Dempsey must be a star!

[Willie Pep 229]

There is a Hollywood cliche . . . you're a star when half the people love you, and half the people hate you.

Love alone really isn't enough . . . Muhammad Ali was a star, Joe Frazier was merely popular for a while.

It has been 93 years since Dempsey last fought, and yet he dominates both the love and the hate of the this history forum.

'Musta been a star.'

[QueensburyRules]

There is a Hollywood cliche . . . you're a star when half the people love you, and half the people hate you.

Love alone really isn't enough . . . Muhammad Ali was a star, Joe Frazier was merely popular for a while.

It has been 93 years since Dempsey last fought, and yet he dominates both the love and the hate of the this history forum.

'Musta been a star.'

- -The Wiilard thrashing and then Firpo. Such had never before been witnessed by the masses.

Keep in mind it was his fights that were popular. Like Ali, he was disparaged legally and the people as a draft dodger for a while.

[Rusty Tromboni]

Nice observation!

I think the problem with Jack is that he was the first modern champion. Who knows what Luck McCarty might've been, but Jack ushered the Heavyweight division into the modern era. But as a transitional figure, he was still primitive enough that people will take objection to him.

It's not unlike today, where fighters like Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Holmes suddenly seem quite underwhelming, even pathetic, compared to contemporary titans: Fury, the Klitchkos, Wilder, even Joshua and Lewis.

Jack's legacy, like Tunney's at that weight, is also marred by inactivity. It's pretty easy to view the restored footage of Louis and Dempsey, and see the latter was very much the superior fighter. But Louis' title reign and insane (if worthless) number of defenses make for a gaudy selling-point.

Really a great fighter who's White and doesn't have gaudy features to his legacy is gonna be a magnet for criticism. But people who've Boxed immediately identify Dempsey's greatness.

[billeau2]

Nice observation!

I think the problem with Jack is that he was the first modern champion. Who knows what Luck McCarty might've been, but Jack ushered the Heavyweight division into the modern era. But as a transitional figure, he was still primitive enough that people will take objection to him.

It's not unlike today, where fighters like Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Holmes suddenly seem quite underwhelming, even pathetic, compared to contemporary titans: Fury, the Klitchkos, Wilder, even Joshua and Lewis.

Jack's legacy, like Tunney's at that weight, is also marred by inactivity. It's pretty easy to view the restored footage of Louis and Dempsey, and see the latter was very much the superior fighter. But Louis' title reign and insane (if worthless) number of defenses make for a gaudy selling-point.

Really a great fighter who's White and doesn't have gaudy features to his legacy is gonna be a magnet for criticism. But people who've Boxed immediately identify Dempsey's greatness.

****** thing to sneak in there, let me guess its common knowledge right? You j@k@33... As Queenie might say: "What grade U in?"

[Rusty Tromboni]

****** thing to sneak in there, let me guess its common knowledge right? You j@k@33... As Queenie might say: "What grade U in?"

Oh wow! Look who was a good boy and earned himself some Screen Time! See what happens when you don't smear your sh.it on the walls, and you sort the paper clips just like they ask you? Keep up the good behavior and they might give you a real job: like making lamp shades.

Before your session runs out and it's one of the other Looney Toon's turn to jump on the computer, can you give a quick play-by-play of the Cerafino Garcia victory over Billy Conn, or maybe Basilio's victory over Fullmer? Either one, i'm sure, will be great!

[travestyny]

There is a Hollywood cliche . . . you're a star when half the people love you, and half the people hate you.

Love alone really isn't enough . . . Muhammad Ali was a star, Joe Frazier was merely popular for a while.

It has been 93 years since Dempsey last fought, and yet he dominates both the love and the hate of the this history forum.

'Musta been a star.'

Who hates Dempsey?


I believe he ducked Wills, but I haven't seen anyone hating on him besides the old threads via around 2006/7 that were bumped by the lonely Queenie dude who needs to seek out someone to talk to when he gets lonely. It is what it is.

[GhostofDempsey]

He was one of the most important fighters in boxing history, one of the most popular and relevant athletes in all of sports history as well. He helped launch boxing's popularity during his reign as champion, and his star appeal surpassed that of Babe Ruth. His boxing style paved the way for modern boxing. He wasn't perfect or the greatest of all time, but extremely relevant to boxing's history nonetheless.

Countless detractors from the envious, corrupt, and bitter, have all tried to discredit him. To this day there are casuals with agendas who continue in their efforts to discredit him at all costs. Over the years they have all been debunked and proven wrong. The irony is that they admire and adore lesser human beings and fighters. They themselves never amounted to anything and would never have the courage to enter a boxing ring, let alone acknowledge his legacy. It's comical and tragic all at once.

[Rusty Tromboni]

Who hates Dempsey?


I believe he ducked Wills, but I haven't seen anyone hating on him besides the old threads via around 2006/7 that were bumped by the lonely Queenie dude who needs to seek out someone to talk to when he gets lonely. It is what it is.

I always picked you for one of his biggest fans. But he gets discarded in casual discussion pretty regularly. Maybe that's anecdotal but that's been my experience IRL. when I first got into boxing about 20 years ago, it was common to slander Dempsey online.

[Willie Pep 229]

Who hates Dempsey?


I believe he ducked Wills, but I haven't seen anyone hating on him besides the old threads via around 2006/7 that were bumped by the lonely Queenie dude who needs to seek out someone to talk to when he gets lonely. It is what it is.

"Love - hate" just words to denote the passion he invokes.

[Willie Pep 229]

IMO the Dempsey-Firpo fight was sport's first 'water cooler' moment. An experience shared live (radio) by millions of people, all of whom, the next day, had a personal anecdote to share with friends. Where they where? How they reacted?

There had never been such an exciting moment, shared by so many. Of course there would be any more, but Dempsey-Firpo was the first time it happened.

P.S. The Carpentier fight was also on radio, but the number of listeners in 1921 was still limited (nor was the fight as exciting). Radio had an explosion of sales between fall 1920 and fall 1923, the kind of expansion we had with VCRs in the mid 1980s. By 1923 just about everyone had some access to a radio. It took Tex Rickard to show MLB how to build a city-wide fan base.