Johnson looked good against Willard at 37 years old for many rounds. Wasn't it the 26th that he got knocked out in!? Cuban sun too, plus the controversy that he threw the fight.
Johnson sparred and did exhibitions until he was 65. Then killed himself in a car crash, he never grew up. What a life!
that picture of dempsey with his sparring partners is sort of mind blowing. He looks like a shrimp compared to those guys but I'm sure he gave them hell.
that picture of dempsey with his sparring partners is sort of mind blowing. He looks like a shrimp compared to those guys but I'm sure he gave them hell.
If he did so, he actually bragged to a real champ. The video of Firpo's fight with Dempsey, that one we all had seen, has been tampered to and cut short to avoid the embarrasement of showing the Mauler being docked far into the ringside, for much more than 20 secs.
At 44 Jack Johnson was still (naturally) big, athletic and skilled, no surprise he could handle the strong Bull of the Pampas in his early times in US (ie. begining of 1923), by that time he was used upto almost nil of top level competition, and they were worlds appart sepparated by an ocean of experience.
Early on 1923 columnist Damon Runyon would already refer to him as "wild bull" just because he was nothing than this yet, but then on as since march 1923 Firpo would run over Bill Brennan (ko12), MCAullif II (ko3), Jack Herman (ko2), Jim Hibbard (ko2), Jess Willard (ko8), Joe Burke(ko2), Homer Smith (p10), Charley Weinert (tko2) and by the time he finally arrive to the shot for Dempsey's title (september 1923) he has collected minimun ring knowledge to cope a legend. And he made it successfully, except for the obvious ruling.
7 out his 8 wins in a row from march to september 1923 were kos. Dempsey got 2 fights the same year 1923 (1 wp15, and the Firpos wko2). and this also speaks volumes of how the world has revolved on it axis ever since.
damn i never knew the dempsey firpo tape was doctored...i saw it for the first time last week, dempsey got up so fast i thought what was the big deal...
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