BoxRec

Jack Dempsey had a long professional boxing career. Jack was quite a mauler in the ring. He had a great left hook.
Dempsey is considered one of the top heavyweight boxers of all time.


1. Did Jack dodge black boxers?



2. Had Dempsey fought black heavyweight boxers back then, do you think that Jack would have beaten them?




3. Back then, which black heavyweight boxers do you think could have beaten Jack Dempsey?



Please explain.

1. Yes, without question. Although just like Jack Johnson he did it for monetary reasons more than fear of Black opponents I believe.

2. Some of them yes, some of them No

3. Harry Wills could've beaten him, as well as maybe George Godfrey. I doubt Sam Langford would've still had enough left in the tank to beat Dempsey, but he still would've been around to fight him.

The big one Dempsey avoided was Harry Wills, who was the stand out contender, and for sure deserved the shot.

That said, I actually think Dempsey would have won.

It's worth noting there were race riots after Johnson beat Jeffries, and if anything America had only gotten more racist when Dempsey was champion, the KKK was at the height of their power in the 20's!

Dempsey admitted he could never beat Langford.

Duran1970 wrote: ↑15 Jan 2019, 18:59 Dempsey admitted he could never beat Langford.

When?

By the time Dempsey was champ, Langford was losing to Fred Fulton, and in general having lackluster results.

Many many books.....I believe he said Sam I was the only one he could never beat... at what point I'm not sure..let me check what I got.

Langford had approached Doc Kearns asking for a shot at the title (in 1922). Dempsey and Kearns gushed all over Langford in the newspapers calling him the greatest ever; unbeatable . . . but they passed on the fight, Langford was well pass it and the fight was no longer realistic.

1922 should have been Harry Wills year, but Tex Rickard was having none of it. The Jack Johnson experience had been devastating to him personally. He went from promoter of the HW Championship fight in Reno (1910) (and just as he made it to the top of his game) to watching Jack Johnson and the title flee the country. Rickard was in the weeds for five years, until he was able to get Willard (under contract) and Johnson together in Havana (1915).

In 1922 Rickard wasn't going to lose what he had gained back; Rickard was never going to give Wills a title shot.

Tex Rickard liked Harry Wills, he compensated him with the Firpo fight in 1924. Wills made $125,000 that night; Babe Ruth was only making $60,000 for the 1924 season. In 1924 a Negro prize fighter doubled Babe Ruth's salary because of Tex Rickard, but no title shot.

In 1926 Rickard matched Wills with Jack Sharkey a month after Dempsey-Tunney I. As soon as Dempsey lost the title, Rickard began calling for a Dempsey-Wills fight in Yankee Stadium next summer. Unfortunately by '26 Wills was a shot fighter and Sharkey pounded on him for 12 rounds. It would be Sharkey who would get Dempsey in Yankee Stadium.

Dempsey-Wills should have happened in 1922, both were at their peak and it would have been a barn burner of a fight; KO either way in less than for rounds. (Harry Wills was only a so so boxer; but he could bang.)

NYDominican wrote: ↑14 Jan 2019, 20:28 Jack Dempsey had a long professional boxing career. Jack was quite a mauler in the ring. He had a great left hook.
Dempsey is considered one of the top heavyweight boxers of all time.


1. Did Jack dodge black boxers?

Sometime before the Fred Fulton fight Dempsey was running off a string of early KOs and was becoming a sensation among fight fans (but not yet the general public). He was invited to fight a four round exhibition as part of a charity card in MSG (New York).

Kearns saw an opportunity for New York exposure and agreed, but something went wrong, maybe it was set-up, but when Dempsey climbed into the ring, the scheduled opponent (for the exhibition) had been replaced with Joe Jeannette.

Doc Kearns recognized Jeannette and started screaming no way, my guy didn't come he for a fight. He pulled Dempsey from the ring. The crowd started booing and the New York newspapers let loose on Dempsey for 'ducking' Jeannette.

You be the judge.

Duran1970 wrote: ↑15 Jan 2019, 18:59 Dempsey admitted he could never beat Langford.

This goes back to 1916 (three years before he became champion) when John "The Barber" Reisler took over Dempsey's contract and tried to match him with Langford. He was around 20/21 years old and weighed little more than middleweight and refused to fight Langford.
Instead, he ended up taking a beating and getting his ribs broke against John Lester Johnson.

Long after his career was over he still admitted he could never beat Langford..it's in his book Dempsey.

Duran1970 wrote: ↑17 Jan 2019, 12:24 Long after his career was over he still admitted he could never beat Langford..it's in his book Dempsey.

I've read that countless times.

- Ace work Perno!

Have to ask the racial motivations of such old wives tales debunked 20 yrs ago on the old aol forum.

Dempsey was a western fighter with not many in the black demo, but early he KOed a huge black guy of no repute. When he first came east he was swindled by the NY shyster who conned his mgr into returning west. The kid fought two fringe contenders, the last being black where he broke some ribs. Sleeping on park benches, standing in soup lines without being paid, he was offered Langford whom he knew to be the best.

I doubt sam even knew the offer as the only source I ever heard was Jack himself.

When he came back as a contender, NY Shysters tried to slip a Mickey on him with Jeannette who was past it but could spoil a title shot against Willard who made his money in Wild West shows.

Signed 2-3x to face Wills but the finances and politics weren't there. Jack had been a prolific employer of black fighters and generally beat up all his spars including Godfrey.

Since he divorced Rickard and Kearns to make the stillborn Wills fights, his new actress wife talked him into a Hollywood debut where he made more than Rickard and Kearns were paying him.

He also took his friend Tate with him where Hollywood objected to a black living in their midst, so Jack made him his chauffeur and still got in sparring for the anticipated Wills fight.

During this time he tried to finance the fight, but any $ placed in escrow under his name was subject to a lien by Kearns and the NY shyster.

Finally, when he did return on the promises of Rickard, Wills turned down and eliminator against Tunney for the right to face Dempsey, a testing of the racial waters. Wills refused and subsequently beat by Sharkey who was beaten by the now defrocked Jack.

I predict the OP will never read his own post responses and return next year with the same nonsense, his obvious M/O.

Ever notice how when a fighter says he couldn't beat a guy we assume the issue closed, but if a fighter says he could have beaten a guy well, that's just his opinion.

Dempsey says he couldn't beat Langford so therefore . . . issue closed.

What if Dempsey says he could beat Joe Louis, does this opinion of himself hold the same weight?

Why is a fighter an unimpeachable source on his ability to lose, but not on his ability to win?

Usually, if a fighter says he doesn't think he would have beaten a another guy it's simply him being honest. He probably knows the other guy is better than him. Occasionally a guy might just being humble or trying to sound humble. However, most of the time he simply knows the other guy was better and is willing to say so.

On the other hand, most fighters think they were better than they actually were. It's not surprising they think this way. A typical fighter who is 50-5 would have excuses for all five of the losses; whether legitimate or not. Wouldn't occur to him think about excuses for his opponents. They were all 100% and the officiating was great in his wins.
Some of this just human nature. however athletes, and boxers in general in general are like this.

If you notice, a guy is much more likely to think he is better than someone else or would have beaten him than vice versa.