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In July 1919 Jack Dempsey took the title from Jess Willard. It was a display of speed, Power and ferocity that has never been surpassed and made Dempsey a ring legend. The fight was held in a purpose built timber stadium and took place in a hundred and twelve degree heat. The odds showed Willard as a slight favorite in this fight. Doc Kearn’s, Dempsey’s manager had wagered ten thousand dollars at odds of ten to one on a first round knockout.
Jess Willard was a massive man of six feet six and around two hundred and fifty pounds. He is not considered as a great boxer but he was tremendously strong and had great stamina. He had taken the title from the great Jack Johnson by wearing him down and knocking him out in the twenty sixth round of a forty round fight. He also had a good long left jab and deadly knockout power in his right hand. Jess had never been knocked down and his chin was very solid which he would prove beyond any doubt against Jack Dempsey.
Jack Dempsey was nicknamed the Manassa Mauler and was often compared to a raging tiger. Dempsey weighed in at about one hundred and eighty pounds and would be classed as a cruiserweight today.But Jack could hit unbelievably hard for a man of his size and was able to knock out most of the leading heavyweights of his era. He had truly brilliant footwork, fast hands and was one of the few boxers who can fight hard when hurt.
The fight started slowly as both men looked for an opening. Dempsey is best known for his viscous attacks but he was also a clever and skilled boxer. Jacks footwork is a sight to behold in this opening minute and one wonders what he would look like with better video footage. Suddenly jack launches a terrific combination of tight hooks. The left hook shatters jess Willard’s jaw and knocks him to the canvas. This was the beginning of the end for Willard. He rose but was quickly beaten back to the canvas again, and then again. This is were the fight would be stopped today but unfortunately for Willard the rules were not as strict back then as he was knocked down no less then seven times in the first round. There was no neutral corner rule and so Dempsey was aloud to hit as soon as Willard’s knees were of the canvas. Willard sustained a shattered jaw, missing teeth, a fractured eye socket and a broken nose during the fight. Jess was on the canvass and totally disorientated when the bell rang to end the round.
Jack celebrated triumphantly as the round ended. He even left the ring before he realized that Willard had been saved by the bell and unbelievably had no intention of retiring. A shocked Dempsey had to race back to the ring to carry on the fight.
Jess was beaten around the ring for a further two rounds. He was in a horrible state and the left side of his face was a mess of blood. Even Dempsey’s back was covered in Willard’s blood as it dripped of Willard’s face in the clinches. Even the crowd were yelling for the fight to be stopped but the referee was from the old school and would not here of it. Willard’s handlers begged him to stop fighting between rounds but Willard was determined to fight on. Again one must wonder what this fight would have looked like in high quality colour film as its already hard to watch poor Willard take such a beating on the black and white low quality film.
Jess showed tremendous courage in his effort to fight on but was unable to come out for round four. He was on the brink of death towards the end of the fight. Dempsey showed great stamina and fought relentlessly through the terrific heat.
Jack Dempsey became a legend that day and became the benchmark by which other champions were compared. His modern style revolutionized boxing and the fight game would never be the same again.
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