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Dempsey would gladly have faced any fighter- be he black, green or orange. His promoter and manager, however, were interested in making only the most lucrative bouts, and, sadly, Harry Wills didn't draw so the fight never happened. At one point $225,000 was put up to secure the fight but the rest of the financial obligations could not be met so the fight never happened. Then Wills lost- to Sharkey, I think, and removed himself from contention.
Dempsey was the original hand wrapped Margarito. Disgraceful.
Worse ! Far worse !Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
He did permenant damage to Jess Willard, who was too proud and too stupid to stay down.
I thought all this handwrap stuff in the Willard fight was all rumors? Was it ever proven or just hearsay?
Because I remember reading somewhere that Willard's side started the rumor to tear down Dempsey? Dempsey was considered to be the Mike Tyson of his day. All out exciting style that really made boxing very popular among the masses, he was even more popular than Babe Ruth himself.
Willard claimed Dempsey wrapped his hands with plaster of paris and Dempsey denied it. Doc Kearns also denied it until years later when he was broke and did an interview in Sports Illustrated, which was generally not considered to be truthful. I don't think that Kearns even mentioned it in his book, and in his book he liberally rewrote the history of every Dempsey fight so that Dempsey was far behind, on the verge of being knocked out, etc... when Kearns's great advice in the corner saved the day. After making great money with Dempsey, and good money with Maxim and Archie Moore, Kearns became a very bitter man.
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Originally Posted by greynotsoold
All true about Kearns, tho I didn't know about the book. He became broke and would say/do anything for money. Including selling Dempsey down the river.
Kearns even claimed he could replicate the procedure used to make the plaster a paris for Dempseys gloves years later in front of sports writers, but failed to do so and the material did not harden like it was supposed to.
As far as the illegal wraps go, Willard said so, Kearns said so(tho he may not be reliable) and common sense tells you that Dempsey was never able to replicate a vicious performance quite like the Willard one, and the did such a vast amount of damage to Willard's face and body that he was hitting him with something more than just fists.
I thought Doc hid a railroad spike in the thumb of the glove for the Willard fight?
Dempsey-Johnson would have been a great style matchup.
I also think Gene Tunney gets far too little credit for beating both Greb and Dempsey. He was a Klitschko of his day, smart, well read, and fans never fully appreciated him.
Fact was that there was never any reliable evidence that Dempsey loaded his gloves besides the he said she said accusations from a guy that got his ass whipped and lost the most coveted title in all of sports (HW championship) and from a disgruntled manager. Just sounds like sour grapes to me.
Something to consider about the damage done by Dempsey's punches: he was a very powerful man, despite weighing only 190 pounds. Between fights he worked a variety of jobs, among them being a bouncer in a 'house of ill repute', where he met his first wife. Typically he lived in mining camps and he said that his favorite job in the mines was 'mucking', which is shoveling rock into one ton ore carts all day long. He would seek out mucking jobs because it developed his shoulders and back.
Dempsey's "Hobo" life probably caused a lot of the issues he faced later on. Like most boxers he had bad habits, trusted bad people, and knew nothing but that type of lifestyle.
Klitschko of his day hahaha !Quote:
Originally Posted by El Kabong
I'll have to remember that one. ;D
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Originally Posted by Master
He did fight Tommy Gibbons he beat him rather easily over fifteen rounds.
I was trying to be sarcastic, guess it failed. :-\Quote:
Originally Posted by The FightfanQuote:
Originally Posted by Master
He did fight Tommy Gibbons he beat him rather easily over fifteen rounds.
Thought I'd bump this as I've just read an article about Dempsey and the Willard fight. It debunks Kearns' claim that he loaded Dempsey's wraps. It also seems that Willard's injuries were exaggerated
Were Dempsey's Gloves Loaded? You Decide!