JULY 4th

[scappoosejohn]

From Seconds Out:


On This Day 88 Years Ago - Jack Dempsey Vs. Jess Willard

By James Slater: On July the 4th, 1919, a truly memorable and brutal heavyweight championship prize fight occurred in Toledo, Ohio. The reigning heavyweight king, Jess Willard, who had become known as “The Great White Hope” in the months leading up to his successful challenge of the controversial Jack Johnson, was to make his first defense against the much smaller Jack Dempsey. What followed was a performance by Dempsey that revolutionized professional boxing.

To think, Jess Willard was actually the betting favorite going into his bout with Jack Dempsey. Never had the bookies got it more utterly wrong. The fight, staged on July 4th, 1919, turned into one of the most savagely one-sided and brutal beatings ever seen in a prize ring. What was witnessed under the blistering Toledo sun was a style of fighting that, quite simply, didn’t exist before. “The Manassa Mauler,” Dempsey, revolutionized the sport of boxing with his all-out aggressive fighting approach. Tearing at his opponent like a man possessed, Dempsey was frighteningly bewildering. Savage was the only word on many observers’ lips, as it was clear the “Noble Art” had changed dramatically. No longer would the bolt upright fashion of boxing - as used by defending champion Willard - where pugilists would “Settle it like men,” be the norm. Jack Dempsey had transformed everything. Boxing had truly entered the modern era.

Slight favorite Willard, at age 37, much the older man (Jack was only 24) had a hard time stopping himself from smiling during the pre-fight introductions. He had absolutely no idea of the pain and humiliation in store for him. Standing six foot, six inches tall, Jess, nicknamed “The Pottawatomie Giant,” figured the much smaller and lighter man in Dempsey, had no chance of hurting him - hence the pre-fight good mood. Willard had total belief he would soon be emerging victorious against his perceived over-matched challenger. The terrifying beating he was to have administered to him was as shocking to him as it was almost everyone else. Never before - or arguably since - has a man favored to keep his heavyweight title been so brutally relieved of it.

The action started uneventfully. Jess came forward, while the fifty-plus pounds lighter Dempsey darted in and out - looking for openings. The 245-pound Willard used his strength to tie Dempsey up whenever he got close, whilst going on the offense only infrequently. But then, with 90 seconds gone, the raw power of Jack revealed itself. Fighting out of an advancing half-crouch, he suddenly exploded with both hands - dropping the champion with a vicious left. The crowd was electrified at the sight of the huge Willard being smashed violently to the canvas. But there was more carnage to come - much more.

With no neutral corner rule to obey back in 1919, Dempsey was free to hover over his man and pounce as soon as his gloves left the floor. Willard bravely attempted to resume fighting - while almost certainly separated from his senses - and Dempsey went back doing what he’d started. Chopping away with both fists, he soon had Jess down again. During this time the hulking Willard was pounded back onto the canvas for a third knockdown - and then a fourth! The fight had rapidly turned into a slaughter. Showing immense courage, Jess tried his best to hold on to his wrecking machine of an opponent. But it was no use - he was driven across the ring by the marauding challenger, before being sent to the canvas for a fifth time. By now, completely helpless, Willard tried hoisting himself up with the ropes - simply to be blasted back down again when offering a semi-upright target. Then, mercifully, the bell rang. Jack Dempsey was the winner and new heavyweight king!

Or was he? Well, not quite yet. Erroneously thinking the fight was over - and therefore about to collect his winnings from the wager he had made earlier - when he’d predicted his winning in a single round - the dismayed Dempsey was informed that the bell had saved the champion. The fight was not finished yet. Somehow, the busted up Willard managed to make it through two more rounds. This despite the damage he’d sustained. Broken bones and teeth were aplenty, that’s for sure. Jess finally quit in his corner at the end of round three. Who could have possibly blamed him? And then Dempsey was officially crowned the new ruler.

Legendary status, and, in time - after at first having the ignominious label of draft dodger hurled at him - immense popularity were bestowed on the new champion throughout the coming years. In fact, next to Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey is more than likely THE most beloved heavyweight champion in history.

He and his savage style of fighting may have been ahead of their time, but the hearts of fight fans the world over soon warmed towards “The Manassa Mauler.”

Jack Dempsey died on May 31st, 1983, and Jess Willard passed away on December 15th, 1968. Both men lived well into old age. Both men, and their legendarily savage fight, will live in memory forever.

[straycat]

The following post has been merged from another thread in this one

From East Side Boxing:

Ninety Years Ago Today, The Great Jack Dempsey Becomes Heavyweight Champion Of The World

by James Slater - On July 4th, Independence Day, in the year 1919, one of the most astonishing heavyweight title prize fights took place in Toledo, Ohio. Fighting on the day so important to all of America, Jack Dempsey, a man to soon become known the world over as "The Manassa Mauler," was a 24-year-old tough guy of a contender, and the much taller Jess Willard was the defending heavyweight king. Underneath the scorching hot sun on the day of celebration, a savage performance was witnessed by Dempsey, one that is still stunning to watch ninety years later..

Surely every fight fan with even a slight interest in the history of boxing has seen the grainy footage of this one-sided slaughter of a fight. And after having watched it, after having seen how the stalking, bended at the waist challenger smashed the surprisingly (shockingly at the time) hapless Willard to the mat no less than seven times in the fight's 1st-round, the viewer cannot fail but to recognise how splendid a fighter Dempsey was in his prime.

Amazingly, Dempsey was an underdog going into the big fight, based largely on the fact that he was pretty small in comparison to Willard (6'1" and approx 187-pounds to 6'6.5" and approx 245-pounds for the champ). Never has the old adage The bigger they are the harder they fall been so perfectly proven.

Back in Dempsey and Willard's time, a number of big fights took place on July 4th. Indeed, one of the new champion's defences would take place on Independence Day in 1923, against Tommy Gibbons. This is not the case any longer, although tonight, in Germany, we will actually be watching a big, heavyweight title elimination bout - with Alexander Dimitrenko and the USA's Eddie Chambers squaring off in an attempt to move on to try and capture a portion of the world championship Dempsey held all to himself ninety years ago.

However, no-one should expect any action the likes of which took place back in 1919!
Dempsey, with his aggressive style, his ruthless punching ability and his crouching attacking approach, is generally considered to be the heavyweight who took boxing into the modern era. Shocking fans with his animalistic savagery, at a time when fighters were noble, "let's settle it like men" pugilists, Dempsey changed everything. The first heavyweight that looked like he might actually want to kill his opponent, Dempsey had to be seen to be believed.

After having despatched Willard at the end of the 3rd-round, when a battered and broken (literally, big Jess's cheekbone and a number of his ribs having been cracked) former champion refused to come out for the next round, Dempsey went on to become a star and a hero. It took time for the latter tag to be put on Jack due to the accusations of his draft dodging during World War I, but after his stunning July 4th victory Dempsey sure was boxing's newest star and top attraction.

In more recent years, Dempsey's impact on the sport has been no less great. Fighters such as Mike Tyson, one his own way to the top, spoke in glowing tones of how Dempsey meant so much to them. Jack only defended his title successfully five times, eventually losing his crown to Gene Tunney in 1926, but his legend is as strong as any other heavyweight champion's in history.

Ninety years ago this July 4th, Dempsey gave us what was arguably his most chilling performance.

[straycat]

Happy Independence Day Everyone.

1903- George Gardner KO 12 Jack Root, Ft. Erie, and Ontario. Wins world light-heavyweight title.

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1903- Joe Gans KO 5 Buddy King, Butte, MT. Retains world lightweight title.

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1906- Abe Attell W 20 Frankie Neil, Los Angeles. Retains world featherweight title.

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1907- Tommy Burns KO 1 Bill Squires, Colma, CA. Retains world heavyweight title.

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1908- Battling Nelson KO 17 Joe Gans, Colma, CA. Wins world lightweight title.

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1908- Packey McFarland D 25 Freddie Welsh, Los Angeles.



1910- Jack Johnson KO 15 James J. Jefferies, Reno. Retains world heavyweight title. After the news of Johnson’s victory spread, there were riots and lynching throughout the country, and 11 people were killed.

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1911- Ad Wolgast KO 13 Owen Moran, San Francisco. Retains world lightweight title.

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1912- Jack Johnson WF 9 "Fireman" Jim Flynn, Las Vegas, New Mexico. Retains world heavyweight title.

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1912- Ad Wolgast KO 13 Joe Rivers, Vernon, CA. Retains world lightweight title.

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1913- Willie Ritchie KO 11 Joe Rivers, San Francisco. Retains world lightweight title.

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1916- Freddie Welsh WF 11 Ad Wolgast, Denver. Retains world lightweight title.



1919- Jack Dempsey KO 4 Jess Willard, Toledo, OH. Wins world heavyweight title.

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1919- Harry Wills W 8 Sam Langford, St. Louis.



1923- Jack Dempsey W 15 Tommy Gibbons, Shelby, MT. Retains world heavyweight title. After Doc Kearns (Dempsey’s manager) collected a little more than $200,000 of the $300,000 Dempsey was guaranteed, the two got the hell out of town, Gibbons went unpaid, and the town of Shelby went bankrupt.

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1927- Tiger Flowers D 10 "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom, Chicago.



1932- Marcel Thil W 15 Len Harvey, London. Retains world middleweight title.



1934- Joe Louis KO 1 Jack Kracken, Chicago. Louis’ pro debut.



1948- Manuel Ortiz KO 8 Memo Valero, Baja, CA. Retains world bantamweight title.



1982- Aaron Pryor KO 6 Akio Kameda, Cincinnati. Retains WBA super-lightweight title.

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1982- Chul Ho Kim D 15 Raul Valdez, Taejon, S. Korea. Retains WBC super-flyweight title.



1987- Juan Coggi KO 3 Patrizio Oliva, Ribera, Italy. Wins WBA super-lightweight title.

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1987- Kelvin Seabrooks KO 9 Thierry Jacob, Calais, France. Retains IBF bantamweight title.



1992- Sung Kil Moon KO 8 Armando Salazar, Seoul. Retains WBC super-flyweight title.



1995- Mblulelo Botile W 12 Sam Stewart, Hammanskraal. SA. Retains IBF bantamweight title.



1997- Sirimongkol Singmanassuk W 12 Victor Rabanales, Bangkok. Retains WBC bantamweight title.



1998- Zolani Petelo KO 7 Carmelo Caceres, Hammanskraal, SA. Retains IBF strawweight title.



2001- Five men in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn rob IBF Super Lightweight Champion Zab Judah at gunpoint. Judah lost a gold necklace, two gold chains, and a watch, altogether valued at $32,000. The robbers also took $2000 in cash.



2003- Mahyar Monshipour KO 12 Salim Medjkoune, Poitiers, France. Wins WBA Super Bantamweight Title.

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2009- Anselmo Moreno W 12 Mahyar Monshipour, Poitiers, France. Retains WBA Bantamweight Title.

[the13r]

-28Yrs AGo Today-



Micky Ward TKO 2 Rafael Terrero
[youtubefullurl]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x7R9FAY2zM[/youtubefullurl]

[the13r]

-27Yrs Ago Today-




Juan Martin Coggi KO 3 Patrizio Oliva
Wins the WBA World light welterweight title

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Kelvin Seabrooks TKO 10 Thierry Jacob
Retains the IBF bantamweight title
An incredible war with Seabrooks going down 3 times
Jacob going down once and quits on his stool
Seabrooks wins even though badly down on the cards


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[the13r]

-16Yrs Ago Today-





Joe Bugner RTD 1 James Smith
Wins the World Boxing Federation heavyweight title
Bugner was 48 Yrs Old and this was his 2nd to last fight
[youtubefullurl]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmkHGJVBPY8[/youtubefullurl]

[the13r]

-6Yrs AGo Today-





Luis Carlos Abregu KO 3 Roberto Hernan Reuque

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Erislandy Lara Pts 4 Ivan Maslov
Lara's Pro Debut
[youtubefullurl]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCrQOb7RUwU[/youtubefullurl]











Scott Quigg TKO 2 Angelo Villani
Both fighters down

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Daniel Jacobs TKO 1 Julio Perez
Jacobs' 7th Pro Fight

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Craig McEwan KO 3 Juan Sanchez

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[the13r]

-5Yrs Ago Today-




Anselmo Moreno SD 12 Mahyar Monshipour
Retains the WBA World bantamweight title
[youtubefullurl]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf9OU46j_sk[/youtubefullurl]





Khedafi Djelkhir TKO 1 Henry Lipton

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Eddie Chambers MD 12 Alexander Dimitrenko
WBO Heavyweight Title Eliminator
[youtubefullurl]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqbdZ__hVDA[/youtubefullurl]

[the13r]

-1Yr Ago Today-




Ali Raymi KO 1 Yaser Dalbant
That was Raymi's 10th 1st round KO in 10 Pro fights
Raymi would go on like this to add 10 more for the record

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