Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier

I appreciate you effort in bringing these fights to life through your perspective ... I felt from the versions I have seen that other than a sharp right in what I believe was the second round that stung Jack, Dempsey really pummeled Carpentier , throwing terrific body shots in the third and fourth .. to me Dempsey looked very fast and very strong .. his body punching vicious and blazing fast ..

 

hegrant, yes Dempsey was strong compared to light-heavyweight Carpentier, who weighed 172 lbs.!! I'm not disagreeing with you at all about Dempsey's strength, but the Firpo fight is a better indication of Dempsey's strength. But then, I'm being unfair in jumping ahead in the sequencing of William's odyssey!

 

Did you see the HL version of the rounds? Or the FULL fight? I have the version shown in theaters and I scored it 3-1 for Dempsey. Dempsey's body work and pressure Carpentier really control the fight. Dempsey was getting work done and even busted up George's face in round 3. He even had Carpentier almost DOWN and OUT in the first round by punching him almost out of the ring at the start of the fight before Dempsey back off. The HL version seems to be missing most of Dempsey's work.

Dempsey_Carpentier_U209198.jpg (320×279) (eyeonthering.com)

The pic of Carpentier out of the ring in the first.

 

I just watched the whole fight and I believe the photo of Carpentier falling out of the ring is from early in the 4th round when Carpentier spins away from Dempsey and lurches into the ropes.

What strikes me is that Carpentier looks small. He clearly is a pretty good fighter, but seems almost a middle compared to Dempsey. Huge size differentials are the pattern in these old heavyweight fights.

I got the impression, and certainly might be wrong, that Dempsey was not trying too hard to finish Carpentier prior to the 4th round. The fight going long enough to make a worthwhile film might have been a consideration. Don't have anything but speculation, though.

 

Jack Dempsey vs Georges Carpentier (Full Film) - YouTube

Here is the film of the fight and as you can see Carpentier would land a few shots on Dempsey, for Dempsey to tied Carpentier up and work on the head and body. Around 40:27 of the first round Dempsey does knock Carpentier down and a bit out of the ring in the first round.

No way was Carpentier out pointing Dempsey. Dempsey had control, working the body in the clinches and was landed more shots.

 

Even if Jack Dempsey was being outpointed by Georges Carpentier, it wouldn't have mattered because New Jersey was a "no-decision" state at the time.

- Chuck Johnston

 

I found an original silent version and saw the "knockdown" in the first round although the film didn't show Carpentier on his knees. This could be the time of the photo of Carpentier on his knees with his head outside the ring. My reaction was that this was probably a slip or a push rather than a knockdown, as Carpentier didn't seem hurt.

Interestingly, the silent version had brief clips of a couple of preliminaries. One was of obviously small men. The second clip was of light-heavies or heavies. Gene Tunney fought Soldier Jones in one preliminary. Billy Miske fought Jack Renalt in the semi-final. I could not tell if this clip was of either fight. One guy did look sort of like Tunney, but his style was not quite the same, but this was five years before 1926. Anyone know who was fighting on those clips?

 

I was wondering for years if Gene Tunney was shown in the film lol. We even had a trend on the subject before the crash. As for the "Knockdown" It look like Dempsey landed a 2 punch combo. Can not tell what it was since Carpentier body was to the camera and he goes down just outside of camera range. But if they number the rounds right, it would of been the first. My guess it was a hook to the body and shot to the head during the clinch. Dempsey does land the 1 2 pretty fast. It could of been a slip also. The 4 rounds shown on Espn do cut up the film a LOT and pretty much take away most of Dempsey's work on Carpentier's body.

 

"Without a doubt hes the hardest and the heaviest hitter the ring has ever known." Fred Fulton january 1919 on dempsey

 

Let's put this in context shall we.

The date of 1919 being the crux of the matter.

We have had over 100 yrs since then.

 

" jack dempsey is the hardest hitter the ring ever saw " big bill tate july 2 1919

 

Always speak well of the man who signs your paycheck.

Yes, Dempsey could punch. So could Sam McVea. So could Sam Langford. So could Harry Wills. There is more to boxing success than a good punch. Opportunity helps. Someone greasing the rails to success helps, too. Like setting up a Heavyweight Championship against a guy who was a total no-hoper and selling it to the public.

 

" I want to say there is not a man as far back as john l Sullivan who hit as hard as dempsey does now and jack hits with equal in either hand" jess willard July 1919

Free huey, mcvey, and n the morlocks !