BoxRec

I seem to remember seeing some photographs published of the
"Sultan of Swat' in boxing gear?
Was this a publicity photo or was the Babe going to spare with Jack Dempsey or some other famous boxer of that time?
if they sparred,was any footage filmed that exists?
what would have been the Babe's best punch?
A right uppercut?

from what i understand they did have an exhibition bout, and from what i read about it, Ruth actually did some good damage to Dempsey, as both men were bloody.

The Sultan of Swat was doing some gym work to get into shape for the baseball season,nothing more.Much as I love the Babe he'd have as much chance of doing damage to Dempsey as Jack would have of hitting 3 home runs in a single World Series game,which Ruth did twice.

ive got the pic of ruth and dempsey both comparing their fists!

http://www.fighttoys.com/Dempsey-Ruth.htm

read the small caption below the picture, from what it says, was a "bloody battle".

Brutu wrote:I seem to remember seeing some photographs published of the
"Sultan of Swat' in boxing gear?
Was this a publicity photo or was the Babe going to spare with Jack Dempsey or some other famous boxer of that time?
if they sparred,was any footage filmed that exists?
what would have been the Babe's best punch?
A right uppercut?

I'm pretty sure that this was just a publicity stunt. Allegedly, the Babe, although a mountain of a man, was not an especially gifted brawler. If you read THE authoritative biography on Ty Cobb (the author's name escapes me at the moment, but the movie "Cobb" was based on this book) you will find that, contrary to common presumptions, Ruth could hardly fight at all and got his ass kicked in more than one bench-clearing brawl. Dempsey would have surely anihilated him.

Ruth-Dempsey was nothing other than a publicity stunt, plain and simple!

As great as Ruth was at baseball Dempsey would have completely decimated Ruth in very, very quick and ugly fashion! You think the Willard bout was a massacre...a Dempsey-Ruth bout would be even worse!

Ruth had about as much a chance against Dempsey as Wilt Chamberlain had against Muhammad Ali...it's actually laughable to think that they could have had a chance!

Though I like Pete's estimation a lot more...

"Much as I love the Babe he'd have as much chance of doing damage to Dempsey as Jack would have of hitting 3 home runs in a single World Series game,which Ruth did twice."

Yea but wasn't the Dempsey-Ruth exhibition match AFTER Dempsey retired? Dempsey wanted to try another comeback and had over 100 exhibition bouts, but gave up after losing to "Kingfish" Levinsky, who fought both the worst and best Heavies and Light Heavies of the time, and had a pretty bad record overall.

Not saying Ruth would have a chance, but look at it this way, 714 home runs total, and people are still having a hard time doing what Ruth did...you gotta figure, The Babe had a helluva lot of power. Sure Dempsey was faster and a bomber in his own right, one of the best, but I am sure Ruth could have popped him good a few times.

The Ruth-Dempsey benefit exhibition was one of those comedy exhibitions that they had quite a bit of during the era...just like when they put little Frankie Genaro in with Primo Carnera...the bout was nothing but fun...there was nothing serious about it. Dempsey was not seriously thinking about his comeback until the 1930s...his comic sketch with Ruth occurred in early 1929.

By the way...Kingfish Levinsky was a good heavyweight of the era! Not an A Level heavy, but certainly in the B Level!

The power of hitting is a lot different than power in punching, not to even mention the defense that top fighters know. The Babe would not have had the least bit of a chance at all against Dempsey...hell, Ruth would not have a chance against a C, or D Level heavyweight...much less one of the greatest of all time! Dempsey would have simply decimated Ruth in very, very quick fashion! Just like Pete said...Ruth had about as much a chance against Dempsey as Dempsey would have had a chance in hitting three home runs off of Walter Johnson in a World Series game! Thats how far apart they each were respectively compared in each others sport!

I have never read about an exhibition between Jack
Dempsey and Babe Ruth. According to one biography
of the Babe, there was talk about him quitting and
becoming a boxer before the 1919 or 1920 season,
but one has to remember that Babe was holding out
(or trying to get a raise) at the time.

In my personal opinion, Babe was a great baseball
player, but it is likely that he didn't have the mental
makeup to be a fighter. For one thing, could you see
Babe doing all of the required training before a given
bout? He had to struggle to keep in condition in order
to play baseball, hardly as taxing as training for a
bout. It also appears that Babe was a good-hearted
individual who didn't like to hurt people.

If Jack Dempsey and Babe Ruth has a serious boxing
exhibition, I believe that the latter would have been
ruined. When you have as talented a baseball player
as the Babe, it is foolish to risk being in the ring,
especially if there is a great chance that you would
not have much success.

- Chuck Johnston