Jack Dempsey footage: what do you see?

Doug Jones. I would bet the mortgage on it.

 

Fair enough then.

 

And just to be clear here, there are many times that Dempsey looks phenomenal on film. However, there are lapses and tendencies that are unforgivable. It's as though he was a guy used to being fed soft touches who knew the script. I know Kearns liked to feed him soft sparring partners to feed his ego (a not totally uncommon practice)... but this practice seemed to bleed over into matchmaking. And a style resulted.

 

I agree that Kearns management harmed Dempsey. I think Dempsey has echoed that sentiment. Supposedly he hated the exhibitions.

 

Exactly this.

 

I see a Tiger who would make Wlad fill his shorts.

 

Michalzewski? :think I'd give him a puncher's chance against Wlad, sure.

Not sure I can spot the Dempsey resemblance, though. :huh Maybe a bit in the shape of the face, and complexion. Dariusz could pass as First Nations enough to not get booted from a tribal gathering, I suppose. He wasn't as pale as your average Pole. :hey

 

I think it's pretty simple, he has Arturo Gatti syndrome. When he gets hurt or it degenerates into a brawl he's totally content to let it go there.

He started out as a teenager fighting in mining camps for money, bareknuckle, until one guy was basically half dead. He had a refined skill set but was a fighter at heart and a mean s.o.b. so if someone wanted to brawl he wasn't going to back down from that and out skill them, it doesn't provide the same satisfaction as out toughing them.

In his heart of hearts he was way more Stanley Ketchal than Mike Gibbons.

Against guys like Marciano, Tyson, Liston, Louis that could definitely cost him but he's also very dangerous like that. He's a gunfighter and it's one reason he's so admired and a great microcosm and symbol for the era, not just in boxing but American history.

P.S. This is about Nonpareil Jack Dempsey but a great fight song none the less

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wz_PGoDt38[/url]

 

Good point on the book "Championship fighting" I reading it again actually. I'm beginning to appreciate Dempsey more...I agree with Seamus to an extent that Dempsey had no plan B...and would lose his head at times, but with that said, his fights with Willard and Firpo had the look of something that went beyond that of a professional boxing match...these fights were savage, and someone could have been killed. I think fighting a Jack Dempsey you might find yourself in deeper than you would want to go...Nasty, vicious fighter. I believe that he has the capability to hurt anyone he hits...and if he hurts you...It's on. He's gonna try to take you out...His stock is rising in my eyes.

 

Quick reference if anyone's unfamiliar:

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:good Cheers man...it's the deal.

 

Well put. In his autobiography The Million Dollar Gate, Kearns states that he determined that Dempsey would only face opposition that would provide for a spectacular fight. Also, after the Carpentier fight, "the world began begging to give us money in innumerable ways." While anything 'Doc' says must be taken with a grain of salt, it is evident that he capitalized on Dempsey's supers****om by going Hollywood. In an HBO documentary on Dempsey from the 1980s Ray Arcel states that Jack Dempsey was a great fighter, but could have been greater if he had concentrated on being a fighter rather than an actor.

 

"Kearns management harmed Dempsey"

And also took a struggling journeyman and made him champion.

 

I'm specifically pointing to the handling of Dempsey after his fame. I don't blame him, because he was the first manager to go through the experience.

However a wise manager knows that a quality product sells. And he could have done more to sacrifice short term wealth to keep Dempsey active. Hindsight is 20/20 eh?