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A Centennial Celebration for 4th of July 1919 Jack Dempsey Obliterates Jess Willard


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--- Massive 4th of July Centennial Celebration of Jack Dempsey's demolition of Jess Willard in 1919!!!

 

On a blistering hot 4th of July in 1919 before the roaring 20s had a chance to kick off, the young challenger, Jack Dempsey, blistered the giant champ, Jess Willard, with 7 knockdowns Knockdowns in the opening round, a devastation so deadly that has happened in boxing through all these centuries that the officials in charge of the bout literally melted in their moment to become useless. Jack “Doc” Kearns, Dempsey’s manager had foolishly bet $10,000 of Jack’s $27,000 purse on a first round Knockout of the incredibly tough Willard, and of course there was the requisite “Bell malfunction” with the ref becoming so confused as to seemingly signal the bout was over. Dempsey had to be retrieved from his triumphal walk to his dressing quarters to return to the ring for more battle, but sadly the damage to Big Jess was only compounded with interest. Eventually Jess and his corner came to their senses to stop the fight after the 3rd round.

The Backdrop: Before the fight could be made, Willard wisely made Dempsey sign a waiver that his estate would not sue Willard in case big Jess obliterated Jack permanently from the earthly premises, something that had happened against 2 previous opponents. Jess was a wealthy man by then only wanting to look out for his own estate, so not only was it a smart legal move, it also served as an intimidating tool to upend Jack’s confidence in himself.

Jess a mighty man indeed even 100 years later, a 6-7, 240 lb cowboy out of Indian country in Kansas back when men were really men, and that lean, whipcord working man’s physique was naturally attained through much harder and more dangerous work than today’s coddled candied generations can imagine. Dealing with unpredictable, free range, half wild horses and cattle sometimes weighing in the thousands of pounds requires the highest attention, reflexes, instincts, strength, durability, and an outright ornery nature that can scarcely be imagined much less overstated. This weren’t PlayStation.

 

Early in the fight it’s still fun and games for Big Jess who never lacked for any confidence over his formidable physical talents. He was just getting warmed up and sooner or later Jack is gonna pay bigtime.

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The fun and games phase has now passed into a fight for Jess’ survival. A Dempsey left hook has clearly caved in the orbital region of Big Jess’ right side resulting in as much pain as a human can endure. His right jaw line is also swollen with some blood running down his chest. It was alleged he broke his jaw.

 

Dempsey-Willard-BE053933.jpg

Dempsey-Willard-BE053933.jpg

 

The rest here:

 

Centennial Celebration~4th of July 1919~Jack Dempsey Obliterates Jess Willard | Bobby Mac's Straight Shooter

Edited by LondonRingRules
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Re: A Centennial Celebration for 4th of July 1919 Jack Dempsey Obliterates Jess Willa

 

--- Lee Groves and Ring now in the 4th of July fireworks.

 

American boxing lost it's soul when they abandoned this Independence Day that also birthed the career of Joe Louis.

 

Jack Dempsey and Jess Willard - 100 years on from the most brutal of heavyweight championship triumphs - The Ring

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