Jack Dempsey

Jack Dempsey is one of the most famous boxers of his time. Due to his powerful punch and aggressive boxing style, he ranked seventh in the list of 100 greatest punchers of all time published by the Ring Magazine.

This great boxing champion was born on the 24th of June 1895 at Manassa, Colorado. His given name was William Harrison Dempsey. Even if he came from a poor family and faced difficult challenges at a young age, his bitter past did not stop him from conquering the boxing ring. At an early age, Dempsey discovered his fighting skills. He then started to hone and develop these skills with the help of his brother Bernie.

His first boxing appearance by the name of “Jack Dempsey” was in 1914. It was a six round fight against Young Herman which ended in a draw. After that, he continued raising the bars by winning his succeeding bouts.

John J. Reisler was his fist manager but it was Jack Kearns who guided him to the top. He challenged 17 more bouts in 1918. Jack surely is a great contender since he knocked off some of the best boxers such as Battling Levinsky, Homer Smith and Jim McGettigan.

On the 4th of July 1919, Dempsey squared off with Jess Willard, a heavy weight champion, at Toledo, Ohio. The fight was considered as the most brutal in the history of boxing. It was during this bout where he knocked off Willard seven times in the first round and grabbed the boxing title.
From 1919 until 1926, Dempsey held on and defended the world heavy weight title. In general, he had a total of 83 boxing matches with 66 wins, 6 losses and 11 draws. After retiring, he published his autobiography entitled “Dempsey” in 1977. At the age of 87, he died at the side of his wife on May 1983.