Allow me to preface this article with my true opinion of Dempsey. The Mannassa Mauler wasn't the most technically brilliant fighter, nor is he in my top 10 let alone 20 of all time, but the boy could bang with the best and throw hands like a mad man!
I believe the Dempsey era was one of the most interesting in boxing. The gloves were incredibly small and laced with rigid strands of animal hair.. each punch in the olden days was a serious blow and felt as hard as cement.
There were great fighters of the era in Jack Johnson and Jack Sharkey, guys who had their own styles but invented true pugilist movement and footwoork.
The thing about Dempsey is that he was brash and honest about himself, he admitted personally that he was happy about never having to fight such a talent as Joe Louis, and that alone made me like Jack as a human moreso than a fighter.
A slugger with the forward pressure to break a diamond, that was Jack Dempsey. He would outwill you, and at times, he got dirty with it. The allusions Mike Tyson made to Jack Dempsey in one of the most berserk rants of all time make a lot of sense in retrospect. Prime Tyson may have been the much more powerful and technical boxer, but the 'cloth' he speaks of both men being cut from is not about technique, it's about heart and the willingness to roll through thunder!
Dempsey knocked Firpo out in the 2nd round after some of the most action you may ever seen in a sport period! This battle was so evolutionary for the sport, and...
..when Dempsey went to visit Firpo many years later, he was gifted nearly $35,000 as payback for the opportunity he had given Luis.
Many discredit Dempsey's lack of technique and some of his wins, and I don't disagree but I also still love and respect the fighter he was.
Against Jack Sharkey there were shenanigans in which low blows were involved, and because Jack was getting beat to the punch, he needed some help from a pal named 'Al' (Capone) and the fight was basically fixed.
This type of stuff just shows me how much the public respect Dempsey, and although he wasn't a craftsman, he loved his job. Dempsey stepped into fire and flame everytime he entered the ring. Let me give you an example of why Dempsey is such a legend...
The 1923 bout between Dempsey and Luis Angel Firpo is considered (one of) the best of all time. The slugfest had Firpo hitting the canvas 4 times before gaining all his wit and actually knocking Dempsey out of the ring! This moment was immortalized by one of the greatest sports painters of our time in George Bellowes.
This is true respect and honor between sportsmen, this is boxing!
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