This content is protected 1. Dempsey brutalized Lutrell all through the round. It seemed almost a no-holds barred affair as I once saw Dempsey strike down upon Lutrell's neck with his elbow. 2. The 2nd was wild. Dempsey held and hit all the way through. At one point he stood behind a dazed Lutrell, punching him. A left hook put Lutrell down on one knee. Jack was right in with a left that put Lutrell down instantly in the corner. He was up again and Dempsey ran right in, beating the crap out of Lutrell with hooks. Dempsey didn't wait at all. As soon as Lutrell was standing Dempsey hit him with a left that sent him sailing through the ropes and into the crowd. It was freaking hilarious. Verdict: Not at all like real boxing, but it was a lot of fun to watch. A lot nicer note to end Dempsey with than the King Levinsky, or even the Tunney fights.
I agree with you that this is a very entertaining fight. Luttrell was actually a wrestler, not a boxer, and would later run a wrestling organization in Florida. Why he was matched with Dempsey is anyone's guess, even in an exhibition. Hard to say what one is supposed to think of an aged Dempsey flattening a fat human punching bag with no skills. (Assuming this was on the level. With a pro wrestler as the opponent, who knows? To me Dempsey's punches do look legit.) One of the things which jumped out at me was Nat Fleischer as the referee. He has to be the hammiest referee I have seen. Compare him with Donovan in the Paychek fight. Donovan just walks casually up to the floored fighter and calls out the count. He doesn't even wave his hand, which, when you think about it, is more for show for the crowd than the guy on the floor. Fleischer is waving his hands all over. He certainly thinks of himself as the star, or at least a costar, of the show. On referees being hams, Donovan is at one end of the spectrum. Low key and casual. Fleischer is at the other extreme. Of the others I have been watching, the most hammy is the guy who refereed the 2nd Louis-Pastor. He really whipped his right arm about tolling the count.
Interesting defensive strategy employed there by Lutrell. Kinda like the rope-a-dope, except he didn't bother to slip or block a single punch in the process.
Judging by how well Mike Perry did early on bullying Jake, as well as Mike in those early rounds, I’d give Jake 3 rounds tops against this Dempsey.
For the record, Dempsey was a willing participant in pro rasslin' on a few occasions. I'm sure they made it worth his while.
There was a kind of phoney grudge match narrative to this. Luttrell was a notorious "heel" in wrestling and Dempsey had refereed one of his fights. After exchanging threats in the press beforehand, they traded a couple of punches in the ring. I guess it stirred up enough interest to put money on the table for a real fight. https://ibb.co/zr5rmG2
