How much should Jack Dempsey be blamed for the color line being drawn again

Nothing.

 

47.383569%

 

I strongly disagree. Only 46%.

 

He pulled out of a fight with Wills and did nothing for three years. It is the textbook champion resting on their laurels to avoid fighting number one contender.

Wills was not blackballed by the powers that be at least not in the relevant time period. New York ordered Dempsey to fight WIlls and in Dempseys absent Wills was filling the role of an interim champion without the title. Fighting more or less who Dempsey would have fought(besides Wills) if his reign had continued. This whole situation was on Dempsey.

If Dempsey didn't duck Wills no one would have picked Wills to beat Dempsey. Dempsey's duck was so blatant it changed everyone's mind.

 

Despite being active for 13% of HW history, Dempsey is responsible for 50% of the ducks.

 

Like the post but not sure about this part. Wills' resume between 1918 and 1922 shts all over Dempsey's. Wills was tall with an 84" reach and carried 210 pounds like an athlete. Contrary to what some repeat, his jab was quick, as well as being very hard. So much of the perception of him is based on the footage which was all filmed well after his prime.

 

He bears some responsibility. Regardless of whether you think he tied to make the fight, or he pulled out, or whatever, the fact is that we don't know who the best of the era is, and he let that come to pass.

 

I’m sure he had some part in that fight not happening but there might have been other forces at work with his management and the politics of the time. I personally have more of a problem with Dempsey sitting on the title for three years without a single defense than I do with him just not fighting Wills.

 

Dempsey had fought colored fighters before/he always said he was willing but Promoter Rickard wouldn't go for it

 

Jeffries had fought coloured fighters before he became champ,but once he won the title------.

 

Kearns and Rickard drew the color line, not Dempsey. Dempsey made several honest attempts at making the fight but for one reason or other advances and forfeits weren't met, money not being deposited in correct bank, or bad checks were passed. Politics also played heavily into the fight not happening in NY, Chicago, Boston, NJ, Canada and other locations. These were covered rather thoroughly in Adam Pollack's trilogy of Dempsey biographies.

 

Dempsey signed to fight Wills three times 1922 with Rickard as the promoter. 1925 once Dempsey split with Kearns he search for a promoter to make the fight happen. Dempsey as per that contract was guaranteed $125,000 once signed. Instead he was handed a $25,000 check that bounced. I have personal letters Dempsey wrote that shows his urgency to fight Wills. In 1926 the backers for the 1925 contract came forward promising Dempsey a one million $ payday.

In the mid 1930’s Wills was interviewed and he cast no blame to Dempsey. “It was those who controlled the sport that did not want a mixed race fight. I know if it were up to Jack we would have fought”.

 

It's a tale as old as time. A tough but ponderous black contender and a cat-quick flashy white champion who won't fight him. All because of Hispanic overlords controlling the money and stoking the fires of racial animus and sewing seeds of discontent. All because of the nativist populist anarchists known as the Mycenean Huguenots, whose violent religion of Scientologistic Shamanism teaches them to segregate and quarantine segments of the population until they boil over with rage at each other. None of this comment was written by ChatGPT.

 

@RockyValdez I'm interested in your perspective on this topic, if you would kindly share?