Jack Dempsey and Harry Wills, the timeline

And when Dempsey fought Firpo, he hit him on the break, hit him when he was down, hit him when he was getting up, hit him after the bell, and was illegally helped back into the ring!

 

Tunney's colour line lasted his entire career, not just when he held the heavyweight title. He claimed to have never even had a black sparring partner.

 

And that changes the fact that Wills scored the sole kd of Firpo by hitting him after the break? Dempsey did not hit Firpo when he was down ,or on the break, and anything that Dempsey did to Firpo, Firpo could have done to him, level playing field.

 

Tunney never fought a black fighter neither did Loughran so they are both sh*t right?
Can you provide the quote from Tunney re the sparring partner ,because I think its bull sh*t.

 

So it's alright for Dempsey to foul because Firpo could have fouled him back? It's a bit rich to target Wills for a foul against Firpo in light of Dempsey's own foul ridden performance against him. Grantland Rice thought he was lucky not to be disqualified.

 

I never said it was alright for anybody to foul, I pointed out to Suze that Wills scored his kd of Firpo with a punch after the break. You said Dempsey hit Firpo when he was down and on the break he didn' t.

Grantland Rice had a long history of negative write ups of Dempsey from his lack of a war record to the purses he was getting.He was about as unbiased as you.

 

I never said he was sh*t.

From Tunney's interview with Ed van Every after winning the title:

"I won't fight Harry Wills unless I am given the impression that the public really insists on such a contest. I don't wish to hurt anyone's feelings, but I have never boxed a Negro and have never even had one as a sparring partner."

 

Hall of Famer in his Prime George Godfrey....white???

Rated number 2 in the world in 1928 and number 3 in 1929

 

That's great thanks a lot

Confirms my opinion of Tunney

 

Can you produce the primary quote please I am unable to find it.

 

Tunney had already challenged Wills for the right to fight Dempsey.

 

Tunney had no intention of fighting wills. It was a publicity stunt

 

So you say.

 

Can't get my head around the racist reasoning of the Tunneys and Loughrans. It's as if they considered it beneath them to sweat and spill blood and compete with a black man. Would be interesting to go back in time and ask them to explain themselves. Or perhaps that would be a gross waste of time.

With someone like Dempsey, it's clear enough that the color line was an opportunistic or political thing.

 

Just saying why try to make capital out of a Wills foul when Dempsey was guilty of many more against the same opponent. He certainly hit him on the break. He does it a few moments into round two. And at the end of the previous round he landed several punches after the bell.

Rice was often critical of Dempsey but did praise him as a fighter.

That's a direct quote. It's from The Life of Gene Tunney by Ed van Every.