Jack Dempsey, boxer: biography, sports career

Modern life is characterized by its rapidity and ever greater separation from the past. Today, the champions of the past years have moved away from us already enough that sometimes it seems as if they were not at all. In particular, this applies to athletes who spoke at the dawn of the 20th century. But, as you know, history can not be forgotten, because we are all somewhat of a past. This article is about a man named Jack Dempsey, who is still a member of the cohort of the best boxers.

Brief biographical note

Born this great athlete June 24, 1895 in the US city of New York (according to other sources, the birthplace is the city of Manassa, Colorado). In the boxing ring, he wore the nickname "Manas' bones". The height of the fighter was 186 centimeters, and the range of arms - 196 cm. During his career, he conducted 83 fights, 62 of which won. He died on May 31, 1983.

Tyson's predecessor

Few people know that it will be more correct to compare Mike Tyson not with Sonny Liston, who is more like Iron in his mentality, namely with Dempsey. Jack and Mike have a similar manner of combat, so it is Jack Dempsey who is actually the real counterpart of Tyson as a boxer.

Crown Reception

Our hero was in his own way a unique person in many ways. During his life, people, as they say, did themselves and were largely inventors. So this legendary boxer also did not stay away and came up with, and also actively used the technique, which was later called "Sunny Dempsey". The essence of this technical action is as follows: Jack dived under the side kick of his opponent, made a feint in the outside and held his lateral blow to the head. At the same time, after the dive, he often followed an additional blow to the body. This combination is actively used in boxing to this day.

The beginning of the boxing track

Jack Dempsey came from the poorest sections of the population. Until the age of nineteen, he worked in mines, until in 1914 he was not invited to speak in a boxing ring. He agreed without hesitation, while taking the pseudonym Kid Black.

It immediately became clear that the guy possessed not only great physical strength, but also an explosive temperament, perseverance. Such a mixture was provided by his blood, in which Irish and Indians mixed.

With each fight, the boxer's popularity grew, and so he concluded that in the ring he would live easier than in the mines.

Hike to the top

In 1915-1916, Jack Dempsey spent 29 fights in which he lost only twice. The young talent became even stronger and more manly, and also increased his agility and speed.

In July 1918, a battle took place between Dempsey and then contender for the world title by Fred Fulton. Initially, this fight was planned for Fulton as a warm-up, capable of raising his authority even more before the championship fight. Fred himself was a very big guy: with an increase of 190.5 cm he weighed 118 kg. It would seem that he had to put Dempsey to one left. But…

The outcome of the duel shocked the public because Jack Dempsey - a boxer who had not been particularly distinguished by that very moment - knocked out Fulton in 23 seconds. Many of the then reviewers and experts considered this an accident, but the subsequent knockout sequence from Dempsey proved that he really deserved a fight for the title.

Duel with the champion

July 4, 1919 in the square of the ring Dempsey, being in the status of the challenger, met with the champion Jess Willard. The title holder was 26 kg heavier and 11 cm taller than his opponent.

As a result, Jack effectively knocked out Jess in the third round, than he could finally dispel all doubts from the public about his viability as a boxer.

After winning the title, Jack defended him five times. The box office fees from each of these battles exceeded then a million dollars - an amount of money unheard of at the time.

The first title defense took place in a fight with Billy Miske, whom Dempsey knocked out in the third round.

Another outstanding fight of Jack can be considered his confrontation with the Frenchman Georges Charpentier. To watch their fight gathered 90 000 people. But already in the fourth round the former pilot from France was in the deepest knockout. This fight was built on contrast, because Dempsey was always considered a bad guy and a deviator, while the Frenchman was a hero of the Second World War and a favorite of many women and the public.

The last successful defense of the belt for Jack was a fight with the Argentinean Luis Angel Firpo. Their fight did not last long, and the applicant went home without the desired title, and even after having been knocked out.

The loss of the belt for Dempsey fell on a duel with Gene Tunney, whom Jack lost on September 23, 1926. He conceded to him and in the rematch of 1927, after which our hero left the professional ring, going only to box in the show matches.

Life after sport

After completing his boxing performances, Jack became a fairly successful businessman and opened his own restaurant in New York, where he often organized meetings and dinner parties for famous boxing veterans.

During the Second World War, Dempsey was in the ranks of the US Coast Guard and was responsible for the physical training of soldiers. He also liked to enter the ring already as a referee, serving boxing matches. In 1954, Jack was brought to the Hall of Fame of World Boxing.

In addition, Jack Dempsey, whose book with his most detailed biography came out in 1977, called "The Autobiography of Jack Dempsey", preserved to his last days of life an excellent, even magnificent physical form. A vivid confirmation of this can be the case when his wife, during their joint walk, two young guys pulled out of their hands a purse. Jack did not get confused and rushed after them in pursuit. As a result, he not only caught up with them, but also physically punished them. Yes, and he did it so qualitatively and expertly that the failed robbers themselves turned for protection to the police, who did not have time to follow the events unfolding before their eyes. This incident occurred in 1977, at that time Dempsey was already 82 years old.

Also fans of boxing and martial arts, if desired, can find another book, written by Jack Dempsey, "Explosive blows and aggressive defense." In it, the author paid close attention to the nuances of close combat, exchange at an average distance, the characteristics of a street fight, staging a direct blow.