In every sport there emerges one person who stands out so prominently that he is referred to as "The Idol." Such as a man was Jack Dempsey in boxing. While in there tossing punches, he was the one of the most spectacular heavyweights since John L Sullivan. Jack Dempsey was one of the toughest heavyweights in the world. He was born in Manassa, Colorado, on 24th June 1895.
Dempsey participated in the first million dollar gate at $1,989,238 when he fought Georges Carpentier and before he hung up his gloves, the receipts of four other contests he fought exceeded those figures. Every time Jack defended his crown an epic battle ensued. Once his opponent became fatigued, a range of huge blows would be followed by a knockout.
It was the start of his career as world champion that got the Golden Era of Boxing underway with him as the ace puglist. He had good company, Jack Kearns, as his manager was the king of the ballyhoo artists who beat the publicity drum and Tex Richards and the promoter extraordinaire. The most spectacular fighter-manager combination in ring history was dynamic Dempsey and flamboyant Jack Kearns.
Their partnership began with a casual meeting in a San Francisco bar in 1917. Dempsey, then 22, was a small-time slugger who, except of one brief and not impressive visit to New York, had done his battling on the tank-town circuits of Colorado, Utah and Nevada.
He had just drifted to California looking for fights and a manager. Destiny steered him to Kearns, an experienced pilot, colourful showman and ballyhoo artist. The tie-up was an immediate success. Within a year Dempsey became the outstanding contender for the championship.
Promoter Tex Richard entered the scene and the "Golden Triangle" of Rickard, Dempsey and Kearns introduced the million-dollar gate in Boxing. Rickard promoted most of Dempsey's important bouts, the one in which Dempsey won the title from Jess Willard and his subsequent clashes with Bill Brennan, Georges Carpentier, Luis Angel Firpo, Jack Sharkey, and the two with Gene Tunney. Five of the bouts drew $1,000,000 or more in receipts. The second Tunney fight set an all time record of $2,658,660 at the time.
Jack Dempsey vs Luis Angel Firpo
Jack Dempsey vs Jess Willard
Jack Dempsey vs Gene Tunney:
