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Overview
Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1919 to 1926, Jack Dempsey, also known as the Manassa Mauler, began his boxing career as a skinny boy of sixteen, riding the rails and participating in hastily staged saloon bouts against miners and lumberjacks.Roberts draws on a wealth of newspaper articles and interviews to chronicle Dempsey's rise to the heavyweight championship and his six title defenses - including bouts against Billy Miske in 1920, the Frenchman George Carpentier in 1921, and Tommy Gibbons and Louis Firpo in 1923. Also included are accounts of the eventual loss of his title to Gene Tunney in 1926 and the rematch in 1927, which Dempsey also lost in the infamous "long count". After continuing to fight in exhibitions, Dempsey retired from boxing in 1940 with an astonishing sixty-four victories; forty-nine of them knockouts.
Roberts tells of the formation of this sports hero and his image, including accounts of Dempsey's forays into Hollywood, the controversy over his alleged draft dodging, his long life following his retirement, and his enduring legacy as one of the greatest fighters in boxing history.
Synopsis
Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1919 to 1926, Jack Dempsey, also known as the Manassa Mauler, began his boxing career as a skinny boy of sixteen, riding the rails and participating in hastily staged saloon bouts against miners and lumberjacks.
Roberts draws on a wealth of newspaper articles and interviews to chronicle Dempsey's rise to the heavyweight championship and his six title defenses - including bouts against Billy Miske in 1920, the Frenchman George Carpentier in 1921, and Tommy Gibbons and Louis Firpo in 1923. Also included are accounts of the eventual loss of his title to Gene Tunney in 1926 and the rematch in 1927, which Dempsey also lost in the infamous "long count". After continuing to fight in exhibitions, Dempsey retired from boxing in 1940 with an astonishing sixty-four victories; forty-nine of them knockouts.
Roberts tells of the formation of this sports hero and his image, including accounts of Dempsey's forays into Hollywood, the controversy over his alleged draft dodging, his long life following his retirement, and his enduring legacy as one of the greatest fighters in boxing history.