Sharkey was pissed after the Dempsey loss.

I don’t think Sharkey’s head would handle colossal levels of fame well either, in fact he’d probably lose whatever fight he had right after.

 

For all his volatile temperament and erratic performances here and there, Sharkey knew how to invest and use his money wisely. Quite well heeled in his later years as I understand it. Watching old IV clips of him he also had a very dry humour. Quite a no nonsense speaker.

 

Taking everything on board, I for one am not sold on the legitimacy of Sharkey’s KO loss to Carnera.

By the same token and conversely I can’t say it was a 100% dive. It’s just one of those fights I’ll never be sure about, one way or the other.

With a gun to my head and my life depending on it I might lean toward a dive.

It would take a lot to sway someone ($$$ and/or threats included) to give up the HW title - but if Jack himself didn’t envisage longevity at the top anyway……

 

But why would he cross paths with Loughran, Shucco and Louis if he had no aspirations for a title fight after he lost his champion status?

 

Fair point. Jack didn’t have too many fights are the Carnera loss and his record for those fights was very underwhelming.

One version I’ve read is that Sharkey and his manager talked their way into receiving 25% of the gate for the Louis fight, part of the leverage being that while Jack was a name fighter he also represented an easy comeback for Louis.

Not that Sharkey didn’t try, Louis was simply too good - but it still could be seen as a nice final payout sought by Sharkey.

It’s always about the money but sometimes more acutely for some fighters - especially those who know how to apply some financial wisdom, maximise their returns and protect their earnings thereafter.

 

You could make a good case that after Marciano… maybe Walcott’s era… there hasn’t been a more skilled HW champion since Jack Sharkey… maybe Mike? he was tested a lot, often and @janitor has pointed out he faced a ridiculous amount of ranked guys, you can’t build that type of skill today at HW if he was AJ’s size with his skills intact he’d never lose.

 

In fairness to Sharkey, KO losses like that really take it out of ya, he ducked right into the best punch a 260lbs odd guy threw. Mr Carnera just took the last of Jack’s magic.

 

Louis got 30% while Sharkey got 25%, it was a good deal for Jack for his last fight.
However, between the Carnera and Louis fights, Sharkey fought and lost a controversial decision to Loughran in 1933, and decision loss and then a draw to high ranking LHW Tony Shucco.
I don't think he'd give up the title just to struggle through world class fighters again and risk fights with guys like Louis.

 

Suffice to say, given context and appearances, the KO still looks a bit dodgy to me.

Before that fight Sharkey easily handled Carnera, dropping him along the way.

3 years later (after Sharkey lost to Carnera) Louis cracked that same chin (at best but perhaps even deteriorated) pretty good multiple times without yielding the definitive result that Carnera did and Da Preem wasn’t a reputed puncher.

 

Fair perspective but at least in the case of Louis, Sharkey’s previous fights might be viewed as positioning himself nicely to get that one, big last pay day against The Bomber.

 

That could be, and Louis' recent loss to Schmeling could've given Jack the idea that a win over Louis wouldn't be too far fetched. His bob and weave worked really well to thwart Joe's jab but Louis drove him into the ropes and threw combinations which Sharkey could do little to guard against.

 

Maybe the context, Carnera has his reputation but you can see Sharkey dive into it, it was his way to dip like that all the time - that punch Mr Carnera threw was technically very solid, had his hips full turned through and both JS and PCs chin were on course for one another. Sometimes it’s just a good punch.

 

$$$$$$$$

 

We never even saw the punch land ,it looks very theatrical to me.
Sharkey broke training camp twice to go home and check on his children,for me it was a dive.