[1939 article] Jack Dempsey Trashes the Upcoming Louis-Galento Fight

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by mrkoolkevin, Apr 19, 2019.


  1. mrkoolkevin

    mrkoolkevin Never wrestle with pigs or argue with fools Full Member

    18,440
    9,555
    Jan 30, 2014
    W.W. Edgar, "Jack Dempsey Blasts Galento Bout as Worse Than No Fight at All," Detroit Free Press

    Not since that night, back in 1927, when he was the victim of the now famous fourteen count and lost the decision to Gene Tunney in Chicago, has Jack Dempsey knit his brows and scowled so darkly as he did Monday afternoon when asked what he thought of the forthcoming fight between Joe Louis and Two-Ton Tony Galento.

    “It’s just a downright shame,” the old Manassa Mauler answered. “It’s a shame because it isn’t fair to other young heavyweights to put Galento in with the champion when the beset he can be rated is 1,000 to 1.

    “there are a couple of good heavyweights who should be considered ahead of Galento. Ther’s one right here in Detroit—Roscoe Toles. Then there are fellows like Bob Pastor, Lou Nova, Tommy Farr, and we might even include Max Baer and Red Burman, though the latter two wouldn’t have much chance.

    I wouldn’t say that any of these fellows actually deserve a shot at Louis, mind you,” Dempsey went on, “but Galento should be made to fight them before he gets a chance at the title. The whole trouble is that Tony won’t fight these fellows. And I honestly don’t think he could lick any of them.”
    […] “Boxing, especially among the heavyweights, is in a sorry state when a fellow like Galento gets a chance at the title. It’s not much of a chance—but he might get lucky. Any time two fellows start throwing punches, they each have a chance. But in this case Tony’s chances are very remote.

    “And what has he done to get the bout with Louis?” Dempsey answered his own question in a hurry. “Just exactly nothing in a fighting way,” he said. “He’s going around the country getting his picture taken while he’s wearing a monocle and drinking beer. That’s all. Because the least said about his fights lately the better.”
    […] “Before the Joe Louis-John Henry Lewis fight, I said it was better than no fight at all. I’m chancing that this time and my honest opinion of the Louis-Galento fight is this—it’s worse than no fight at all."
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2021
    mrkoolkevin, Apr 19, 2019
    mrkoolkevin, Apr 19, 2019
    #1
    louis54, The Malibu Mauler, Pat M and 1 other person like this.
  2. Unforgiven

    Unforgiven VIP Member banned Full Member

    58,748
    21,553
    Nov 24, 2005
    I think Galento did well enough in the fight to prove Dempsey wrong on the "1000 to 1" claim.
    ... fought and beat Lou Nova too.

    Galento would do okay against Dempsey's challengers too.
     
    Unforgiven, Apr 19, 2019
    Unforgiven, Apr 19, 2019
    #2
    Pedro_El_Chef, Eddie Ezzard and mrkoolkevin like this.
  3. roughdiamond

    roughdiamond Ridin' the rails... Full Member

    9,947
    18,722
    Jul 25, 2015
    Wasn't Dempsey disappointed in Galentos lack of dedication, and KOd him in a sparring session? Or is it just a myth?
     
    roughdiamond, Apr 19, 2019
    roughdiamond, Apr 19, 2019
    #3
    BoxingFanOfIranianDescent, Pepsi Dioxide, Marvelous Mauler and 4 others like this.
  4. mrkoolkevin

    mrkoolkevin Never wrestle with pigs or argue with fools Full Member

    18,440
    9,555
    Jan 30, 2014
    As far as I can tell from the more contemporaneous sources, Dempsey just roughed him up in the gym one day and split his lip or something—doesn’t seem like it was a real sparring session though.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2019
    mrkoolkevin, Apr 19, 2019
    mrkoolkevin, Apr 19, 2019
    #4
    roughdiamond likes this.
  5. Eddie Ezzard

    Eddie Ezzard Boxing Addict Full Member

    3,447
    5,129
    Jan 19, 2016
    The irony of it all wasn't lost on me, either. Any heavyweight champion who gave shots to either Billy Miske or Georges Carpentier forfeits any right to be superior about another champion's level of competition.

    Speaking of Galento and Jack's challengers, Firpo v Galento might have been fun.
     
    Eddie Ezzard, Apr 19, 2019
    Eddie Ezzard, Apr 19, 2019
    #5
    Seamus and mrkoolkevin like this.
  6. janitor

    janitor VIP Member Full Member

    71,218
    26,528
    Feb 15, 2006
    The irony of this article, is that Galento would eventually have forced Louis to meet him anyway.

    If Louis had refused him a title shot, then you would have had a situation where Galento beat Lou Nova to become the #1 contender, and then demanded a shot at Louis on that basis.

    Given Louis's level of activity at the time, a collision between him and Galento would have become inevitable!
     
    janitor, Apr 19, 2019
    janitor, Apr 19, 2019
    #6
    Pedro_El_Chef, ETM and cross_trainer like this.
  7. louis54

    louis54 Well-Known Member Full Member

    2,187
    1,300
    Mar 20, 2013
    Why would dempsey think much of galento.....most posters here don't
     
    louis54, Apr 19, 2019
    louis54, Apr 19, 2019
    #7
    The Malibu Mauler likes this.
  8. janitor

    janitor VIP Member Full Member

    71,218
    26,528
    Feb 15, 2006
    He was, and they parted ways for this reason.

    Even so, if Galento was so bad, why did he want to manage him in the first place?
     
    janitor, Apr 20, 2019
    janitor, Apr 20, 2019
    #8
    Pedro_El_Chef, Journeyman92, cross_trainer and 2 others like this.
  9. Unforgiven

    Unforgiven VIP Member banned Full Member

    58,748
    21,553
    Nov 24, 2005
    Yes. At least Joe Louis's diminishing quality of opposition can be partly attributed to his high level of activity as champion. He was genuinely running low on viable opponents.
    In Dempsey's case, he doesn't have an excuse.
     
    Unforgiven, Apr 20, 2019
    Unforgiven, Apr 20, 2019
    #9
    Pedro_El_Chef and ETM like this.
  10. Unforgiven

    Unforgiven VIP Member banned Full Member

    58,748
    21,553
    Nov 24, 2005
    I'd love to see that brawl.
    The Marquess of Queensberry would be turning in his grave though.
     
    Unforgiven, Apr 20, 2019
    Unforgiven, Apr 20, 2019
    #10
    Pedro_El_Chef and cross_trainer like this.
  11. BoxingFanOfIranianDescent

    BoxingFanOfIranianDescent Tony Galento was an African American boxer. banned Full Member

    393
    278
    May 24, 2021
    Million dollar gate bro... Money doesn't lie
     
    BoxingFanOfIranianDescent, Nov 14, 2021
    BoxingFanOfIranianDescent, Nov 14, 2021
    #11
    cross_trainer likes this.
  12. cross_trainer

    cross_trainer Liston was good, but no "Tire Iron" Jones Full Member

    17,565
    12,965
    Jun 30, 2005
    In that case, this entire forum is in trouble. Here's a cumulative list of heavyweight title challengers that Classic posters not named "Tim Witherspoon" have faced:
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2021
    cross_trainer, Nov 14, 2021
    cross_trainer, Nov 14, 2021
    #12
    louis54 likes this.
  13. BitPlayerVesti

    BitPlayerVesti Boxing Drunkie Full Member

    8,584
    11,087
    Oct 28, 2017
    While I agree that its pretty rich for Dempsey to criticise Louis's title reign, in truth, outside of Wills and Greb, there wasn't much better opposition for Dempsey to defend against.

    The problem with Dempsey is that he didn't fight Wills and Greb, not that he had a money fight with Carpentier that any champion would have taken.
     
    BitPlayerVesti, Nov 15, 2021
    BitPlayerVesti, Nov 15, 2021
    #13
    BoxingFanOfIranianDescent, 70sFan865 and ETM like this.
  14. SwarmingSlugger

    SwarmingSlugger Active Member Full Member

    969
    1,163
    Nov 27, 2010
    I believe Galento said Dempsey hit him harder than anyone after they sparred.
     
    SwarmingSlugger, Nov 15, 2021
    SwarmingSlugger, Nov 15, 2021
    #14
    BoxingFanOfIranianDescent likes this.