Some people have criticized Jack Dempsey for defending his title against Georges Carpintier, which I alwys found a little odd. However, reading Adam Pollack's Dempsey biography, I was suprised by how important Carpintier was seen as being when Dempsey challenged for the title. In 1918 the Brookly Daily Eagle wrote that if Jess Willard would not defend the championship, then American Champion Jack Dempsey, and European Champion Georges Carpintier should fight for the vacant title. In 1918 Tex Rickard offered Jess Willard $100 000, an enormous sum at the time, to fight either Jack Dempsey or Georges Carpintier. A dislocated thumb would rule Carpintier out. In the run up to the Willard Dempsey fight, Kearns announced that if Dempsey were to win the title, his first defense would be against Carpintier. When Willard was interviewed he responded that he would be the one fighting Carpintier next. After Dempsey won the title, a London promotor offered a $125 000 purse, for Dempsey to fight the winner of Carpintier Becket. A Paris promotor later matched the offer. So my thoughts? The European Title was obviously seen as being more important than I realized. There was considerable public interest in matching Carpintier against Dempsey or Willard, and considerable money behind the fight. There is a reason why this fight was the first million dollar gate. While in hindsight I think that Carpintier was overrated in his day, this was clearly a fight that the public wanted to see, and which Dempsey was under pressure to make.
Carpentier has a solid win over Gunboat Smith( who beat fireman jim flynn, the only men to ever knock dempsey out, Jess willards, who beat jack johnson and Sam Langford and The hall of fame Trainer Jack Blackburn!!), went the distance Tommy Loughran and 15 rounds with the Great Gene Tunney.
World War 1 ended American isolationism, to an extent anyway. The American people were fascinated by a Frenchman that spoke fluent English, was urbane and handsome and was a decorated war hero. Great promoter that he was, Tex Rickard recognized this. Little Carpentier had no chance against Dempsey and Rickard knew that too. Rickard was building his Superman.
I think Carp could have been a lot better than he was without WWI. It was the big money fight, so it was certainly going to happen. The problem with Dempsey is not who he fought, but who he didn't.
My point is that Carpintier was perhaps the biggest draw at heavyweight, outside of Dempsey himself. I am sure that a Willard Carpintier title fight would have been huge.
My great great Pop knew George he could do an iron cross on the roman rings into his sixties! he was a very talented Gymnast.
Carpentier knocked out the best European heavyweights so he was rated highly. It seems there was a chasm at the time between the best in Europe and the best in America/World though.
Promoters dream: urbane, handsome, French war hero Euro champ vs rough, hobo, mean, nasty draft Dodger. Unfortunately for Carpentier, he was Rocky Fielding to Dempseys Canelo.
Carpentier was going to get beaten i think general consensus supports that, however him breaking his thumb in second round confirmed the eventual outcome, facing Dempsey even when you have two healthy fists was a daunting challenge, to do so with Carpentiers injury and was a impossibility.
