On this day in 1983:  Legendary heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey passes away

Jack Dempsey reigned as Heavyweight Champion from 1919 to 1926. On July 2, 1921, Dempsey participated in the first million dollar fight in boxing history. The fight was a title defense against George Carpentier, who Dempsey knocked out in the fourth round.

Dempsey was born in Manassa, Colorado, in 1895 and died in New York City on this day in 1983. The fighter's unrelenting style of aggression made him a fan favorite and turned him into one of the early 'sporting heroes' in America.

Though known for his apparent brawler style, Dempsey was a highly technical boxer and later authored an instructional book titled Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense.

'The Manassa Mauler,' as Dempsey came to be known, has an unknown boxing record as many of his bouts were not recorded. According to Boxrec, he retired in 1927 with a record of 53-6-8. The International Boxing Hall of Fame credits him with a record of 61-6-8 with 6 'newspaper decisions'.

Dempsey won his world title in 1919 with a third-round stoppage over Jess Willard, the 'Pottawatomie Giant'. Some of his most well-known bouts include fights with Willard, Carpentier, Gene Tunney, Luis Angel Firpo, and Battling Levinsky.

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Jack Dempsey vs. Gene Tunney

Jack Dempsey and the great Gene Tunney fought in 1926 and again in 1927. Between the two, Dempsey knocked out Jack Sharkey, who later claimed the heavyweight title from Max Schmeling. Though Dempsey lost both bouts against Tunney, they stand as two of his most memorable.

Dempsey and Tunney's first fight came less than ten days after Dempsey's famous fight with Firpo. In the bout with Firpo, Dempsey was knocked out of the ring but managed to climb back in and win via knockout. Dempsey vs Tunney I ended via unanimous decision.

Check out a colourized collection of archival footage here:

After his upset loss, Dempsey stepped into the ring with Jack Sharkey and knocked him out. He then secured a rematch with Tunney, the new heavyweight champ. The fight between them is now infamously known as 'The Long Count Fight'.

In their rematch, Jack Dempsey dropped Gene Tunney with four clean shots to the jaw in the seventh-round. He then stood over his opponent as he lay on the canvas. However, due to a new rule, the referee did not begin counting until Dempsey returned to the neutral corner. As it took Dempsey some time to move to the corner, Tunney had an additional five seconds to recover.

Gene Tunney dropped Jack Dempsey in turn the following round, and then went on to dominate the rest of the fight. He won via unanimous decision, retaining his world title.