Now over 100 years removed from the beginning of his heavyweight title reign, the popularity and greatness of Jack Dempsey’s in-ring career is confined to the history books. The majority of those tomes have relied on passed down myths and conjecture… until now. Adam J. Pollack, author of the critically-acclaimed In the Ring series which chronicles the history of the early gloved heavyweight champions, has brought his exhaustive researching skills to the story of Dempsey with his latest work — In the Ring with Jack Dempsey Part 1: The Making of a Champion.
Relying almost exclusively on primary sources, Pollack presents the most comprehensive work ever done on Dempsey’s pre-title career, spanning 1914-1919. I sat down with Pollack to review the process of creating this important work, how we can “reevaluate” Dempsey today, and why his career is a reminder of the racism which prevented that era’s great black fighters from getting title shots.
Listen below or via YouTube.
In the Ring with Jack Dempsey is available now via Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 