Athletes - Jack Dempsey

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	Athletes - Jack Dempsey

William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 - May 31, 1983), was an Irish-American boxer who won the world heavyweight title. During the 1920s he was involved in many famous fights.

Biography

Early career

Born in Manassa, Colorado, .He would go into saloons and challenge for fights saying "I can't sing and I can't dance, but I can lick any man in the house". His exact fight record is not known because sometimes he boxed under the pseudonym, Kid Blackie. This practice continued until 1916. In between, he first appeared as Jack Dempsey in 1914, after an earlier middleweight boxer Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey, drawing with Young Herman in six rounds. After that fight, he won six bouts in a row by knockout (as Jack Dempsey), before losing for the first time, on a disqualification in four to Jack Downes. During this early part of his career, Dempsey campaigned in Utah frequently. He followed his loss against Downey with a knockout win and two draws versus Johnny Summerland in Nevada. Three more wins and a draw followed and then he met Downes again, this time resulting in a four round draw.

Ten wins in a row followed, a streak during which he beat Summerland and was finally able to avenge his defeat at the hands of Downes, knocking him out in two. Then, three more non-decisions came (early in boxing, there were no judges to score a fight, so if a fight lasted the full distance, it was called a draw or non-decision, depending on the state or country the fight was being held in). In between the non-decisions, Dempsey refused to box with Sam Langford, a black fighter who is now in the International Boxing Hall Of Fame alongside Jack. Dempsey was always aware that fights with black opponents could bring negative societal reactions. Dempsey later defended the move by explaining that he was too young and inexperienced at the time to face a contender of Langford's Caliber.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Dempsey worked in a shipyard while continuing to box. After the war, he was accused by some boxing fans of being a draft dodger. It wasn't until 1920 that he was able to clear his name on that account, when evidence was produced showing he had attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army, but was turned down.

Taking the title

Meanwhile, Dempsey went 9-1-4 in 14 bouts in 1917. Among his opponents were Fireman Jim Flynn, the only boxer ever to beat Dempsey by a knockout when Dempsey lost to him in the first round, and Gunboat Smith, formerly a highly ranked contender who had beaten both World Champion Jess Willard and Hall of Famer Sam Langford. Dempsey beat Smith for the 3rd time on a 2nd round KO.

In 1918, Dempsey boxed 17 times, going 15-1 with one no decision. He avenged his defeat against Flynn by returning the favor, knocking him out in the first round. Among others he beat were Kid Levingsky, a top rated contender of the times.

He began 1919 winning five bouts in a row by knockout in the first round. Then on July 4, he and world Heavyweight champion Jess Willard met at Toledo, Ohio, for the world title. Few gave Dempsey a chance against the larger champion and many called this fight a modern David and Goliath. However, Dempsey was fearless and vowed victory. The first round of the fight was one of the most brutal in boxing history. Dempsey dealt Willard a terrible beating and knocked him down seven times in that round alone. Both of Willard's eyes were swollen shut, his nose was broken, six of his teeth were on the canvas and his ribs were crushed. At the end of the third round the champion was forced to give up. Today, an official overseeing such an event would be barred from refereeing further matches for failure to stop such a massacre. Willard went to his grave believing that Dempsey had something in his gloves to make them especially hard.

Champion

In his first defense, he faced friend Billy Miske, knocking him out in three rounds. Years after the fight, it was learned Miske accepted the fight while suffering a terminal disease and needed the money to secure his family after death, which occurred to him two years after challenging Dempsey. Dempsey always expressed regret about that fight and declared he would have given Miske the money he needed if he'd only known of Miske's situation.

One more defense followed, versus Bill Brennan, before he had to face world Light Heavyweight champion Georges Carpentier in what became boxing's first million dollar gate ever. Carpentier, a decorated veteran of the French Army had served in World War I. Ironically, Dempsey's promoter used this angle to promote the fight, since many Americans still regarded Dempsey as a slacker during the war. In a farm that had to be rented to accommodate all the public in New Jersey, Dempsey beat Carpentier by a knockout in four rounds in front of 80,183 fans.

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Athletes - Jack Dempsey

Biography

Early career

Taking the title

Champion

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