Jack Dempsey versus Mike Tyson

[goose 5]

12 rounds.

[DrDuke]

It would be an intense short fight with a KO by Tyson. Both were dangerous aggressors, while Mike was much faster and explosive.

[scorpio83]

Two all-time great fighters would slug it out. However, Tyson would score the heavier punches and either KO Dempsey in 8 rounds or decision him if the fight goes to distance.

[Ambling Alp II]

To play the devils advocate, Dempsey was taller and had a longer reach.

Dempsey also always did better against opponents that outweighed him by a lot.

[margaret thatcher]

To play the devils advocate, Dempsey was taller and had a longer reach.

Dempsey also always did better against opponents that outweighed him by a lot.

taller and longer reach

[bollocks]

I'd say mentol toughness would be a major factor here and Tyson was not known for having loads of it. Dempsey ko's him by round 10

[Ambling Alp II]

To play the devils advocate, Dempsey was taller and had a longer reach.

Dempsey also always did better against opponents that outweighed him by a lot.

taller and longer reach

He said the size difference alone pointed towards Tyson.. I was playing the devils advocate. Try to keep up.

[Ambling Alp II]

I'd say mentol toughness would be a major factor here and Tyson was not known for having loads of it. Dempsey ko's him by round 10

That would be an advantage for the Manassa Mauler. There is a lot to consider.

[margaret thatcher]

To play the devils advocate, Dempsey was taller and had a longer reach.

Dempsey also always did better against opponents that outweighed him by a lot.

taller and longer reach

He said the size difference alone pointed towards Tyson.. I was playing the devils advocate. Try to keep up.

yep, taller and longer reach

[emallini]

Tyson in 1 round.

[HomicideHenry]

Dempsey the contender, from my view, was certainly superior to Dempsey the champion. Up until his arrival rarely did anyone ever see fighters fight so brutally and aggressively.

Not since John L. Sullivan had we seen someone like that. Ironically it was the autobiography of the Boston Strong Boy that Dempsey's mother read while she was pregnant with him.

Can you imagine leaving home at the age of 15 and riding the rails, hitchhiking, walking across the country having bare knuckle boxing matches for nickels and dimes and maybe a free lunch and a beer--- just so you can get the experience before turning professional?

Being maybe 150 pounds, fighting grown men who outweighed you by 50 pounds or more in basically no rules situations in taverns and street corners or wherever matches could be staged? He had over 100 such bouts before putting on a boxing glove.

People were amazed that a man who was basically a middleweight, in those early years, could crack like a heavyweight. Even when he put on a bit more bulk and was campaigning at 175 people were still amazed at how hard he hit.

He basically cleaned out the entire Rocky Mountain area before going to New York. It was a heartbreaking and humbling experience where he really truly saw the gritty and ugly side of boxing, being mismanaged and mishandled.

Still, despite New York being a failure, he left enough of an impression on a manager out on the West Coast named Doc Kearns who read the dailies on this kid from Colorado who gave John Lester Johnson a good fight.

Dempsey struggled a bit when he returned to his home state, even getting stopped in the first round by veteran Fireman Jim Flynn. 1916-1917 was the low point for the young Dempsey, losing decisions to Willie Meehan and most of the time working as a miner or rancher to make ends meet.

But the telegram came from Kearns nevertheless, and he sent Dempsey money to come meet him in California. The birth of one of the most successful teams in boxing was about to blow the roof off the heavyweight division.

Dempsey was able to focus full-time on training, and Kearns made sure that Dempsey was well fed and comfortable. He got Dempsey matches that would improve his skills, rather than throw him to the wolves like previous managers had done.

From March 1917 to July 1919 he fought 30 times (26-1-3) avenging losses to Flynn and Meehan along the way, as well as knocking out White Hope colossuses like Carl Morris, Fred Fulton and Arthur Pelkey. He also beat Gunboat Smith, Billy Miske and Battling Levinsky.

And of course Dempsey would annihilate Jess Willard in three one-sided rounds, a man who went 26 rounds with Jack Johnson. Jack the Giant Killer was born.

Any of those men are comparable or better (and by a substantial margin) than the men Mike Tyson blew away before facing Trevor Berbick for the WBC title.

Just to put things into perspective because so many people want to say that Dempsey has no chance here. It would basically be Tyson facing himself, for the most part.

One man was a fighter by instinct and the other man was a fighter by design. Yes Mike Tyson was more defensive, and more speed--- but I think even he would tell you how great Jack Dempsey really was.

Many people have said over time that Dempsey was better than Joe Frazier. So people really need to keep it in mind that this wouldn't have come easy at all for Mike Tyson even if Jack Dempsey lost to him.