Dempsey Didn't Jab Enough?

Agreed. It's almost like Dempsey felt that the jab was a hindrance in his pursuit of quick knockouts...which is essentially what the fans wanted and what made him rich.

 

I’m not sure how frequently he jabbed in his unfilmed performances but he used his jab well against Gibbons. It was more of a stalking jolt at times but he used to as a range finder well.

 

Those wondering about Dempsey's infrequent use of the "left jab" might consider reading his book "Championship Fighting" wherein he refers to the jab as a "tap" and "defensive hokum" used only by a "sap." I refer the reader to pp. 50-51 specifically, although a thorough reading of the entire book is a fascinating insight into Jack's boxing philosophy.

A discussion of "Championship Fighting" and the impact Dempsey's philosophy had on the commercial development of prize fighting can be found in Chapter Five of the first volume of my trilogy "The One Is Jack Hurley." The entire three-book series is as much a comprehensive history of big-time boxing promotion in the USA from 1920 into the '70s as it is a biography about Jack Hurley. The full title of volume one is "The One Is Jack Hurley -- Son of Fargo."

 

We all miss this great poster.

 

In spades, sir, in spades! I sometimes still think I hear him commenting when I am watching a fight. God, I miss that man!

 

Not sure about the first fight but the jab was his most used punch in the rematch, the jab to the body. It's just that he didn't punch enough in general because he was too tentative approaching Tunney, weary of getting tagged on the way in. Once he got close, Tunney just tied him up, effectively disabling Jack at all ranges. Dempsey did keep throwing the left until Tunney countered him with a cross and floored him in the 8th.
He managed to land a couple of hard ones to the head for what that was worth.
Here's a compilation of Dempsey jabbing in the second fight.

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