Jack Dempsey versus Georges Carpentier
| Date | July 2, 1921 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Boyle's Thirty Acres in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | World Heavyweight Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxer |
 Jack Dempsey |
 Georges Carpentier |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | "The Manassa Mauler" | "The Orchid Man" | |
| Hometown | Manassa, Colorado, U.S. | Lievin, Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France | |
| Pre-fight record | 50-4-9, 42 knockouts | 81-11-5, 52 knockouts | |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 5 ft 11 1⁄2 in (1.82 m) | |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | 174 lb (79 kg) | |
| Recognition | World Heavyweight Champion | World Light-Heavyweight Champion |
Jack Dempsey versus Georges Carpentier was a boxing fight between world heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and world light-heavyweight champion Georges Carpentier, which was one of the fights named the "Fight of the Century". The bout took place in the United States on Saturday, July 2, 1921, at Boyle's Thirty Acres in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Jack Dempsey was the world Heavyweight champion since he beat Jess Willard by a fourth round knockout in 1919. The challenge by Carpentier would be his third title defense, after retaining the championship against Billy Miske and Bill Brennan. Both Miske and Brennan died shortly after fighting Dempsey, of causes unrelated to their fights.
Carpentier was the world Light-Heavyweight champion, having beaten Battling Levinsky by a fourth round knockout in his previous bout to win the title at Westside Ballpark in Jersey City.
Despite the fact the bout was held in the United States, Dempsey, the American defending champion, was cast as an anti-hero whereas Carpentier, the French challenger, was seen as a hero by fans. This was partly due to the fact that Dempsey had not fought at war and Carpentier had, for the French Army. Dempsey was seen by many as a draft-dodger. Dempsey went on trial during 1920, accused of draft evasion. At the same time, he went through a divorce from his first wife, Maxine.
Tex Rickard, Dempsey's promoter, built up the fight, using the public's view of both fighters as a way to promote the bout. Rickard mainly operated out of the Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, but at the time he was having trouble with authorities at the New York State boxing commission and Tammany Hall. In addition, New York governor Nathan L. Miller opposed having the fight take place in his state. Also, Rickard envisioned a larger crowd than the Madison Square Garden could fit coming to this fight, and he preferred boxing fights to be held at outside arenas so he built Boyle's Thirty Acres in Jersey City, with a capacity for 80,000 paying customers. Rickard borrowed an amount of $250,000 dollars (in 1921 money) to make the arena.
...
Wikipedia