William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey, also known as "Kid Blackie" and "The Manassa Mauler", was an American professional boxer, who became a cultural icon of the 1920s. Dempsey held the World Heavyweight Championship from 1919 to 1926, and his aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million-dollar gate. Listed at #10 on The Ring's list of all-time heavyweights and #7 among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers, in 1950 the Associated Press voted Dempsey as the greatest fighter of the past 50 years. Dempsey is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and was inducted into The Ring magazine's Boxing Hall of Fame …show more content…
He first competed as "Jack Dempsey" in 1914 as a tribute to middleweight boxer Jack "Nonpareil" Dempsey. Following the name change, Dempsey won six bouts in a row by knockout before losing on a disqualification in four rounds to Jack Downey. During this early part of his career, Dempsey campaigned in Utah, frequently entering fights in towns in the Wasatch Mountain Range region. He followed his loss against Downey with a knockout win and two draws versus Johnny Sudenberg in Nevada. Three more wins and a draw followed when he met Downey again, this time resulting in a four-round draw. Following these wins, Dempsey racked up ten more wins that included matches against Sudenberg and Downey, knocking out Downey in two rounds. These wins were followed with three no-decision matches, though at this point in the history of boxing, the use of judges to score a fight was often forbidden, so if a fight went the distance, it was called a draw or a no decision, depending on the state or county where the fight was held.
After the United States entered World War I in 1917, Dempsey worked in a shipyard and continued to box. Afterward, he was accused by some boxing fans of being a slacker for not enlisting. This remained a black mark on his reputation until 1920, when evidence produced showed he had attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army, but had been classified 4-F. After
…show more content…
Pro lightweight fighter Benny Leonard predicted a victory for the 6'1", 187 pound Dempsey even though Willard, known as the "Pottawatamie Giant", was 6'6½" tall and 245 pounds. Ultimately, Willard was knocked down seven times by Dempsey in the first round.
Accounts of the fight reported that Willard suffered a broken jaw, broken ribs, several broken teeth, and a number of deep fractures to his facial bones. This aroused suspicion that Dempsey had cheated, with some questioning how the force capable of causing such damage had been transmitted through Dempsey's knuckles without fracturing them. The New York Times' account of the fight described severe swelling visible on one side of Willard's face, but did not mention any broken bones. A still photograph of Willard following the fight appears to show discoloration and swelling on his face. Sports writer Red Smith, in Dempsey's obituary published by The New York Times' was openly dismissive of the
Bobby Mcleod was an Aboriginal activist, singer, songwriter, poet, healer and Yuin Elder. He overcame challenges for Aboriginals at the time and fought for their rights, singing to convey his thoughts for many people and publishing a few books of his poetry. Bobby Mcleod inspired hundreds of people from all over the world to strive for greatness and think about the importance of culture, through his books, music and actions.
2.During his first two years with the Dodgers, Robinson endured astonishing abuse. He was hit, kicked and spit on. Sometimes purposefully beamed in the face with a pitch."Despite numerous death threats, Jackie and Rachel Robinson returned from baseball games at old Ebbets Field on the subway, talking with numerous people, young and old, black and white, about the day's events. The Robinsons had no security assigned to them” ( Budig, The Times).
One of the most notable rivals of LaMotta was Billy fox. Billy fox knocked out LaMotta in the fifth round. New York State Athletic Commission suspects the match to be fixed and suspended LaMotta.
This was a time when blacks were being discriminated against, the military was segregated, blacks were not allowed to play Major League Baseball. When he started boxing early in the 1930's hero worship was not achievable in any professional sports, there were none that were able to command the attention away from whites, however that would all change. Joe Louis began his boxing career at the Brewster Recreation Center. In his first amateur bout, Louis was knocked down 7 times, but he rapidly improved over the years, he captured the 1934 National AAU Lightweight Crown and turned to the professional level later in that same year. Louis won his first 27 fights, 23 of them by knockout, beating people of fame like Primo Carnera and Max Baer. His first defeat was against Max Scheming at Yankee Stadium, he was knocked out in the 12th round. This was Louis greatest defeat, and the start of his greatest challenge.
Jack Dempsey was best known for his intriguing knockouts and his fists of steel (“Biography”). In his fight against Jess Willard, former champion, Dempsey knocked him down seven times within three minutes (Smith). This was the boxing match that began Dempsey’s reign as heavy weight champion of the world (Hadden 161). After the fight he earned the nick na...
...ight five times in 36 days for as little as $1,100 a night. Soon after losing a 10-round decision to Joey Archer, the 44-year-old Robinson announced his retirement -- this time for good. He finished with a record of 175-19-6 with two no-decisions, according to The Ring.
Over a three week period in October 2002 a series of random sniper attacks paralyzed the Washington D.C. area. The shootings happened in in various establishments such as super markets, gas stations, restaurants and near schools turning normal tranquil areas into chaotic murder fields. There were no age group, gender or ethnicity that was safe, Victims were randomly selected and everyone was targeted. After the murderous spree, ten people were declared dead and several others wounded. The perpetrators were finally apprehended while they were sleeping at a resting spot and later identified as forty-one-year-old John Allen Muhammad and his seventeen-year-old Jamaican-American protégé, Lee Boyd Malvo.
Novelist, Norman Mailer, in his narrative essay, “The Death of Benny Paret,” recounts his experience as he witnesses a first-hand account of the tragic death of the boxer, Benny Paret. Mailer’s purpose is to convince the audience that boxing is inhumane through the use of many rhetorical devices, such as simile, animalistic diction and syntax.
He was then drafted into the U.S. Army where he was refused admission to the Officer Candidate School. He fought this until he was finally accepted and graduated as a first lieutenant. He was in the Army from 1941 until 1944 and was stationed in Kansas and Fort Hood, Texas. While stationed in Kansas he worked with a boxer named Joe Louis in order to fight unfair treatment towards African-Americans in the military and when training in Fort Hood, Texas he refused to go to the back of the public bus and was court-martialed for insubordination. Because of this he never made it to Europe with his unit and in 1944 he received an honorable discharge.
Jack Johnson began boxing at a young age. He was known for his unique boxing techniques and quickly worked up the ranks until he beat all those who challenged him. Throughout this period he challenged whoever was the World Heavyweight Champion of that time. Each champion denied Jack's requests, stating they would not fight a black man (Film).
Dempsey vs. Firpo was a fight were ended very quickly, one of the most and best quick fights in the boxing’s history. Dempsey fought very aggressive and without control at all, he just wanted to end it as soon as possible, after dropping Firpo 7 times, Firpo got up every single time giving all he got. The Argentine gave Dempsey a right punch in the chest, which made Dempsey a little bit more respectful and controllable, also gave him the encourage to fight more seriously where in the 2nd round put Firpo down in a second
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised Jackie and her four other children. They were the only black family on their block, and the prejudice they encountered only strengthened their bond. Growing up in a large, single-parent family, Jackie excelled early at all sports and learned to make his own way in life. At UCLA, Jackie became the first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. In 1941, he was named to the All-American football team. Due to financial difficulties, he was forced to leave college, and eventually decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. After two years in the army, he had progressed to second lieutenant. Jackie's army career was cut short when he was court-martialed in relation to his objections with incidents of racial discrimination. In the end, Jackie left the Army with an honorable discharge.
When the fight starts, he stumbles around the ring like a drunken baby. He is bleeding from the nose and mouth, and cannot tell if his body is covered in blood or sweat. The room is filled with cigar smoke and angry drunk men yelling at the black boys to hurt each other. This sounds like a true nightmare, he cannot hear, see, or smell.
He was fearless. He was powerful. His footwork was more beautiful than a ballet dancer. He is an Olympic Gold Medalist. He is the G.O.A.T of boxing. He is… Muhammad Ali. I will inform you about the biography of Muhammad Ali of how people saw him in real life, the Movie Ali how it portrayed Muhammad Ali based on his life through screen write, and the Vietnam War. Muhammad Ali is considered one of the greatest athletes in boxing history, but before there was the Greatest of All Time or the acronym G.O.A.T World Heavy Champion Muhammad Ali, he was just a little kid that went by the name Cassius Clay.
After being defeated early on in his career, Joe got a job working at Ford, but soon quit when his amateur boxing career took off. After being trained for a while his coaches encouraged him to pair up with a more experienced, connected coach so Joe found George Slayton who was manager of the Detroit Athletic Club. Under his direction, Joe made it to Detroit's Golden Gloves competition in 1933, but was defeated by Max Merak, a Notre Dam football star. Three months after winning his next decisive victory, the National AAU light-weight championship in St. Louis, Joe went pro. In his 54 amateur fights, Joe had won fourty-three by knock-out, seven by decision and lost four by decision.