Quote Originally Posted by IamInuit View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Mars_ax View Post
Who knows, Johnson was as tough as they come in his prime and so was Dempsey who destroyed Willard. Granted Johnson was way past his prime when Willard beat him, but it does make you think that the Mananas Mauler would have had a punchers chance. This is one of those fights that boxing fans have already debated for the last 90 plus years.

Good thread.
Willard was a tree trunk with a tad of new growth flailing in the wind. Dempsey ducked Langford and just about anybody else with a different shade. Greb was the only one over that time frame the crossed the colour barrier. Btw Dempsey ducked him also.
I'm not so sure Dempsey ducked anyone, perhaps it was Tex Richard and Jack Kearns who thought that these might be a high risk, low financial reward fights when Dempsey was champion. I'd like to believe that Jack would fight anyone they put in front of him, whether or not he would have won is a different story. Dempsey says as much in his many bios, but who really knows.