Dream fight. Jack Dempsey vs Joe Louis. Who wins?

Question

15 rounds in their prime.

Dempsey

Hgt: 6' 3/4"

Wgt: 195

Total bouts: 81

Wins: 61

Losses: 6

Draws: 8

Ko's: 50

Times Ko'ed: 1 time

Louis

Hgt: 6'1 1/2"

Wgt: 205

Total bouts: 71

Wins: 68

Losses: 3

Ko's: 54

Times Ko'ed: 2 times.

Answer 1

Never nothin easy with you Toughguy. From the king of matchups, another great bout.

This may come down to who had the better chin. Louis was put down by lesser men than Dempsey, on the other hand Louis beat some great boxers as well. I dont think Louis would make quick work of Dempsey. Why? Louis had trouble with crouching fighters Galento and Godoy. These guy's dont come close to Dempsey's crouching, bob-and-weave while continually attacking, or speed and footwork.( If they gave Louis trouble, wouldnt Dempsey, even more so?)

Joe could be methodical in a bout, waiting and picking proper shots (which could play a part in picking Jack apart.) However, the longer it took Joe to do this the more trouble he could find himself into with a fast swarming Jack.

Jack would be the far busier, landing more punches, in fact it would be hard to find in history, if hit by Jack as often and hard, one to win.(Could Joe last to get in one of his more accurate ko punches in. And clean?) Joe was a great counter-puncher with extreme accuracy, if he does hurt Jack and forces Dempsey to slow down with caution, Louis could start to set up and win with his great piston-like jab. Then Joe could upset Jack with his control.(AS Dempsey could get wild at times.)

Who has the better chin? I feel Jack does. Jack could take Joe's shots better than Joe could take Dempsey's. And with being close or equal in power, it could hurt Joe's chances with the lesser chin. And I feel a prime Dempsey was a little harder to hit than a prime Louis.

Also Jack was faster in footwork, mobility, AND from more angles. With Joe's lesser footwork, Jack may be finding Joe more often than Joe finding Jack.

Joe would HAVE to press the attack to win and catch Dempsey coming in and nailing him (But timing Dempsey was dangerous.) Joe was textbook, with precision and better accuracy over Jack. Would it be enough to offset a Dempsey onslaught ? Possibly, Joe seemed to find a way to win.

Toughguy, I wish I could be a bit more assertive in my choice in this bout, but I feel it could sway either way. This could come down to chins, so I would give Jack the very, very slighest edge.(?) Might just come down to who felt the better on the day of the bout as well.

Answer 2

the brown bomber definitely.  he's got more wins and KOs and is regularly regarded as one of the best ever, at least in the top 5 pound for pound.  10 points of muscle is a big advantage too.  I probably wouldn't have heard about Jack Dempsey as much if not for the Godfather movie where Michael shot the police chief there.

Answer 3

Dempsey was a bigger, more aggressive version of Billy Conn, and Jack wouldn't have ran or hid.  Jack wouldn't have won either, he would have came straight at Louis and Joe Louis wasn't Firpo, Jack wouldn't have been able to get up, even with the ringside reporters helping him.  

Louis by KO early, Jack's fearless aggression would have been his down fall.   Schmeling's first fight was a fluke, and I don't think Louis took Max serious the first time.  There would be no underestimating Jack Dempsey, Louis would have came in shape, and Jack wouldn't see six rounds before Joe Koed Dempsey.

Answer 4

Got to go against the boxing pundits here.I don't think Louis,great fighter he was,ever came across a Jack Dempsey,hence his fights being cristened'bum of the month'and I've plenty of his fights to show him being outsmarted by boxers,like Tommy Farr and Billy Conn,utill they made a mistake and paid a big price.I dont think Dempsey would have lost the fight and sxxx himself before the bell sounded and would have took the scrap to Louis.Louis is technically superior but Dempsey would have worried him from start to finish and wouldny have laid down like some of Loius opponents(Schemeling part2)anyone prepared to fight Lois stood a chance,ill give Dempsey a dec over 15rnds!

Answer 5

louis has the faster hands here, and he can outwork dempsey enough to take a decision

Answer 6

I could see Joe Louis suffering an early knockdown.  Dempsey would jump right on him.  He might even score two knockdowns in the first 2 or 3 rounds.  Louis would survive them.  

Once Joe gets set he begins to line his punches up and, from that point on, he doesnt miss many.  Dempsey is NOT like Conn or any of the runners Joe had to track down.  Louis would not have to search for him.  

There are some punches Dempsey didnt throw.  He wasnt a jabber and he didnt use the uppercut very often.  He had both a deadly hook and right hand.  Louis used EVERY punch in the book.  The short inside uppercut was one of the deadliest.  NO ONE would survive too many of those.  

Because both are GREATS who dominated their respective eras its hard to envision either losing.  IF you're a Dempsey fan or even a boxing fan who knows a little history,  its hard to imagine ANY of the GREATS losing anything other than a close fight.  Dempsey, Louis, Marciano and Ali are four champions whom most people cant imagine losing.

However, styles make fights and in this one,  I dont see it going the distance or even very long.   Both fighters are heavy hitters who could knock another man silly with one or a few blows.  The difference here is styles.  

Louis, being more straight up would catch a few early on and hit the canvas at least once.   Dempsey would not show Louis much respect.  This would cost him later in the fight.  Dempsey survived that scare against Luis Firpo but Firpo is no Joe Louis.  

In round 6, Dempsey forces Louis against the ropes and into a corner.  As he lets loose, Joe unleashes a clean uppercut.  Dempsey falls in a seated position.  He rises.  One thing about Joe Louis,  NOBODY finishes a hurt opponent better than Louis.  In most cases, Once he has you hurt, the fight's over.  

After Dempsey rises on unsteady legs.  Joe very patiently picks his shots and sets up another short very hard right.  Four more punches land Flush on Dempsey's jaw on the way down.

Louis by KO in 6

Answer 7

Joe Louis.

Jack Dempsey will "forget to duck"

Answer 8

Great fight. Jack Dempsey would knock Joe Louis down early since Jack is a faster starter than Joe, Joe need a round or two to warm up. Joe will come back and win the later part of the fight. If the fight happen during Jack Dempsey reign, Jack would win because there is no standing eight count. I remember watching the Jack Dempsey versus Jess Willard fight, Jack would stand right above Jess, and would hit him as soon as Jess get up. No one can survive that. Now if the fight happen during Joe Louis time then I say Joe will suffer an earlier knock down but will eventually come back and stop Jack in the 14th round like he did Billy Conn.