.

i assume you mean demsey!
willarsd hasd a good chin but it cxoulsdn't have been THAT good, he was knocked down 7 times in the first round ansd was lucky to get saved by thwe bell!

marciano also had a great chin but hwe faced few hard hitters

[butterfly1964]

i assume you mean demsey!
willarsd hasd a good chin but it cxoulsdn't have been THAT good, he was knocked down 7 times in the first round ansd was lucky to get saved by thwe bell!

marciano also had a great chin but hwe faced few hard hitters

He was floored seven times in the first round because there was no neutral corner rule. If there was, he would not have gone down more than maybe three times.

[Kid Achilles]

Who knows if he even goes down twice with a neutral corner rule. Even with Dempsey hitting him almost at will with HUGE punches that would kill most people, Willard fights back through it all and refuses to quit after that round. Willard's chin was on the level of Chuvalo, Cobb, etc. Dempsey would have done the same thing to those guys if he caught them with a good shot like he did with Willard, the left hook that started that whole savage all out attack.

Dempsey hurt him good once and never let up. The rules of the day allowed him to keep hitting Willard as soon as he was up off the canvas.

Marciano had a great chin but Willard's was exceptional. Chuvalo good IMO.

[brownpimp88]

Who knows if he even goes down twice with a neutral corner rule. Even with Dempsey hitting him almost at will with HUGE punches that would kill most people, Willard fights back through it all and refuses to quit after that round. Willard's chin was on the level of Chuvalo, Cobb, etc. Dempsey would have done the same thing to those guys if he caught them with a good shot like he did with Willard, the left hook that started that whole savage all out attack.

Dempsey hurt him good once and never let up. The rules of the day allowed him to keep hitting Willard as soon as he was up off the canvas.

Marciano had a great chin but Willard's was exceptional. Chuvalo good IMO.

Tyson, lennox and holyfield have all surpassed dempsey. Jack doesnt have a great resume like everyone thinks he does.

[SABBATH]

Marciano had a great chin but Willard's was exceptional. Chuvalo good IMO.

Here's a newsflash for you Kid. Chuvalo had 93 pro fights fights over the span of 22 years and never tasted the canvas once. That's a hell of alot more than Marciano or Willard can say, so your belief that Chuvalo's chin was "good" compared to Marciano's "great" and Willard's "exceptional" doesn't hold much water in knowledgeable boxing circles, many who consider Chuvalo to possess the best chin P4P of all time.

****, Marciano and Willard don't even have the number of fights and professional years COMBINED that Chuvalo did, not to mention calibre of opposition.

Willard took a great left hook from Dempsey. Check out the left hook Chuvalo took from Foreman and the ensuing barrage he stood up to from George Foreman.



That aint' a mere "good" chin.

[Kid Achilles]

When did I say Chuvalo had merely a good chin? I said Marciano was the one who only had a very good chin, Chuvalo's is up there with Cobb, Mercer, Willard and the rest as what I'd describe as excellent, the cream of the crop. The very best.

I know you're a Canadian, but trust me, I'm a Chuvalo fan too. The guy has lived a tough but honorable life in and out of the ring.

But if Foreman was allowed to tee off on Chuvalo with the small gloves they used in Dempsey's era, without a ref stepping in, I believe Chuvalo would have been dropped. He was clearly very, very hurt in that fight. Do you really think he wouldn't have been floored if the ref just allowed Foreman to continue to go to town on him? What about if he wore Dempsey's gloves?

There are limits to what the human body can withstand. Chuvalo was as tough as they come but so was Willard. Put Chuvalo in an era with smaller gloves and less merciful rules and see if he can avoid getting knocked down by his big punching contemporaries in Frazier, Foreman, etc.

It's no slight to Chuvalo that I'm comparing Willard's chin to his. Rather I used his name as it a benchmark of the ultimate in physical ruggedness displayed in the boxing gym.

However, I do believe he would have been floored if he was hit in the same manner as Willard was in Toledo, with the same hard, accurate punches, with those smaller gloves, and the same consistency of punishment with no time to recovery because of the rules in those days. I don't care who you are, if Dempsey hits you over and over again with his best shots, you're going down.