# Nonpareil Jack Dempsey

John Edward Kelly (December 15, 1862 – November 1, 1895) was an Irish-born American boxer, better known as Nonpareil Jack Dempsey, who was the first holder of the World Middleweight Championship (1884–1891). He was nicknamed "Nonpareil" because of his reputation of being unbeatable.

## Biography

Dempsey was born on December 15, 1862, in Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. He won the middleweight title on July 30, 1884, by defeating George Fulljames in Great Kills, Staten Island, New York. He held the title for over six years, defending the title against two fighters during the reign.
In Dempsey's first 65 contests, he lost only three times: to George LaBlanche (a loss he avenged) and to Billy Baker twice (both bouts were fixed to have Baker win). This ended when Bob Fitzsimmons pummeled him around the ring and begged him to concede before he was hurt any more. Dempsey, the reigning champion, would not give up; the fight continued and Fitzsimmons knocked him out in round 13. In his final bout, Dempsey, suffering from tuberculosis, lost to Tommy Ryan.
Though Dempsey beat his first battle with tuberculosis, he died at age 32 at the Portland, Oregon, home of his wife's parents on November 1, 1895, due to a recurrence of the disease. He was buried in an initially unmarked grave at Mount Calvary Cemetery. M. James Brady, Dempsey's father-in-law, refused to permit former World Champion John L. Sullivan and John S. Barnes to raise funds to erect a monument over Dempsey's grave. The family believed that a four-foot marble shaft was a sufficient memorial. The matter was thus dropped.
Dempsey was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.

## Professional boxing record

| 69 fights | 51 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 24 | 3 |
| By decision | 27 | 0 |
| Draws | 11 | 11 |
| No contests | 3 | 3 |
| Newspaper decisions/draws | 1 | 1 |
All newspaper decisions are regarded as "no decision" bouts as they have "resulted in neither boxer winning or losing, and would therefore not count as part of their official fight record."
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| 69 | Loss | 51–3–11 (4) | Tommy Ryan | TKO | 3 (15) | Jan 18, 1895 | Sea Side A.C., Coney Island | |
| 68 | Draw | 51–2–11 (4) | Billy McCarthy | PTS | 20 | Sep 5, 1895 | Auditorium Club, New Orleans | |
| 67 | Win | 51–2–10 (4) | Billy Keough | PTS | 4 | Feb 28, 1893 | Pastime A.C., Portland | |
| 66 | Loss | 50–2–10 (4) | Bob Fitzsimmons | RTD | 13 (?) | Jan 14, 1891 | California A.C., San Francisco | Lost world middleweight title |
| 65 | Win | 50–1–10 (4) | Billy McCarthy | TKO | 28 (?) | Feb 18, 1890 | California A.C., San Francisco | Retained world middleweight title |
| 64 | Loss | 49–1–10 (4) | George LaBlanche | KO | 32 (?) | Aug 27, 1889 | California A.C., San Francisco | |
| 63 | Win | 49–0–10 (4) | Mike Dempsey | KO | 7 (?) | Aug 22, 1889 | San Francisco | |
| 62 | Draw | 48–0–10 (4) | Mike Donovan | PTS | 6 | Nov 15, 1888 | Palace Rink, Williamsburg | |
| 61 | Win | 48–0–9 (4) | James Stevens | PTS | 4 | Apr 23, 1888 | Grand Theater, Williamsburg | |
| 60 | Win | 47–0–9 (4) | Billy Baker | PTS | 10 | Feb 18, 1888 | Adelphia Theatre, Buffalo | |
| 59 | Win | 46–0–9 (4) | Dominick McCaffrey | PTS | 10 | Jan 31, 1888 | Pavonia Rink, Jersey City | |
| 58 | Win | 45–0–9 (4) | John Reagan | TKO | 45 (?) | Dec 13, 1887 | Long Island | |
| 57 | Win | 44–0–9 (4) | Bill Gabig | PTS | 4 | Nov 5, 1887 | Grand Central Theater, Wilmington | |
| 56 | Win | 43–0–9 (4) | Denny Kelliher | PTS | 4 | Nov 3, 1887 | Grand Central Theater, Wilmington | |
| 55 | Win | 42–0–9 (4) | Frank Bosworth | PTS | 4 | Nov 1, 1887 | Grand Central Theater, Wilmington | |
| 54 | Win | 41–0–9 (4) | Ned McCann | PTS | 4 | Oct 31, 1887 | Grand Central Theater, Wilmington | |
| 53 | Win | 40–0–9 (4) | Billy Dacey | PTS | 4 | Oct 15, 1887 | Hoboken Casino, Hoboken | |
| 52 | Win | 39–0–9 (4) | Jim McHugh | PTS | 4 | Oct 13, 1887 | Hoboken Casino, Hoboken | |
| 51 | Win | 38–0–9 (4) | Eddie Reede | PTS | 6 | Oct 10, 1887 | Hoboken Casino, Hoboken | |
| 50 | Draw | 37–0–9 (4) | Reddy Gallagher | PTS | 6 | May 2, 1887 | Frankfort St. Gym, Cleveland | |
| 49 | NC | 37–0–8 (4) | Billy Baker | ND | 4 | Apr 9, 1887 | Adelphia Theatre, Buffalo | |
| 48 | Win | 37–0–8 (3) | Denny Killen | PTS | 4 | Feb 5, 1887 | Theatre Comique, Philadelphia | |
| 47 | Win | 36–0–8 (3) | Jack Langdon | PTS | 4 | Feb 2, 1887 | Theatre Comique, Philadelphia | |
| 46 | Win | 35–0–8 (3) | Mike Boded | PTS | 10 | Jan 31, 1887 | Theatre Comique, Philadelphia | |
| 45 | Draw | 34–0–8 (3) | Jack Burke | PTS | 10 | Nov 22, 1886 | Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco | |
| 44 | Win | 34–0–7 (3) | Ed Moehler | PTS | 4 | May 25, 1886 | Leland Rink, Minneapolis | |
| 43 | Win | 33–0–7 (3) | Paddy Norton | TKO | 4 (5) | May 20, 1886 | Exposition Rink, Saint Paul | |
| 42 | Win | 32–0–7 (3) | Jimmy Ryan | PTS | 4 | Apr 30, 1886 | Philadelphia | |
| 41 | Win | 31–0–7 (3) | Charle McCarthy | PTS | 4 | Apr 28, 1886 | Theatre Comique, Philadelphia | |
| 40 | Win | 30–0–7 (3) | Ned McCann | KO | 4 (4) | Apr 26, 1886 | Comique Theatre, Philadelphia | |
| 39 | Win | 29–0–7 (3) | George LaBlanche | TKO | 13 (?) | Mar 14, 1886 | Larchmont | Won inaugural world middleweight title |
| 38 | Win | 28–0–7 (3) | Pete McCoy | PTS | 6 | Feb 24, 1886 | Oakland Avenue Rink, Jersey City | |
| 37 | Win | 27–0–7 (3) | Jack Fogarty | TKO | 27 (?) | Feb 2, 1886 | Clarendon Hall, New York | |
| 36 | Win | 26–0–7 (3) | Jim Murray | PTS | 4 | Jan 15, 1886 | Germania Assembly Rooms, New York | |
| 35 | Win | 25–0–7 (3) | Tom Henry | PTS | 4 | Jan 15, 1886 | Germania Assembly Rooms, New York | |
| 34 | NC | 24–0–7 (3) | Mike Donovan | NC | 4 | Jan 15, 1886 | Germania Assembly Rooms, New York | |
| 33 | Win | 24–0–7 (2) | Tom Berry | TKO | 6 (10) | Dec 14, 1885 | Portland | |
| 32 | Win | 23–0–7 (2) | Dave Campbell | KO | 3 (8) | Nov 2, 1885 | Portland | |
| 31 | Win | 22–0–7 (2) | Tom Norton | TKO | 4 (6) | Sep 12, 1885 | Armory Hall, Sacramento | |
| 30 | Win | 21–0–7 (2) | Young Billy Manning | TKO | 8 (?) | Aug 29, 1885 | Turnverein Hall, Los Angeles | |
| 29 | Win | 20–0–7 (2) | Jack Keenan | KO | 2 (?) | Jul 20, 1885 | San Francisco | |
| 28 | Win | 19–0–7 (2) | Jim Carr | KO | 9 (?) | Jun 5, 1885 | Wigwam Theatre, San Francisco | |
| 27 | Win | 18–0–7 (2) | Tommy Cleary | KO | 5 (?) | May 11, 1885 | Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco | |
| 26 | Win | 17–0–7 (2) | Tom Barry | KO | 5 (?) | May 4, 1885 | Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco | |
| 25 | Win | 16–0–7 (2) | Charles Bixamos | KO | 5 (?) | Mar 19, 1885 | Sportsmen's Park, New Orleans | |
| 24 | Win | 15–0–7 (2) | Jim Fell | PTS | 4 | Jan 22, 1885 | Athletic Hall, New York | |
| 23 | Draw | 14–0–7 (2) | Bill Frazier | PTS | 4 | Jan 12, 1885 | New York | |
| 22 | Win | 14–0–6 (2) | Jimmy Ryan | TKO | 4 (4) | Jan 12, 1885 | New York | |
| 21 | Win | 13–0–6 (2) | George Wilson | NWS | 4 | Dec 15, 1884 | Clarks Club, Philadelphia | |
| 20 | Win | 13–0–6 (1) | Mike Malone | TKO | 2 (?) | Nov 30, 1884 | Philadelphia | |
| 19 | Win | 12–0–6 (1) | Bill Frazier | TKO | 5 (?) | Nov 20, 1884 | New York | |
| 18 | Win | 11–0–6 (1) | Tom Ferguson | PTS | 4 | Nov 6, 1884 | Harry Hill's, New York | |
| 17 | Win | 10–0–6 (1) | Tom Henry | PTS | 6 | Oct 24, 1884 | Eighth-Street Theatre, New York | |
| 16 | Win | 9–0–6 (1) | Bob Turnbull | PTS | 8 | Oct 8, 1884 | Billy Madden's Athletic Hall, New York | |
| 15 | Draw | 8–0–6 (1) | Jimmy Ryan | PTS | 7 | Sep 15, 1884 | Clark's Theatre, Philadelphia | |
| 14 | Win | 8–0–5 (1) | Mike Dempsey | KO | 7 (?) | Sep 4, 1884 | Rockaway | |
| 13 | Win | 7–0–5 (1) | George Fulljames | TKO | 21 (?) | July 30, 1884 | Staten Island, New York | Claimed world middleweight title |
| 12 | Draw | 6–0–5 (1) | Tom Henry | PTS | 4 | Jul 8, 1884 | Rockaway Beach, Queens | |
| 11 | Draw | 6–0–4 (1) | Jack Hayes | PTS | 6 | Apr 25, 1884 | New York | |
| 10 | Win | 6–0–3 (1) | Bill Dacey | TKO | 9 (?) | Mar 6, 1884 | Campbell's Hotel, Coney Island | Won vacant Lightweight Championship of New York Queensberry Rules & hard gloves |
| 9 | Win | 5–0–3 (1) | Tommy Sullivan | PTS | 2 | Mar 4, 1884 | New York | |
| 8 | Win | 4–0–3 (1) | Joe Hennesey | PTS | 4 | Mar 2, 1884 | New York | |
| 7 | Win | 3–0–3 (1) | Jim Barry | TKO | 3 (4) | Feb 28, 1884 | Billy Madden's Athletic Hall, New York | |
| 6 | Win | 2–0–3 (1) | Jim Fell | PTS | 2 | Feb 14, 1884 | New York | |
| 5 | Draw | 1–0–3 (1) | Joe Heiser | PTS | 8 | Feb 10, 1884 | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | |
| 4 | Win | 1–0–2 (1) | William Mahoney | KO | 3 (?) | Jan 15, 1884 | New York | |
| 3 | Draw | 0–0–2 (1) | Bob Turnbull | PTS | 7 (4) | Oct 25, 1883 | Clarendon Hall, New York | |
| 2 | Draw | 0–0–1 (1) | Tom McAlpine | PTS | 4 | Sep 17, 1883 | Harry Hill's, New York | |
| 1 | NC | 0–0 (1) | Harry Force | NC | 11 (?) | Sep 3, 1883 | Coney Island, Brooklyn | Police intervened at Blissville (now part of Long Island City) and fight moved to Coney Island. It was never completed |