Fireman Flynn KO 1 Jack Dempsey

I didn't post the 1-5-1 record off of boxrec I was replying to Klompton who posted the record in a previous post. Fulton was a tremendous puncher and in his prime during this time.

 

Thats what is so pointless and irritating about this. I give Dempsey a pass for getting knocked out pre prime by Flynn as well. It happens/ed to tons of guys. Its not a big deal. Its irritating because some hold him in such adoration that they refuse to accept it and will believe anything just so they dont have to consider that Dempsey was actually stopped by Flynn. As far as Im concerned the Dempsey we know didnt exist prior to 1918 and even in 1918 was still an evolving piece of work. He got knocked out, he was human, big deal. Flynn couldnt do it a year later and the best Flynn that ever lived couldnt have done it in 1919.

 

Supposedly at Dempsey's divorce trial his ex-wife testified that Dempsey because of
money problems agreed to a "dive" against Flynn in return for food on the table...
Why would his ex wife in a bitter divorce proceeding testify to his throwing the fight
were it not true ? What was in it for her to lie ?
Besides Dempsey flattened Flynn a short time after in one round....Besides any pre prime
young fighter can get tagged for a ko...I remember watching young sensation Joey Giardello in his 31st bout in 1950, put into La La land with one left hook by my neighbor
Harold Green in the 6th round...Stuff happens to young inexperienced fighters .

 

To discredit him, perhaps? I can see a lot of potential angles. She was hardly credible, by the way.

 

I think she's about as credible as most people in boxing. At least.

 

It wasnt a divorce proceeding it was his draft evasion trial and his wife said a lot of things. She was extremely bitter that she had lost what was now a cash cow in the champion and its been pretty well established that she was trying to extort money from him. Remember, this draft evasion trial was actually a direct result of all of the venom she was spewing, it just so happened that this allegation was true and had potentially serious consequences in under federal law. That being said its also hinted at strongly that Kearns eventually paid her off in order to reverse some of her most damning testimony on the stand. Go back through the papers recounting that trial and read some of things that Maxine said and tell me if you believe all of them. They range from being wildly ridiculous to factual making her a less than ideal source.

 

Maxine Cates

It wouldn't be a given to me that she would actually know if the fight was fixed or not. I don't know about Dempsey, but if I were doing something illegal, I wouldn't confide in anyone, even my wife. If you don't know about the cat being in the bag, you can't accidentally let it out of the bag. And I think Maxine was an alcoholic, probably not the type to be trusted not to blab out a secret when in her cups. And I think it would almost have to have been Dempsey who told her. It is hard to believe anyone else plotting a fix would do so with her in the room.

 

Definitely more credible than Slacker Jack, Kearns or that child raper Rickard.

 

On the other hand, she was street-smart too, older than him, and a prostitute.
Whores hear things.

 

Yeah, and Slacker Jack swore the fight was on the level.

 

What I've read I find very believable, to be fair.
Like, for example, him breaking her jaw because she wasn't earning enough.

 

Well, if I were a man plotting a fix, I would certainly make certain I was doing it in safe surroundings, which would not include any place where the conversation could be overheard, and I would certainly make it clear to Dempsey that he should not confide his role to anyone, certainly not to a woman with a drinking problem.

Just me, but then I'm the cautious type.

*bottom line--if she actually believed there was a fix, this might be no more than guesswork on her part.

 

Dempsey got stopped.. let's leave it at that

 

IF there was a fix, and she heard of it, she didn't necessarily hear it from Dempsey. (Although it's possible he would say "I threw the fight for extra money". People confide in other people all the time, street-smart or not, alcoholic or not. And she wouldn't have said a word if she still had a piece of Jack.) She probably had friends in the prize-fighting and gambling fraternity years before she met Dempsey. She had her claws in and knew her business. She was a ***** and a bordello piano-player, not an eves-dropping housewife listening in on the men's business. Yeah, she might just have heard rumours. Or she might have made it up. It could be total BS. There are lots of possibilities.

 

Can't disagree that anything is possible.

But I think the bottom line is that she wouldn't necessarily know anything, except perhaps that Dempsey brought home more money than she thought he would, but that could be because of the large gate and his share turning out to be bigger than expected.

And that is assuming Dempsey shared with her how much money he was taking in at any given point, something I would also not take as a given.

"friends"

Why would anyone else connected with a fix confide in Maxine? Doesn't make much sense to me.