Did dempsey put brine on his face?

Yes he pickled his hands and face in beef brine.

 

I heard Dempsey's menu also included chews of pine tar gum to toughen his jaw.

 

Correct.:good

 

damn that work?

 

The practice of pickling the face and hands was commonplace in the bareknuckle era.

Fighters somtimes used turpetine, and somtimes a mixture of vitriol and gunpowder.

 

All of which made them more liable to cuts

 

I have to seriously doubt that.

These techniques had been arived at over a period of more than a century, and presumably must have provided some benefit.

 

Putting something corrosive on the skin makes it more susceptible to the skin tearing

Otherwise what's the science behind it?

Just because allot of people do things and carry them out as traditions doesn't make them a good idea. People used leeches for centuries too and it was considered good medicine

 

Sounds a bit like the decision of most modern boxers to weightlift and put on weight instead of training properly and getting their weight down as much as possible.:deal

 

Except the skin didn't callous did it, it just stayed the same albeit with less nutrients and natural oils that protect the skin and in a more deterred state as it had acid breaking it down. Did it grow back stronger? Hard to say for sure, I'd say it's unlikely

BTW half the things boxers say they do, they do a few times and not regularly