SPORTSCLOPEDIA 62: DEMPSEY VS. CARPENTIER, THE FIRST MILLION DOLLAR FIGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 03 Jul 2023
Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier was a superfight between world heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and world light-heavyweight champion Georges Carpentier, and it was one of the fights which were called the "Fight of the Century". The bout happened on July 2, 1921, at Boyle's Thirty Acres in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.A.
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Dempsey called "The Manassa Mauler" of Manassa, Colorado, U.S.A. outweighed Carpentier named "The Orchid Man" of Lievin, Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France by 20 pounds, weighing 188 while the French challenger tipped in at 168. Pomoter Tex Rickard was apprehensive that Dempsey would stop Carpentier in just one round so Rickard told the champion not to go for an early knockout. The referee was Harry Ertle.
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As expected, Dempsey was the aggressor all throughout the fight, with Carpentier relying on his boxing skill and counter-punching. In round two, a thundering right punch to the jaw wobbled Dempsey. But Dempsey immediately recovered and reversed the outcome of the bout in round three.
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Less than a minute passed the fourth round, Dempsey's persistent punching floored Carpentier with a pummeling left-right combination. Carpentier almost did not beat the count, but he got up unexpectedly at the referee's count of nine. But at one minute and 16 seconds of round four, Dempsey knocked out Carpentier with another stinging flurry which included a solid right hook to the body.
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The Jack Dempsey versus Georges Carpentier bout was the first boxing fight to produce $1,000,000 in sales, or a "million dollar gate" at a then record revenue of $1,789,238. It was also the first heavyweight championship fight where a great number of women attended. This could be due to the favorable pre-fight press exposures that Carpentier had received in many New York City newspapers that advertised him as a dashing, handsome and stylish French war hero.
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Dempsey retained the heavyweight title until 1926, losing it to Gene Tunney on points after ten rounds. In 1927, Dempsey was able to get a rematch hoping to regain the title from Tunney in what was known as The Long Count Fight, but again lost via a ten-round decision. He retired after that from active fight and operated a restaurant in New York City. He died in 1983 at age 87.
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Carpentier fought twelve more times, getting a record of 7-4-1 during that period of time. One of those twelve bouts was a fifteenth round knockout defeat at the hands of Tunney. He thue became an actor in his home country France, appearing in eight feature films. Carpentier died in 1975. Both fighters are members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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