His original name was William Harrison Dempsey but most people during the roarin' twenties knew him as "Manassa Mauler" from Colorado. He changed his name to Jack Dempsey when he was 19 (CMG Solutions). He weighed in at 187 pounds and stood 6'1" tall. An enormously popular figure, Dempsey did much to make professional boxing a
profitable and popular enterprise. He fought a career total of 69 professional fights, with 47 wins by knockout.There wasn't a heavyweight of repute Dempsey hadn't beaten, except Willard (Smith 1). Dempsey became world heavyweight champion in 1919, when he defeated the American
boxer Jess Willard (Sports in the 1920's 1).In 1926 Dempsey lost the title to the American boxer Gene Tunney. In a rematch
with Tunney in 1927, Dempsey again lost by a decision; in this famous fight,
known as the Battle of the Long Count, Dempsey ignored the rule requiring a
fighter to return to a neutral corner during the count after a knockdown. With
Tunney knocked to the canvas and down for several seconds, the referee stopped
the count until Dempsey reached a neutral corner. Ringside observers claimed
these extra few seconds allowed Tunney time to recover and defeat Dempsey (Sports in the 1920's 1). Jack Dempsey died on May 31st, 1983 in New York (CMG Solutions).
Dempsey in his corner, waiting to take on Watson in an important fight in front of many fans!