Dempsey's "Loaded Gloves" v Willard

Yeah, and I don't recall Dempsey-or for that matter any other fighter-doing that much skeletal damage in his other fights.Also in the second and third rounds Willard was managing to hold his own.So what happened between the first and the second rounds? Did Dempsey's punching power vanish and the punch resistance of Jess Willard,who remember had just gone down seven times in the first round and suffered catastrophic damage to his soft and hard tissues,suddenly increase? He never went down after the first round.So,I confess I find this a very unusual fight.

BTW I'm curious why did Dempsey sprint out of the ring? He had just won the richest prize in sport and became one of the most famous men on the planet.Why wasn't he there in the ring soaking up the adulation of the fans?

 

I think it's rubbish.

Yes, Willard went to his grave convinced Dempsey had cheated, but frankly it reeks of sour grapes.

Look at the way he was hit. I mean seriously, it's only natural he'd suffer appalling punishment.

The plaster of paris theory has been proven to be false, and what else was there? Special tape? What tape was this? Why didn't anyone else ever use it? What tape hardens like concrete, especially back then?

A bolt? Would a mere bolt make that much difference to Dempsey's punch, and what's more, Willard claimed he felt something metal which would indicate Dempsey, assuming he cheated, would have to be wearing whatever it was on his knuckles. Wasn't he worried about mangling his hands at all?
Didn't he feel pain every time he connected with Willard's hard head? He didn't seem to...

 

I would think so....the hard surface would not cushion the impact and the energy in the punch would be be channeled through a smaller surface area...

I've just read the Monte Cox link,though,and he made some good points as to why this fight was on board.

 

Sure, if he wore it on the outside of the glove but that's ludicrous if you ask me.

If he held it in his fist, what do you think?

 

LOL.I don't know.:think Considering the impact of a world class punch it had to have been gripped very firmly.If Dempsey held a bolt in one of his hands in the first round-and I'm purely speculating-I think we'd see two things.
Firstly,I would assume he would be unusually favouring one hand over the other.Secondly,he'd be hitting his opponent with the side of his fist rather than with the knuckles.
So far so simple,but,I suppose, very difficult to be certain one way or the other.

 

Dempsey said this himself in his autobiography,I didn't say he had electrical tape on ,but that it was known for fighters to use it. I tend to believe a ,primed, hungry young Tiger feasted on a fat complacent Champion.

 

This story came about because one of the still phots of the fight shows a small dark object on the canvas as Willard is being dragged to his corner,some have speculated that it was a spanner used for tightening the ring ropes,but it could equally have been a cigar butt.Willard never found any bolt he was in no state to go looking for one either,when the fight ended he was incoherent and in a daze.Years later both fighters reconciled and shook hands . In fact when Willard was down on his luck Dempsey gave him a job promoting booze with his name on it,till Jess was heard disparaging the quality of the product in no uncertain terms whereupon ,Dempsey "let him go",.As Dempsey put it ,"Jess wasnt with me very long on either occasion".

 

One more thing the bet was made by Kearns ,without Dempsey's knowledge ,he learned of it just as he was entering the ring,and the ring bolts for securing the canvas and flooring were over 5 inches long ,too big to be concealed in a glove.If you look closely at the start of the first round you can see Dempsey coming from his corner with open gloves.

 

Dempsey once had a seven foot sparring partner he broke his jaw in two places with one punch ,the man could hit.

 

Also the entire taping of the gloves is on film.

 

Let us agree the gloves were loaded.




WITH DEMPSEY!

 

Dempsey threw 100s of Haymakers there should have been monumental damage to Willard. The only real fishy smell if there is 1, is how Dempsey threw so many haymakers without damaging his hands, maybe his hands were really well taped, maybe he fought threw hand damage with the adrenaline. No fighter with half a brain loads there gloves with any metal object because it would destroy his hands

 

I dont think Dempsey had a metal bolt, because of the damage of the hands.

People said its the only time this type of damage ever happen, and it never happen again before or after. But lets take a look at this for a movement.

Joe Louis vs Schemling II?? Broken back, I sure Schemling was wearing a mouth guard lol. It was pretty comman for fighters to lose teeth pre mouth guard day. One of Louis's victims(As did Marciano's) had there mouth guards smash into there teeth. Had there been no mouth guards, I sure they would have lost teeth. Willard was smileing shortly before the fight with NO mouth guard. I dont recall them putting in a guard. I recall the gloves getting put on, but no guard.

Broken ribs are comman in boxing. Its possible, I mean Jeff broke his arm vs Sharkey, and Johnson sure as hell gave Jeffires some broken ribs in that beating he took. It happen faster because Willard was a open target, and of couse not in top shape to take the blows Dempsey would bring.

Broken jaw, Well Ali got one vs Norton, Marciano broke Layne's jaw with that right power bomb, and of couse Louis did the same with a few foes. Uzcudun comes to mind.

Than we also got ring deaths, which had worse beatings than the one Willard got. But not going to get into that one.

Also Harry Greb's beating of Tunney in the first fight, Marciano over LarSarza, and Lee Salvod, Louis over Schemling, and Uzcudun, and some other fights had about the same beatings. Some of them in longer fights like LarSarza, took longer, But it must be rember Willard was not in shape for this fight. Also the lack of a netrual corner rule didnt do Willard any favors imo.

 

Didn't Louis also drive Braddocks front teeth through his lip?

Dempsey used to soak his hands and face to toughen them up, this may explain how his hands were able to absorb the punishment of repeatedly hitting Willard in the face.

I had read that Willard in later life would point to a dent in his head that he claimed had been caused by a crooked fighter claiming no man could dent bone with his fists alone

 

It might be of interest to hear Willard from Sports Illustrated 1-13-1964

"First time Dempsey hit me, I knew those gloves were loaded. He knocked me down seven times, maybe eight. I don't recall exactly now. But every time he hit me, I could feel another bone or two breaking.
"I wasn't knocked out. Nobody ever knocked me out. But I was blind. I was dazed from getting clubbed by those chunks of cement. My face was all broken, and my head was too."
"'Look,' Willard said, pointing to his left cheekbone at the temple. 'Put your hand here. Feel that bone moving around. That's what them cement gloves did to me.'"