The Aspirin Age: When Jack Dempsey Warred with Bill Brennan

[thenonpareil]

The first heavyweight title fight to be held under the gleaming new Walker Law in New York, Dempsey–Brennan was set for December 14, 1920. Brennan set up camp in Providence, Rhode Island, where his chief sparring partners were Panama Joe Gans and Kid Norfolk. Dempsey operated out of New York City, where he trained on the Granite State, a battleship moored off of 96th Street and within a cab ride of Times Square. Because Billy Miske had been such a soft target, Dempsey may not have trained full-tilt, leaving him more than just rusty. Live fire was something he had not seen, realistically, since some time in 1918. In preparing for Brennan, Dempsey had other distractions as well. According to Jack Kearns, they included a hectic nightlife that undermined roadwork and sparring sessions. “Dempsey had been doing the town each night with a sleek, sophisticated divorcee” Kearns recalled in his memoir. “The lady was showing him the town. All of which turned out to have been exceedingly exhausting.”

https://hannibalboxing.com/the-aspirin- ... l-brennan/

[klompton]

It was the tenth round that Brennan damaged Dempsey's ear.

[thenonpareil]

Thank you!

[SwayzeWithNoShirtOn]

Dempsey damn-near killed Brennan the first time. We should be happy that he was "exhausted" coming into this fight.

If he had fought with the same vinegar he brought against Willard Boxing might have been forever banned,

[klompton]

Its bullshit that he wasnt in shape for Brennan. That was the story put out by Doc Kearns to save face after Dempsey looked ordinary against Brennan. We have a lot of training footage for this fight and Dempsey was in phenomenal shape. Arguably the best condition of his career. Its no coincidence that Brennan made Dempsey look bad by fighting the same way Tunney beat him.