Did Jack Dempsey drop Two Ton Tony Galento in sparring?

I can't believe the story that Dempsey flattened him with a single left hook - sounds like something out of a comic book.

I can kinda believe the other version of the story though, which is that Dempsey, who would have been about 40 at the time and still boxing exhibitions regularly, roughed him up quite badly in sparring.

Here's a story about this from 1934:

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And here's Dempsey playing it down 5 years later:

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No, Galento had never been dropped in sparring, the amateurs or in his proffesional career prior to his 105th pro fight with none other than Joe Louis.

 

From what I've read it would seem Tony had never in fact been decked prior to the Louis bout which is one of the reasons he felt confident he could actually beat Louis, the invincibility factor he had. Even when you watch the fight, Louis hits Galento with a left hook that takes him off his feet and the second he goes down he bounces back up. When Louis stops him its with a barage of punches that makes Tony stumble and go down to 1 knee, if you see the full fight film after the ref stops the fight Galento gets up and walks to his corner, not on rubbery legs or anything. He had a granite chin.

 

Let's just admit what Dempsey was... a very trumped up leftover from the Great White Hopes, one who dipped his toes in the colored pond and got bit, came back a year later to beat most of his silly, losing-streak older white hopes and then take down an aged, inactive dreadnaught before sitting his happy ass on the title for years.

A hype job plain and simple, more pro wrestler than actual heavyweight champion. He is a footnote to the division and sad evidence of the sport's iniquity.

 

No. He was an actual heavyweight champion. I think you are making the mistake of believing in some pure sporting ideal of professional boxing that doesn't exist. Dempsey fits in perfectly with the others.

 

Dempsey was a great fighter but the myth of Dempsey is perpetuated and exaggerated by the writer's of his era. That's why some versions of this story say Dempsey walked into the ring and laid out Galento flat on his ass with a single left hook.

Galento at the time of this "sparring" session was very young, about 20 years old or thereabouts, and was lazying around too much so Dempsey went into the ring and laid into him a bit. Not much to grab from it because from all accounts Galento was very taken back, and just covering up most of the time. I think at this point Galento could've flattened him if he wanted to.

 

It's not particularly remarkable that Dempsey beat up Galento in 1934.
Galento was not a contender at the time, and he lost to a fighter called Bob Tow that same month. Dempsey was 39 years old but it was only a short training session. And Dempsey had been active in serious "exhibition" fights as recent as 1932.

 

I don't believe Jackie Gleason was able to accomplish this, despite having a weight advantage, whereas Dempsey had a weight disadvantage. If that's not something to think about, as far as Dempsey's pound-for-pound knockout power, I don't know what is.

 

Something happened, but it is hard to be certain exactly what.

 

And while we are dealing with myths lets get rid of that Clown Ali, How can you lose to Smokeless Joe Frazier, Chinny Kenny Norton, Hairy Larry Holmes, Trevor WHO? Berbick and Neon Leon Spinks and even be any freakin GOOD much less teh Greatnest? Only a moron could believe otherwise, since we all know that Every day in every way boxing progresses and the primitive unscientific pro wrestlers of the past couldn't compete with even the journeymen of today. No one who beat Ali would even be a ranked contender at this point, tooo small... We should just forget anyone more than a couple of years back, they are irrelevent to the sport in its current state.

But just for accuracy's sake and according to Mike Casey, a 41 year old retired Jack Dempsey didn't drop Galento.

He KO'ed him.

"Stillman saw thousands of fighters over a great span of years: champions, contenders, preliminary boys, ordinary men just working out. But one day Stillman saw one thing he never forgot. It was the angry punch with which the retired Dempsey knocked out Tony Galento in a sparring session. The sight and sound of that mighty blow being driven home was hard for even Stillman to believe. Right to the end, Lou maintained that it was the hardest shot he had ever seen and that Dempsey was the greatest heavyweight.

Ray Arcel was also a witness to the chilling incident and recalled that the punch nearly decapitated Galento."

 

All heavyweight champions sat on the shelf for long periods of time during that era.

A lot of what Dempsey did, said, and didn't do takes away a lot from his legacy, I agree with that, but does it completely erase any shred of greatness (as your seemingly committed to doing)? Not even close.

 

All the newspaper articles on the matter say Dempsey just laid into the green and suprised Galento. No KO, No KD. Max Baer whom Galento said was the hardest puncher he ever fought, including Louis, landed some hellish shots on him and couldn't knock him down let alone out, not even Louis had Galento out just slumped to one knee. Do you really think a 40 something year old 20+ lbs lighter Dempsey laid out Galento with a single left hook? More ridiculous Dempsey fan fiction.