The sun., 1919-07-05
Dempsey Is Fifth Worlds
Heavyweight Champion
Is 18th Holder Of American
Title-Started His Boxing
Career Only 4 Years Ago.


Dempsey. the Modern Nonpareil, wrested
the heavyweight crown from the giant
Jess Willard in the sun baked ring at
Toledo yesterday. he became the eigh-
teenth holder of the American title and
the nth worlds heavyweight champion.
Willard, like John L. Sullivan. who.
after his defeat by Corbett, tottered to
raising one mighty paw aloft to COM
mand attention, pstriotically declared.
Gentlemen. the championship remains
IN America T. can retire safe in the
knowledge that he was beaten by no
foreigner and the title still Ia held by q
sturdy son of Uncle Sam.
With the exception OF Tom Hyer,
Americas first titleholder In the heavy
weight class, and John C. Heenan, the
Benicia Boy, all the early champions
were foreign born, coming either from
England or Ireland. John l. Sullivan
was the first native born citizen to hold
title under Queensberry rules. Fitz-
simmons was the only foreigner to take
title under those rules.
Jeffries was the first American
heavyweight to hold the worlds title.
He gained the coveted laurels by win
ming the American championship from
F1tzsimmons after previously beating
Peter jackson, holder of the English
and Australian titles.
Burns Followed Jenries.
Following Jeffriess retirement Tommy
Burns captured the American champion
ship by beating a majority of oon-
tenders. and then made himself the
worlds champion by stopping Gunner
Moir, the British titleholder and Bill
souires. the Australian champion. The
worlds title descended from Burns to
johnson and from johnson to Willard.
It has been claimed in behalf of Sulli-
van that he was the champion Of the
| world, but he never held that title. He
won the American title from Paddy
Ryan in 1882 and lost It to Corbett ten
years later. Sullivan never fought but
one foreign pugilist, Charley Mitchell.
who was not at the time the English
champion. and. in fact never held the
title. In any event Mitchell and Sulli-
van boxed q draw.
At the time Sullivan was in his
prime Peter Jackson was indisputably
the heavyweight champion Of England
and Australia, having stopped Jem
Smith. English titleholder, In two rounds
| and knocked out Frank Slavin. Aus
tralian champion. in ten rounds. Sulli-
van drew the color line against Jackson
and therefore never engaged in a bout
in which the worlds championship was
| at stake.
Dempsey 20 Years Old.
| Dempsey was born in Colorado TWEEN
| ty-four years ago last month. Accord
| ing to his own statements mixture OF
| Irish, Scotch and Indian blood runs in
| his veins.
Dempsey began his ring career in the
early part of 1915. At that time he was
| working in the mines of Colorado. where
l. "a Ia liz mi
physique. At first he did not take box
ing very seriously as the returns were
| small and he had no idea that he ever
| would be fighting for the heavyweight
championship of the world.
Many of Dempseys minor Affairs IN
the ring have gone unrecorded. There
! Is no record of his early battles until
he met and knocked out King Hancock
in one round. This success caused him
TO forsake the ranch and the mines for
a career in the ring.
Dempsey knew little or nothing about
the art of boxing, but he had a trick
OF hitting with crushing force and he
was a fighter by nature. Most of his
early battles he won quickly. He met
his first reverse when he was outpointed
in four rounds by Jack Downey, a mid
dleweight, who was fairly well known in
the West.
1
sey won with knockout in two rounds,
after which he began to cover wider
field and to seek more ambitious
matches. His first opponent of more
than local reputation was Joe Bonds. a
big fellow who had acted as punching
bag for the well known lights of the
ring. Dempsey outpointed him in ten
rounds and then he decided to take a
trip East.
Dempsey Arrives Here.
Dempsey arrived in New York with
very little money in his pocket, and that
dwindled away before he could get any
of the local matchmakers to listen to
his pleas for action. He got his first
chance to show IN the big town one
Saturday night at the Fairmont Club
in The Bronx.
Big Andre Anderson was one OF the
stars billed that night. It happened
that Andres opponent did not show up
for some reason and Dempsey, who was
hanging around the club on the chance
that he might get on In one of the pre-
| hminaries, begged Matchmaker Tom
McCardle to put him on with the big
fellow.
Dempsey explained that he was fiat
broke. had had nothing to eat All day
and Just naturally had to get fight TO
| x.
else on hand, McCardle took chance
with the stranger and sent him into the
ring.
At that time Dempsey was but mere
STRIPPING. He did not weigh more than
40 pounds. He was totally unframed
and half starved and he was facing a
giant who had met many OF the best
men In the ring. While the crowd knew
nothing about Dempsey. those on the In
side expected him to go Out in round
= or two. In the first round Dempsey was
a mark for the more experienced An
derson. The big fellow jabbed him at
will and with a right swing he cut a deep
cash over Dempsey's left eye. Dempsey
was battered all over the ring. He was
covered with blood from head TO foo,
and did not appear to have a China
mans chance
But somehow or other Dempsey man.
aged TO stall along. Knocked down time
| after time, he always struggled to his
J feet before the count In his efforts &c
end It. Anderson began to grow arm
weary He slowed up considerably &c
that Dempsey's earnest but wild swings
frequently found a resting place on thu
big fellow. The further the battle went
the more Dempsey improved and in the
! closing rounds he had the big fellow
e holding on like drowning man TO es
? cape being put TO sleep. Dempsey had
[ won on points after taking beating
that few men could have survived
, Gameness Earned Fans.
, Dempsey's wonderful display of game