Dempsey vs Flynn

This has come up many times. Here's an article that says that he took a dive.

http://coxscorner.tripod.com/dempsey_dive.html

 

http://senya13.blogspot.com/2010/05/1917-02-13-jack-dempsey-l-ko1-fireman.html

 

It was either a dive because Dempsey really needed the money...or a legit knockout...but several reports say Dempsey literally had not eaten for days and was in a very weakened state....

 

I am convinced it was a "dive" on young Dempsey's part. His wife whom Dempsey divorced revealed to the press this fact. They had no money at all and Dempsey
took the money.until the above article, i didn't realize Dempsey was contributing
to his mother and family members..
At any rate Shortly after Dempsey on the up and up ,flattened Flynn in one round.

 

I dont believe it was a dive. the reports make it clear that dempsey was knocked out and hurt pretty bad. dempsey legend is a lot tougher than he actually was, particularly at this point. He was human, he got caught and hurt and thats that. Even he admitted to the day he died that he got his clock cleaned.

 

I'd want to see how a man who hasn't been eating for several days spends 2 hours running on the road the day before the bout. Or takes a 7-mile run and then works for 2 hours in the gym several days before the bout. Just looking through pre-fight reports at random. He was training harder than for any of his previous bouts up to that point, wanting to make an impression against an experienced opponent, to gain national attention.

 

yea...he may well not have taken a dive..but he was definitly weak...lets try not feeding Wlad Klitschko food for two days..and put him in aganst a pretty good heavyweight and see what happnens...

 

Had not eaten for two days?? So, cornermen, sparring partners, manager, promoter or any locals were all unwilling to offer some kind of feed??

Gimme a break.

I've also got reports from the "Mirror of Life" magazine, 1910, suggesting Langford admitted Johnson belted him in their fight and he never expected a ramacth; nor did he believe he could beat Johnson.
This is another report that certain clowns on this site would take as gospel also, should they ever read it.

 

if u want to know anything about boxers from Dempseys era i suggest u take what burt bienstock has to say over an article u may have come across.. burts knowledge of that era is second to no-one. :yep

 

Thanks Dynamite, A check is in the mail ...

 

Oh bull**** there is nothing to suggest this fight was a dive or that Dempsey anything other than well trained. The only negative press this got was from years later when Dempsey was already an idol. That **** doesnt wasnt wash. Even Dempsey at the time admitted that Flynn was his most experienced opponent (which he was) and that he was training very hard to make a showing against Flynn. The reports suggest Dempsey was nervous going into the fight and he got caught. Some people simply want to believe Dempsey bulletproof and he wasnt.

 

Either Dempsey got rushed and caught cold, which is very possible, or he took a dive. I don't think there is any significant proof of the fight being a dive, but I admit the circumstances make such suspicions acceptable, even if not much supports the claim.

Dempsey was usually tough, it's difficult to imagine him being flattened in a single round, and we know boxers taking dives isn't all too rare. On the other hand an older, more experienced Dempsey was down against Firpo only seconds into the bout, so it's possible that a young, inexperienced Dempsey could have gotten clocked similarly by the veteran battler Flynn, except he wasn't as prepared to take it then. Years earlier Dempsey had been floored 9 times in the first round by Johnny Sudenberg.

 

So lets get this clear:

1. He took a dive
2. Despite it being an agreed upon dive he was sucker punched as he came to touch gloves (I've heard this stated a few times) and was out for about a miniute
3. His great acting performance in this instance is what got him into Hollywood
4. And he was a victim of the Collarado Famine not being able to eat for 2 years straight but showed his greatness by still being able to run 7miles a day