An article I wrote for 24.com on Jack Dempsey & Jess Willard

I'm pleased

 

****, man. That's way too long. I'm not made of time.

 

Read it. Good analysis of the fight. Almost made me forget that you hate Jack Dempsey so much. I wish their was film of some of his pre-title fights, his first against Brennan, or his fight with Fulton, his 2nd round KO of Gunboat Smith. They'd probably be more impressive than his actual title defenses.

 

............Remarkably professional.



Sell it. :blood

 

Never in a month of Sundays, sunshine

 

Very good McGrain, the part i actually laughed out loud at was -

Later in this round, he unleashes the most fearsome attack ever seen in the ring. I want you to re-read that last sentence.

Great that!!

 

Writing--very good. You write well. Some of it did appear purplish to me--the mongoose with a machine gun. Might be just me, but the image is so bizarre it draws one out of your argument for a chuckle.

Content--There is no real discussion of what the 37 year old Willard, who had laid off three years, and was obviously carrying some flab about the midsection, had left. Was he more than a very big target? How long would anyone expect that Willard to last with a prime Louis or Liston or Tyson? Could he have finished three rounds with them on his feet? I, at least, might question whether Dempsey having to knock Willard down time and again and not actually being able to finish him is quite as impressive as you assume.

On a related note, there was a thread a year or two ago in which evidence was produced from newspaper reports of the time that Willard was not as severely hurt--cheekbone broken in 12 places, broken ribs, broken jaw, etc, as legend has it and in fact had pretty much recovered in a few days.

 

I think Willard was in decent condition considering his age and the fact that he'd only fought exhibitions in the last three years. Obviously those factors made him a lesser fighter than he'd been, but his whole style had always incorporated soaking up some punishment and wearing his man down with durability and strength. I think Willard had trained well and was in decent shape, I dont see how he would have been able to pick his heavy 37-year old bulk off the canvas six times if he'd been untrained.

He took some years off after Dempsey beat him, came back and outlasted the decent young fighter Floyd Johnson, and stood up for 8 rounds against the heavy-hitting Firpo, so that's a little indication of Dempsey's feat.

Sure, maybe Louis, Tyson, Liston or some other great heavyweight destroyer might also have managed a quick and savage victory over 1919 Willard, but you'd have to say only those exceptional ones you'd have any confidence in doing so.

Dempsey's athleticism and seemingly instinctive boxing and fighting ability in the Willard fight and in various sparring footage of the time (and even in the Gibbons fight) impresses me immensely. The way he moves is amazing, a phenomenon like a young Ali.

 

Willard went on to beat Floyd Johnson after this fight.

He was still a force in the heavyweight division though it is hard to say how much of one.

Verry few people could have replicated that feat. Joe Louis or Mike Tyson might have closed the deal in three rounds but I doubt that he would have closed it in one as Dempsey did for all practical purpouses.

 

A well writen and thoroughly enjoyable article.

Look forward to the next one.