![]() ![]() Over the course of his career, he had 21 first-round knockouts. Some people accused Dempsey of loading his gloves with plaster of paris, but he always denied it. In his first championship bout in Toledo, Ohio, in 1919, he knocked down Jess Willard seven times in three minutes and broke his cheekbone in 13 places. He was 187 pounds and liked to hum in the ring as he advanced on his partners. He worked in the mines, lived in hobo camps, shined shoes, picked fruit, and fought in saloons for money, where his nickname was “Kid Blackie.” He once said, “I can’t sing and I can’t dance, but I can lick any SOB in the house.” ![]() Dempsey had to drop out of elementary school to find work and left home at 16. ![]() His father had difficulty keeping a job and the family moved around a lot. Dempsey was the heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 and was the first boxer to earn a million-dollar gate, which means ticket sales to one of his matches topped a million dollars.ĭempsey was born in Manassa, Colorado, and grew up poor. It’s the birthday of “The Manassa Mauler,” also known as heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey (1895).
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