Jack Dempsey | The Manassa Mauler | Bio, Record, Fun & Facts

In every sports star, there is a person who stands out so clearly that he is called “Idols”. This is the kind of man Jack Dempsey was in boxing.

When he was hitting there, he was one of the greatest heavyweights since John L Sullivan. Jack Dempsey was one of the heaviest heavyweights in the world. He was born William Harrison Dempsey in Manassas, Colorado on June 24, 1895.

He grew up in Colorado, West Virginia and Utah in a poor family. Desperate for cash, Jack Dempsey occasionally visited saloons and challenged them to fight, saying, “I can’t sing or dance, but I can lick every hiccup in the house.” If anyone has accepted the challenge, we make a bet.

According to Dempsey’s autobiography, he rarely lost these fights. A little known fact about Dempsey is that he was briefly a part-time bodyguard for Thomas F. Kearns, president of the Salt Lake Tribune and sons of US Senator Thomas Kearns of Utah. The two remained friends years later.

Jack Dempsey made his first million dollars with $ 1,789,238 when he fought Georges Carpentier and, before hanging up the gloves, the earnings of the other four fights he fought exceeded those figures. His last fight with Gene Tunney brought in $ 2,658,660 for a total of five fights of $ 8,453,319.

Whenever Jack Dempsey defended his crown there was an epic fight, his sensational encounter with Luis Angel Firpo, the wild bull of the Pampas, was one of the most exciting in boxing history, and his tournament with Tunney in Chicago. , “The Long Fight” Count “, is the most controversial.

He scored the fastest knockout in a national heavyweight bout when he knocked out the great Carl Morris in New Orleans in 14 seconds and four seconds faster than he had beaten Fred Fulton, Sapulpa Plasterer in Harrison, New Jersey. . 27 of the same year, both were not championships because Manassa Mauler had not yet won the title.

It was his career as a world champion that ushered in the golden age of boxing when he was the best boxer. Jack Kearns, his manager, was the king of Ballyhoo artists playing the advertising drum; and Tex Rickards as promoter.

The most impressive combination of fighter and manager in the ring was the dynamic Dempsey and the flamboyant Jack Kearns.

Their partnership began with an informal meeting in a San Francisco bar in 1917. Back then Jack Dempsey, 22, was a bit of a slacker who had fought his battles on the racecourses of the tank cities except for one brief and nonexistent visit. in New York. from New York, Colorado, Utah and Nevada.

He had just drifted to California in search of fights and a manager. Fate sent him to Jack Kearns, a skilled pilot, colorful showman and ballyhoo performer. The relationship was an immediate success. In one year, Dempsey has become an excellent contender for the championship.

Promoter Tex Rickard entered the scene and the “Golden Triangle” of Rickard, Jack Dempsey and Jack Kearns introduced a million dollar gate into boxing. Rickard promoted most of Dempsey’s major fights, with Dempsey winning the title over Jess Willard and his subsequent bouts with Bill Brennan, Georges Carpentier, Luis Angel Firpo, Jack Sharkey, and the two with Gene Tunney. Five of the games brought in $ 1,000,000 or more. Another fight with Tunney set a record $ 2,658,660 at that time.

In the fall of 1917, Jack Dempsey was born in Manassas, Colorado on June 24, 1895, six feet, inches and 180 pounds tall. He met Kearns, the man who sent Dempsey’s extraordinary scam into the ranks of the million dollar warriors and world crown.

It was a turning point in young Jack Dempsey’s career and a lucky blow for the Colorado boy.

When Jack Dempsey stopped Willard, he had scored 42 knockouts, but it wasn’t until he knocked out the great Fred Fulton that he garnered enough accolades to be considered a true contender for the champion.

Fulton’s quick win earned him an encounter with Jess Willard.

Jack Dempsey was a tough young bum; he had an iron point and a granite jaw.

Manassa Mauler, who led the batons on his way to fame and fortune, landed in New York, heartbroken and begging for a chance to show off his fighting skills. He had many managers, but only Kearns gets credit for Jack Dempsey’s great career.

Kearns’ promotion after Jack Dempsey’s win over Fulton had managed to get Rickard to set up a Dempsey-Willard fight.

Jack Dempsey v Jess Willard in 1919

On July 4, 1919, Jack Dempsey achieved his ambition after beating the great Jess Willard by submitting and winning the world title in three rounds. Willard saw Dempsey as easy prey, trained little and paid mercilessly with a beating that was one of the worst the heavyweight king had ever suffered.

No one in the oldest fan’s memory could remember when the title received a murderous penalty like Jess. Still, after each knockdown, he responded by rising from the tarp to take more punishment.

Willard’s reduction, to 245 pounds 1871/2 for his opponent, was counted seven times in the opening round and was shocked and dismayed when Gong came to his aid as he sat on the canvas with his mouth wide open. open, his eyes glazed, blood poured from his nostrils and poured from his dry throat.

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He stared wearily and aimlessly into nothingness as his seconds dragged him into a corner, the blazing sun exacerbating his discomfort.

Referee Ollie Pecord had not heard the bell to end the round and raised Dempsey’s hand in victory, but after Jack left the ring and Pecord was informed of his mistake by official timekeeper Warren Barbour. , Dempsey quickly recalled, and the meeting continued. .

Willard tried to make a comeback on the second lap but didn’t do much better than the opening frame.

Now the brown flowed freely from his mouth and nose, both cheeks were swollen, two front teeth had found their way to the canvas, his right eye was closed and the right side of his head was swelling rapidly.

It seemed like blackjack had stopped him, but he kept fighting.

In the third round, his corner became a pathetic object, facing another heavy attack but a series of solid punches back. Soon his left eye was tightly closed; his face looked like it had gone through a thresher. The bell rang and the battle for Big Jess was over. He called the umpire to his corner, where he was practically dragged by Walter Monahan, his second, and announced his retirement.

Jack Dempsey v Georges Carpentier in 1921

Prior to the fight between Dempsey and Carpentier on July 2, 1921, Jack Dempsey had stopped Billy Miske in a three-round title defense at Benton Harbor, Michigan on September 6, 1920, and Bill Brennan at Madison Square Garden on December 14, 1920, in twelve rounds.

The golden era began when the champion went up against French Orchid Kid, a popular boxer who had previously annexed the World Light Heavyweight Championship.

The fight, dubbed “The Battle of the Century,” took place at Boyle’s Thirty Acres in Jersey City, New Jersey, and ended with a dramatic knockout of Carpentier in the first million dollar gate in ring history.

Tex Richard’s business in Toledo, on the shores of Maumee Bay, was a pirate war compared to what he saw when he set up the Dempsey-Carpentier factory. But it was amply rewarded with record attendance and revenue. The liveliness of the participants brought more people, including the cream of the crop, into boxing than ever before.

The company’s success turned out to be the crowning glory of Tex Rickard’s career.

The Frenchman took the charge to the sound of Gong in the second round, after Jack easily won the opening round, and he rocked and propped up the greatest boxer of recent years in an attacking frenzy. The culprit was a punch.