Jack Dempsey openly stated he would not fight black challengers

People who dont know their ass from their elbow aside, the fact of the matter is that Dempsey was protected because he was a cash cow. When Siki beat Carpentier there were no race riots. When Flowers beat Greb there were no race riots. When Wills beat Fulton, Weinert, Firpo, Madden, and other white men in elimination bouts there were no race riots. If there was a such a fear of race riots why did the vast majority of the public and press consistently vote that Wills was not only the most dangerous contender for Dempsey but deserved a shot? Wills was not Johnson and both the public and promoters knew it. He was a respectable, religious, mild mannered, family man with a head for business who had worked his way up the hard way and didnt let it go to his head. He was exactly the type of fighter who would have been an excellent role model for everyone. He also happened to be bigger than Dempsey, skilled, strong, experienced, and a good puncher. Exactly the type of guy who could have taken the title from Dempsey and kept it and THAT, not phantom promoters or some cabal of "officials", is why Dempsey didnt fight Wills. And make no mistake about it, Dempsey had as much responsibility for that decision as anyone. There were any number of promoters in this country and in other more accepting countries who could and would have staged that match had their offers not fallen on the deaf ears of a reluctant champion. Furthermore, Dempsey as champion was an influential figure. He could have easily taken a stand and put his foot down to a demand an equal opportunity for a worthy and deserving opponent and in doing so he would have set an example. But Dempsey was far more interested in milking the title than he was being a champion and everything that being a champion entails.

I wont even get into the bogus contracts for the umpteenth time. Both of those situations have been explained ad naseum for the smoke screens they were. The only people who continue to push that narrative are the ones who have an agenda and want to maintain the myth that has built up around Dempsey. When the man himself admits that at the very least the first contract was as bogus as they come and that still isnt enough for Dempsey nuthuggers then no amount of fact based historical analysis will sway their hero worship.

 

Hi Buddy.
You have laid your case out well, I for one have not got a counter argument, and would suggest to find one would be difficult.
stay safe amigo.

 

I'm sorry to be cynical, Journey, but have you ever even personally met a black dude with a name like "Bill Tate," let alone that exact same name? I mean, I haven't and I don't think I ever will. That's just science. Facts over feelings. Molon Labe.

 

Bill Tate is my uncle- he is what It says on the tin, sugar free he was a bitter guy.

 

Yes, keep convincing yourselves that other peoples morality and ethics are just fronts to get laid. Everyone is just as empty and hateful as you, they just fake it because women.

Keep cloaking yourself in a thin veneer of sarcasm and cynicism. Just another internet troll in a whole world turned to sneering, unprincipled little boys pretending that being a man is just showing no empathy. Pathetic, really.

 

What the hell kind of logic is this? Race riots happened over all sorts of stuff at that time. An affluent black neighborhood in Tulsa was absolutely destroyed by a white mob during this period. Should Black folks have not been allowed gain material wealth because it would upset the racist white people?

The achievements of Black people did not cause race riots. There may have been times it was an inciting incident, but to turn Dempsey into a heroic figure for holding the color line is absolutely bonkers.

Let's do that with all things I guess. I guess slavers were just trying to avoid the civil war...

 

I always love the idiots who try to pretend that because Dempsey employed some black sparring partners as “the help” that he wasnt racist. Lol. Tell that to a generation of southern ex slave holders who employed black servants while doing everything they could to keep black peopke from gaining equal rights.

 

I have a sneaking suspicion that at some point, even if it's the opposite of your goal...you might become far worse than me.

 

Are you going to cry?

 

Are you 14?

 

Sounds like it.

 

Frank Lotierzo is no fan of Jack Dempsey however, he wrote this:

There has been talk by some critics that Dempsey ducked or avoided black fighters. Let's set the record straight. There was really only one black heavyweight worthy of a title shot during Dempsey's championship years, and that was Harry Wills. Dempsey did not duck Wills. Nor do I believe he feared losing to him, hence he did agree to fight the black contender. It was promoter Tex Rickard, who promoted the Jack Johnson – Jim Jeffries fiasco who wouldn't make the fight. It was too soon after Johnson, who was perceived as a threat to white America with his loud mouth and the supposed flaunting of his white women that challenged the white man's sexuality. Dempsey was more than willing to fight Wills. Again, it was the white promoters who controlled the sport that would not let Dempsey meet him.

https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/articles-o...e has been talk by,Dempsey did not duck Wills.

 

If Frank Lotierzo knew anything more than the exact dimensions of the inside of George Foremans ass he wouldnt have posted this. But since thats the sum total of his knowledge of boxing history I feel inclined to tell him that not only was Tex Rickard not the only promoter active in the 1920s (shocking as that may be to Dempsey fans who love to hang their hero's legend on the idea that Rickard stood in the way of a Harry Wills fight) but there were plenty of white promoters who were willing to promote the bout and offered big money to do it. Dempsey simply wanted no part of that bout and ignored those offers. Period. Anyone who has spent any time at all studying this subject cant escape that fact. Dempsey was a champion and could have taken a stand. He had no problem fighting nobody for years at a time while building up demand for his services and his exorbitant asking price. He could have easily said "if you want me to fight then let me fight my most deserving challenger." He didnt and thats on him. You cant blame Rickard when Dempsey fought for other promoters as champion. You cant blame Kearns when Dempsey fired Kearns a year and a half before he lost his title and did so BEFORE his contract with Kearns was up, meaning he wasnt afraid to break a contract (he had done it more than once in the past) in order to have his freedom of choice. The public support was there from day one as Wills was consistently rated as Dempsey's best, most dangerous, and most logical contender by the public at large. The vast majority of the press was behind Wills. So where is this terrible racist agenda to keep Wills from the title? Surely a large part of that responsibility rests with Dempsey. Another area where Lotierzo is completely incorrect is saying that Wills was the ONLY black challenger for Dempsey. Thats simply not true. Until he was removed from contention in 1922 Kid Norfolk was considered an excellent challenger. He had dominated Miske twice before Dempsey defended against Miske and he was a stablemate of Brennan's and sparred with him for the Dempsey bout in 1920. He handled Brennan so easily in sparring that after Dempsey struggled with Brennan he was told to stear well clear of Norfolk. In fact in 1921 when Dempsey was training for Carpentier a call was put out to for sparring partners. When Norfolk showed up to spar with Dempsey they wouldnt let him in the ring with the champion. In 1922 Tex Rickard promoted the Norfolk-Wills bout as an elimination match and when Wills knocked out Norfolk in 2 easy rounds it only served to eliminate Wills from a title shot, apparently. Lotierzo should stick to sniffing the used Foreman jock straps he acquires on Ebay.

 

Its not just Lotierzo
https://www.thefightcity.com/dempsey-vs-wills-boxing-history-jack-dempsey-harry-wills/

In truth, Dempsey himself appeared willing to take Wills on, and for a whole lot of money, too. Those who argue that “The Manassa Mauler” drew the color line might be interested to know he did in fact sign a contract to meet Wills, and that he had fought black opponents before. The match, however, was simply not meant to be. The closest it may have come to actually occurring was in 1925. An agreement was reached with Wills getting fifty grand, a sizable purse at the time, but Dempsey’s much larger payment never came through. And thus neither did one of the most anticipated matches in history.