Dempsey sparring vs Big Bill Tate

[1899sharkey]

Willie Meehan was a slickster, in a four roun fight it was very easy for him to win a couple of rounds. I dont argue that Greb was impressive while sparring with Jack but i have to believe a real fight would have been Dempseys without a life and death struggle. Theres been numerous middles that could hang with the heavys for a few good rounds.Its nice reading some comments from knowledgeable fight fans.

[andrewr62]

@1899sharkey In a real bout I don't think Greb had the power to seriously hurt Dempsey. Greb did not have the movement of say a Tunney or Gibbons. So Greb likely would a have stood toe to toe and try to overwhelm Jack with hand speed and a volume of punches . This would have exposed him to Dempsey's powerful body attack. Just can't see a man of Greb's slight build absorbing those Dempsey hooks to the body for long. I think Dempsey would have stopped him in the mid rounds.

[1saxonwolf]

@andrewr62 I agree with most of your comments. Though my understanding of Greb was he had excellent movement, in fact so much so as to bewilder both Tunney & Gibbons. After 1st fight Tunney was advised by B. Leonard that only by attacking the body could u beat him. Head hunting was fruitless. Golden advice. Hence I agree with your Dempsey synopsis, body attack would wear him out, then boom shift to head. Ala Sharkey.

[andrewr62]

@1saxonwolf Unfortunately there is no actual fight footage of Greb. Seems odd since he fought so many times.

[1saxonwolf]

Todays "Superheavyweights" r nothing new !! Do some #* research before you post.

Lennox Lewis-6'5" 230-250

V. Klit 6'7" 240-250

Dempsey opponents:J. Willard 6'5" 230-250 K. Morris 6'4" 220-240 F. Fulton 6'6" 210-220. Chief sparring partners. Big B. Tate 6'6" 220+ G.Godfrey 6'3" 230-260. Dempsey knocked everyone of them out !! This piss poor argument is exalted by people who never boxed/sparred, just wanna bees who watch films. The 6ft 190lb man your viewing would beat anyone of any time.

[toby099]

@1saxonwolf

i agree, i hate it when people say the klistchos's would annihilate everyone from the past just because there bigger

they forget to mention that there unskilled and slow as hell

[1saxonwolf]

@toby099 Your right buddy. Those people r telling you how little they know about boxing. This little clip reveals tons about greatness. Study and learn. This fighter here put against anyone would win. Period. The greatest boxing mind of the last 100 years, Ray Arcel, agreed.

[andrewr62]

@toby099 Vladimir K is not the slowest heavyweight champion ever nor does he lack

a champions skills or punch. True he reigns in weak era but that is hardly his fault.

He's far from worst champion ever and would have given any heavyweight champion a stern test. Dempsey did beat some big men but apart from Fulton and possibly Willard none were first raters.

[1899sharkey]

@andrewr62 - So... who wins between a prime Dempsey and a prime Vitaly? A prime Waldimir v Dempsey? Just curious about your opinion.

[andrewr62]

@1899sharkey Tthere is a huge difference between Vitaly and

Vladimir K. Vladimir is a much more polished boxer than his older brother. Having said that Dempsey wins against Vitaly. Against Vladimir, Dempsey would be dealing with a good left jab, and right but also a very good left hook which many of Dempseys big opponents, Fulton, Morris, Willard lacked. Outcome depends on how much punishment Dempsey could avoid while trying to get inside. Dempsey early Vladimir late by decison.

[1899sharkey]

@andrewr62 - Thanx. I'd take Jack early against Vladimir.

[andrewr62]

@1saxonwolf Funny how Dempsey actually struggled against men smaller that himself

and handled larger slower men with ease. Tunney, Gibbons, even Meehan all gave Dempsey problems. Not to mention Harry Greb who by most accounts bested Dempsey in sparring.

[1saxonwolf]

@andrewr62 Did he "struggle" against "smaller" men ? Actually he mostly knocked them out. He & Tunney were same size. He dominated Gibbons at Tom's game. Meehan were 4 rnd fights. Paxton is selling a book about Greb & it was a few rnds of sparring. Dempsey hit Greb so hard it lifted him off the ground. But, the way to beat Dempsey surely is to try & out box him. Tunney did, Gibbons didn't. Gibbons quote, "anybody Jack can hit he beats". Is why big guys get KO'd.

[andrewr62]

@1saxonwolf Maybe, google Dempsey-Greb.html. Interesting articles and quotes regarding Greb and Dempsey sparring and attempts at singing for a real bout. Greb seems to have more than held his own against Dempsey. Why discount the Meehan bouts? Give Willie his due, he handled Dempsey very will in their meetings 4 rounds or not. He also holds a decision over Langford.

[1saxonwolf]

@andrewr62 Iv'e read a bit about the Greb sparring sessions. Yeah, sounds like he more than held his own. In sparring for a few rnds. Greb was great. IMO, over 15 + rnds, Dempsey would beat him. Didn't Greb say he would be ok for about 8 rnds, but after that allude to the fact Dempsey would catch up with him ? Didn't discount Meehan's ability. Fact is they were 4 rnd fights. He holds some wins over impressive foes. Apparently he was an awkward but good boxer. Dempsey gave Meehan merit.

[NNNplease]

Don't worry about this everyone. PREZ150 is just some sad old degenerate black guy who has to make race an issue out of everything (I'm sure you know the type, has an inferiority complex). Heard a little rumor here an there about Dempsey being racist, and basically let it run into extreme bias over the man's legacy. If you check out many more Dempsey videos, this idiot has gone to the trouble to try bad mouth him for a long long time (old fucker seriously has no life lol). Don't feed the troll.

[1saxonwolf]

@NNNplease Yeah, a filthy animal.

[N1k1mon]

I love how Big Bill does the Dempsey Roll back at Dempsey @ 1:07 I guess he got tired of his own height advantage! haha

PS I Hate when people say JD was a racist, BT and others were his friends and favorite sparring partners. Ignorant mopes.

[PREZ150]

Alright we see Dempsey sparring with a black fighter Bill Tate.Look even though Dempsey drew the color line on black fighters when he was Champion.You can thank Jack Johnson and the racism that what was in Dempsey time.Dempsey had a good chance defeat a black fighter when he was Champion.But Dempsey and his camp didn't want take the gamble of his man losing to a black fighter.The hell raising Jack Johnson did a few year's before still scare the hell out white people of that time.

[1saxonwolf]

@PREZ150 Dempsey never had a problem fighting black fighters. Constantly hired the best sparring partners in camps, many black fighters. If you know JD story he fought who Kearns lined up. Kearns was about $, as is every manager of every champion. Rickard wouldn't promote a "mixed" race bout after Johnson/Jeffries. It had nothing to do with black with JD. Bill Tate was the black HW champion during this camp. Dempsey beat him up & KO'd him in camp.

[PREZ150]

@1saxonwolf Dempsey was just sign of the racist times.He went along with the program his manager Kearns. He even said he would not give a black fighter a chance fight for the title.Dempsey drew the color line just like Jack Johnson did.The only difference Johnson did it to his own black fighters.I never heard that Dempsey beat Tate up in sparring.Where did you read that ?

[1saxonwolf]

@PREZ150 As soon as Dempsey split with Kearns he signed to fight Wills. The $ promised to him from the promoter was never deposited so the fight was off. No other promoter picked it up. Wills $ was deposited & he kept it on a forfeit from promoter.

The sparring on tape is from Willard camp. It was from a newspaper clip I read. Tate had just beat Langford for HW title. JD put down Tate in RD 1, Ko in 2 in one of these sessions. Langford in camp, maybe thats when he called JD the best he ever saw

[N1k1mon]

@PREZ150 You know nothing about Dempsey obviously. Why talk about him then?

[PREZ150]

@N1k1mon Just like you don't.

[N1k1mon]

@PREZ150 I know enough about him to know he wasnt a racist. Nice try though. What was that, 3rd grade style refutation? I KNOW you dont know anything about the man because youve failed to understand one of the most basic and simple things of the mans life, on the other hand you have no idea how much I know about good ole Jack.

[PREZ150]

@N1k1mon Jack Dempsey was over rated.He drew the color line to.And was a draft dodger in ww1 .By 1926 it was over.Ask Tunney. Oh I forgot Middleweight Harry Greb whup Dempsey ass a few times in sparring.And wouldn't give Greb a crack at title.For that matter Dempsey was scare to fight Greb.You ass hole you want to learn more about Dempsey just ask me dummy I wont even charge your sorry ass.

[N1k1mon]

@PREZ150 You've got to be joking, I wouldn't ask you to tell me anything if YOU paid ME, you don't know how to talk and you're not too bright, despite what you think of yourself or the friends you choose who are even lower than you. You put him down because one guy (supposedly) beat the man? Lets just call you silly and be nice about it. Ask Tunney about THE LONG COUNT, sport. Btw, watch the first few seconds right before that long count, nobody EVER did that to JDs face. Walk away braniac.

[N1k1mon]

@N1k1mon Honestly, how does a white man NOT beating up on the blacks make him prejudiced??

Dempsey was no racist, anybody that knew him could tell you that. You have no idea of the dynamics of what went on in his day to even speak about the subject, & you wont take the time to learn or think about it, guaranteed. You can go to your grave ripping on Jack Dempsey but in the end, its been almost a hundred years and everybody knows his name and nobody knows who the hell you are, or wants to.

[PREZ150]

@N1k1mon Don't cry that your Dempsey was over hype and that Ali would've whup his ass.Even scare of a middleweight Harry Greb.Couldn't even finish Tunney.Get over it cry baby.,I will send you a Dempsey doll to play with.LOL

[N1k1mon]

@PREZ150 If you actually think it was up to Dempsey to say "Hey, I want to fight a black man,make it happen" Then you're as wacky as the way you write. You are like the hordes of other fools walking around, crowing like an ignorant loud mouth...Thats what ignorant people do. You talk about how rotten JD was but I bet you talk about how great Tunney was for beating him, think about that one for a second, sharp stuff. What made Tunney great in peoples eyes? Beating Dempsey, wasnt it? Get it yet?

[N1k1mon]

@PREZ150 Dempsey nearly killed grown men in his teens & fought and destroyed 6'7 263 Willard when he was 183 lbs. He fought Big Bill Tate all the time, another man over 50-60 pounds his better. If you know the extent of Willard's injuries, you know the size of the man he fought didnt matter, he was a granite buster. Its funny how simpletons love to tear down the greats, whether its Ali, Dempsey, Marciano...They never say, yeah "he" was real good but so & so was better, instead, no credit at all.

[PREZ150]

@N1k1mon Willard was bum.And yea he spar against Bill Tate so what.But he still drew the color line.And your Dempsey was scare to fight Middleweight Harry Greb.

[N1k1mon]

@PREZ150 And its when they give no credit or try to use the race card that you know for sure, the chump doesnt really know anything about Boxing at all, maybe the stats of his favorite fighters, maybe watches all the time on TV, but that isn't knowledge. Ask any actual boxer who is honest, or better yet, actually fought Dempsey, they'd laugh in your face. So go back to worshiping Tyson or whoever it is you use to keep that loud mouth of yours running to the poor saps who have to be around you.

[N1k1mon]

In defense of Dempsey, great article by the way:

Triple W .eastsideboxing. com/news.php?p=10699&more=1

[marinlille]

1.14 - 1.20 - could that be a Dempsey roll attempt?

[muskratrowdy]

A very lively sparring session. You can really see how quick Dempsey was in his prime which was probably 1918-1921. The layoff he took after the Carpentier fight really slowed him down and he was never the same. Then, after the Firpo fight, he really went downhill. A Dempsey-Tunney fight with this Dempsey over 15 rounds would have been very interesting. What do you think the odds would be on such a fight? Maybe 3 to 2 on Dempsey? Prime Dempsey vs Frazier would also have been a great fight.

[faltagh]

@muskratrowdy Yes, 2 years off from Carpentier to Gibbons, then 3 yrs off from Firpo to Tunney. 5 years off thanks to Kearns. A shame.

I'm a big Tunney fan. This JD KO's him. Most likely early rounds. Along with any other heavyweight in history. There has never been a fighter like this, ever in HW history. DeFoerst said it concerning the earlier HW's, Arcel said it concerning the rest. THE BEST EVER !!!!!!!!!!!

[PREZ150]

@muskratrowdy I think 1923 no neutral corner rule Dempsey would have destroy Tunney .There would'nt be no long count.

[PREZ150]

@muskratrowdy The only thing Dempsey was doing was bobbing and weaving bobbing up and down like a ball big deal against Bill Tate.Dempsey didn't even let Bill Tate get a shot at the his tittle.l

[PREZ150]

Respond to this video... Dempsey would be too small by heavyweight s standards today .

[AsianBaskero]

@PREZ150 too small but too fast and powerful compared to the modern day heavyweights

[AfflictionFTW]

i'm thinking to make a vid comparison btw. Dempsey's bob and waving and Frazier's, using this vid as reference for Dempsey, and multiple fights available with prime Frazier

I still can't see how can some ppl. say that Frazier had better bob and wave then Dempsey

Ignoring the fact that Dempsey averaged the highest number of slipped punches in Gibbons fight then any other HW in history; he was much faster, he didn't have a rhythm in his bobbing, and he was much harder to get timed by his opponent.

[faltagh]

@AfflictionFTW That would be a good vid. Demps bob& weaving in Tunney 1is also good for viewing. Frazier & Marciano both were good, short in height & reach dictated it. Not so with Demps. A level above in defensive skills. I regularly study the Gibbons fight. Under appreciated IMO. Just watched it. I didn't know that statistic though, where did you read that? Great performance by Demps. It's one title defense he didn't go all out immediately, as told by Kearns to get some work.

[Kedbuka]

Dempsey was cat-quick in there! His balance was excellent even while shifting around, all the time his eyes fixed on the target in front of him. He's a forgotten man by most of the young knuckleheads posting on YouTube but they oughta' watch this video and see what an impressive specimen he was in his heyday. The dude was a bad mofo'.

[dempsey981]

yes.tunney would have been moidered by the dempsey here.he needed jack to lay off a long time to beat jack

[1urbanwarrior]

yes sir when Jack was a pup he was hungry, wirey and powerful. To quote that fmaous mvie; he "lost the eye of the tiger," which as everybody knows seems to happen to almost every champ (but not all).

[devin131313]

i love how people say he never would defend against a black man when it wasnt his choice they made sure no black man would challenge since jack johnson not demspey choice also every one says wills would beat him yet he destroyed 2 guys will fought sharky and firpo jack dempsey is one of the all time greats

[faltagh]

This is film of the most vicious fighting heavyweight ever. Big Bill Tate had just beat the great Sam Langford before coming to camp to help Dempsey train for Willard. In round 2 of one of these sparring sessions Dempsey KO's Tate with one of these perfect left hooks. This Dempsey would beat anyone ever !!!

[gqmighty]

if it is speed up...i dont think its by much....third man is the ring looks pretty normal.

[faltagh]

@gqmighty That 3rd man is the great trainer Jimmy DeForest who was brought into camp for this fight. Dempsey said DeForest was the best. Broke down each movement, punch & analyzed it and applied it. Demps said he was a better fighter after learning from DeForest.

[Steam0116]

what year was this?

[faltagh]

@Steam0116 1919 in training for title challenge against Willard.

[Steam0116]

@faltagh wow didnt know there was footage of him available before the willard fight. thanks.

[RareBoxing]

Great footage!

[eslubin]

Tate handling Dempsey's rough work pretty well here

[pattyk77]

Dempsey was fast as lightning. It looks like they sped the reel up when he lunges forward.

[metalrod23]

It has been said that Dempsey would not fight black fighters. In truth Dempsey said he would fight anyone anytime. Harry Wills the black champion was to be his challenger, tickets were even printed up for the fight. But promotors would not touch this fight, after the killings that happened as a result of Jack Johnson winning the title.

[pugilistofpower]

That's true. In fact Jack Johnson point blank refused to fight black fighters when he became champ. Dempsey was open to fight anyone but the powers that be (Kearns and Rickard) wouldn't allow it.

[bloodgutsnglory]

And he did fight blacks on his way up. I don't think Dempsey cared who he fought. He just loved to throw hands and had a fighter's heart. Unfortunately his rep suffers a little with those that don't know any better.

[tmotleygoldstein]

this is interesting. I used to think that dempsey's style against willard, where he circles, hooks, then throws that big combination, was his fastest fighting style. But tate is way faster than willard, and dempsey opts for an aggressive full crouch. Any thoughts?

[bloodgutsnglory]

Hard to tell. You'll notice that Jack's balance is quite a bit better against Willard. Maybe this guy's speed caused Jack to be a little off and just bulling in keeping low was the best way to nullify Bill's shots. When a fighter's being rushed AND has to punch down they lose a lot of power. Jack wasn't always pretty but he knew what he was doing in there. Definitely a pioneer in the ring.

[somewhere6]

Good technique and energy shown by Dempsey here. He had definitely lost that by the time of the Tunney fights.

[FEINS1]

@somewhere6 absolutely, bill tatae was huge and a regular stable mate and sparring partner of dempsey's. here demspey was preparing for jess willard. he was raw aggression and fought as if his life depended on it. by the time he met tunney he was inactive for 3 years and was a hit on the hollywood scene. perhaps his own words are most fitting, "it's hard to get up and run in the snow at 6 in the morning when you're wearing silk underwear."

[MaIcolmX]

You wll find a weak black man in some place but f dempsey fought a strong black guy, dempsey would have got ko like tye fields

[tmotleygoldstein]

bill tate beat sam langford. he wasn't weak.

[MaIcolmX]

You really do not get it. Most black Fighters never got opportuninty like Russians did not during the cold war but they both over took when they got the chance. Just look at China, the destroy everyone in the olympic once they have equal opportunity such as money, facilities, nutirition etc.

White american get destroyed when everyone has equal opppotunities. Even a half black man now run usa

[tmotleygoldstein]

what are you saying?

[gqmighty]

what if the white american..is of of the russian ethnicity..then what happens malcolm..please tell me...

[gqmighty]

so white guys can be tough..but they have to be russian...hmmmmm...other wise they are all pussies...what about black guys aganist russian...

what if we had a half russian half black man? he would be a GOD

[MaIcolmX]

white american are the worst fighter ever. Ths bum been ko clean in 5secs by a z class fighter.

Dempsey ducked black fighters because he was a racist and believed they never deserverd a shot, I bet he knew he was going to get his ass kicked.

Everyone know the best fighter in usa are black people, no white man from usa rank in the top 100 of a poor HEAVYWEIGHT divsion. The tough white people come from Former Russian state

[gqmighty]

dempsey fought plenty of black fighters before he won the title.....but really...your just a duch bag...and remember...dempsey could have kicked your fag ass

[MaIcolmX]

'Dempsey ducked black fighters because he was a racist and believed they never deserverd a shot, I bet he knew he was going to get his ass kicked.'

read my comment properly!

When dempsey had the title, he avoided all top black fighters. He said that Black people are not good enough to be fighting for world titles. You can check this up-this is a known fact and no one even dispute this.

[battenwood]

The one modern fighter whom I would compare with Dempsy in terms of style and savagery would be the pre-1980 Roberto Duran. Check out a Duran vid sometime. I think you'll see some similarities. I would attribute part of that to Ray Arcel who trained Duran and as a young man worked with Jack and admired him a lot. Arcel, btw, thought that Dempsey would be an easy winner against modern heavies, whom he regarded as soft. In contrast, J.D. once fought Fireman Jim Flynn without eating for 3 days!

[tmotleygoldstein]

This might be the best video of anything ever

[mow1717]

big bill tate would knocked him out.lennox lewis too.

[lesterhotel]

Dempsey signed to fight Harry Wills twice but the powers would not sanction it.

[battenwood]

The story is that Rickard was involved in the Johnson-Jeffries promotion and he remembered the riots that ensued. Supposedly, he didn't want his man Dempsey involved in such a fiasco regardless of the money that could be made. I can't vouch for the validity of the tale--it's just an explanation I've heard.

[JABARDELLI]

Bill Tate was approximately the same size as Lennox Lewis. Dempsey doesn't stand around waiting to get hit. He is here ... he is there ... always moving ... bobbing-weaving ... on his toes ... a shifting demon with murderous leverage and punching capability from any position. Make a mistake by throwing at him and he'll land that left hook and deposit his opponent on his backside. Once Dempsey hurt an opponent, rarely did he allow him to recuperate ... excepting Tunney when Dempsey was done.

[MaIcolmX]

you dumb white american devil, michael grant is 6ft7 so what your point???????

[gqmighty]

are you really that racist again white people?

[MaIcolmX]

My favourite fighters are white such as Fedor, Klitschko and Povetkin. The thing is that bums like despsey are just useless garbage

[battenwood]

Yes, he is indeed racist. All 25 of his aliases are racist against white people. No matter which screen name this pest uses, his hateful ignorance comes shining through!

[gqmighty]

he might also be more anti american..i think he is fine with russian fighters..as he says above....but clearly his hate keeps him from judging boxers in a unbiased way

[battenwood]

Some teckies in GER. traced that fellow by identifying his ISP. We actually know quite a bit about him. And, yes, he does support fighters from the former USSR. And, his ignorance is such that he doesn't even know that the US and USSR were once allies. I told him about convoys to Murmansk and Archangel bringing supplies to the Reds to fight Hitler and having to run the gauntlet of U-Boats to do it. He laughed at me, as though I was inventing fiction. Hugely ignorant jerk. Not worth the trouble.

[britvroman]

Bobbing and weaving is incredible!

[cuntyballs07]

he wast really a heavyweight by todays standards

[faltagh]

Watch the hooks thrown at 1:18 and 1:20. If you want to emulate the perfect left hook, study this.

[jojoclown666]

Dempsey was a prick when it came to sparring. It was maybe a single notch or two from real fighting. Ya'll should check out "Jack Dempsey and the Roaring Twenties."

[bradlee180]

Dempsey preferred fighting bigger men because he found them to be big targets, slow, and easier to hit ,and he flattened them early. Dempsey's competitive fights came against men about his own size (6'¾").

[faltagh]

I believe it was more of an issue to keep sparring partners in camp. Dempsey went through sparring partners like a drunk through beers. Big Bill Tate was with Dempsey most of his carrer. They say Dempsey didn't know how to go easy.

[Allritemat]

I think sometimes you can tell more about a fighter when they are sparring. Clearly Dempsey is not a crude fighter. He is a swarmer comparable to Marciano, Frazier, Norton, Tyson. What this does show however is that a bigger man could control him in the clinches. Wouldnt fair too well against the bigger champions that came after but despite that you know your going to see a great fight.

[bradlee180]

"bigger man could control him in the clinches."

6'6½" 245 lb Willard, 6'5" Fulton, 6'4" 220 lb Morris, 6'2½" Firpo; all fell early. 6'5" Anderson lasted.

In exh, 7'2" 250 lb Wray, 6'3" 220 lb Hartwell, 6'6" 230 lb Tate all fell.

[battenwood]

I got the feeling that the men were actually working on clinch technique in this sparring session since clinching and wrestling-type grappling were still part of boxing ca. 1920. Also, Tate was no big stiff. He lost many fights, it's true, but he beat Langford and drew with Wills. The people who call Jack a racist fail to realize that Bill was his favorite sparring partner. If he disliked blacks so much, why did he like working so much with Tate? I think Jack would fight anyone Rickard allowed.

[gqmighty]

dempsey actually carried tate in later years..gave him money...but in sparring he didnt carry him...alot of news paper reports speak of some beatings dempsey gave date

[battenwood]

I met Dempsey when I was a kid when he was running his Broadway eatery. I found him to be a really nice guy who genuinely liked kids. It doesn't surprise me at all that he helped out old fighters. That's the kind of guy he appeared like to me. I've always been able to spot phonies and SOB's and Dempsey struck me as just the opposite.

[brotherdarkness89]

I've been looking at this footage and other Dempsey fights and see that he truly was a great fighter. Bobbing and weaving, fast hands, great footwork which other swarmers Dempsey is compared to didn't have. I also think people should read his book "Championship Boxing" and see that he was by no means a crude slugger which some have called him today.

[thestarsareprojector]

look at the crowd that came to see him spar......

[BPMSmith]

Thanks for posting this footage of Dempsey. He doesn't move like a heavyweight, more like a middleweight. His style was ahead of his time in fact that slip and counter looks just like Tyson 70 years later.

[bradlee180]

Thank you so much for uploading Dempsey/Tate sparring. I view it regularly, but just noticed I'd never left a comment. This is the PRIME Dempsey of 1919 preparing to face Willard. There's so little of PRIME Dempsey on film.

[thomaserossi]

Sherdog?

[Fudelan]

Phenomenal footwork, unreal dodging ability, superhuman strength.... Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson learned everything they knew from the original master... Jack Dempsey. Check out 1:04 - 1:20 that should go on some highlight real or in a text book on how to feint, slip punches and land a big hook.

[kelvinkloud]

fudelan.. throw ali in there too.. ck out the feet @ the 4-6 sec pt.. demps actually does the shuffle!.. damn, dempsey was so prime here, no wonder he destroyed willard (underrated).. at this point in his life, ontop of being a skilled hard ass boxer, he was also a very agile athlete.. his speed, pace, nimbleness, reflexes & coordination for a bob & weaver (something he put on the map) or at a higher level then even frazier or tyson prime.. the first min of the willard fight is also testament.

[hhhhdmt]

Dempsey was robbed agaiant Meehan

The decisions of the Meehan fights were bad, according to newspaper reports Dempsey easily beat Meehan the fifth timw they fough but was robbed off a decision

[cassius66]

Viwithingor84, he was soundly beaten also by Willie Meehan back in 1917.

[rhungarian]

point being?

[Ebeneezer]

In a four rounder where Meehan ran from him.

Meehan also beat Sam Langford ina four rounder.

[andrewr62]

Soundly beaten? Newspaper accounts say otherwise.  I suppose the great Sam

Langford was "soundly beaten" by Willie Meehan as well. By all accounts Meehan

was a slapper who moved well for a overweight fighter but rarely fought boughts

scheduled for more than 4 rounds.

[rhungarian]

This footage is great. Dempsey was like a huge panther in the ring. He was absolutly a top 5 all time HW Champ.

[faltagh]

Was this in preparation for the Willard fight? Dempsey is ripped! Compare his footwork vs the tunney fights. Much quicker in this footage. Dempsey thought he always looked bad training. He also is said he never learned to pull his punches in training, to bad for his sparring partners. He looks like a bad M'F' in this footage.

[lucifer12089]

whos dempsey the shorter guy?

[hhhhdmt]

I love the bob and weave

[hhhhdmt]

he was past his prime for Tunney fights

[Viwithingor84]

Overrated??? wow. Do some research. He was soundly beaten only twice in his career, one time of which he got more or less cheated out of a win...and besides, both times were to an irishman (gene tunney).  Can't fault him for that.

[dschwa77]

The Great Dempsey "bob an weave". He moves beautifully and uses his forward body motion to add explosiveness to his punches. Overrated? What video is that moron watching? Dempsey had it all. Great power, reflexes, head and body movement made him hard to hit, could take punch, and most importantly had a killer instinct in the ring. Overated , I don't think so.

[dschwa77]

Then again, everyone is entitled to their own opinion so I take back moron remark - lets just say uninformed

[hhhhdmt]

dempsey's foot movement is very quick

[gasolinechoi]

Wow. Excellent upload my friend. It's great to see rare footage of the legends like this, especially of a beast like Dempsey. Thanks again!

[hudra9a3]

can anyone upload more footage of dempsey?

[mykomykomykomyko]

That man could move.

[Fudelan]

Woah Dempsey was def not overrated, Later in his career he got sidetracked by fame and fortune in the Roaring Twenties is all.(who wouldnt) Have you ever watched the Willard vs. Dempsey fight or the Dempsey vs Firpo fight? Two great fights showing dempsey as clearly superior for his time

[Rocky1967]

Very good great find

[zfhnsji]

Even though this footage was of a sparring session - I can't help but get the impression that Tate was clearly holding back and could have easily dropped the overrated Dempsey any time he wished to do so.

[MorayEel]

Even though this is only a comment for a youtube video, I can't help but get the impression that you are a moron.

[Icy713]

Holy crap!!! where did you get this?!?! thanks for uploading though^^

[amendola]

thank you !

[popdaddy]

Wow! where did you find this? awesome!

[PnoyDude]

you know how RARE this footage must be??? One of a kind! Awesome!

[butterfly1964]

great vid! dempsey's bob-and-weave is just amazing!

[MorayEel]

GREAT stuff!