Pugilist, Jack Dempsey leaning against ring ropes, standing in a corner of a boxing ring outdoors
My first defense of the world heavyweight championship title was on Labor Day, 1920, against a dying friend of mine. I knocked him out because I loved the guy.
~Jack Dempsey
On September 6, 1920, over a year since he took the title from Jess Willard, heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey met challenger Billy Miske at the Floyd Fitzsimmons Arena in Benton Harbor to defend his title for the first time. Referee Jimmy Dougherty awarded Dempsey a win by knockout at 1:13 in the 3rd round. Here are a few facts from BoxRec where they also have photos:
- Attendance was reported to be 11,346 with total receipts at $134,904 according to promoter Floyd Fitzsimmons.
- Dempsey received $50,000 cash plus a share of the gate receipts.
- This was the first bout broadcast on radio.
- This was the only time in over 100 bouts that Miske was knocked out. To quote boxing historian Eric Jorgensen from the FOX Sports biopic Billy Miske: Dead Man Fighting: “Any way you look at heart, toughness and determination–sheer guts–he (Miske) definitely had it. The fact that it took a Jack Dempsey to knock him out–that tells you what a tough guy he was.”
Miske was later revealed to have been dying of Bright’s Disease, and you can read a good account of this and the fight from The Art of Manliness.
You can’t view this photo any bigger but you can check out a series of photos from the fight at the Library of Congress and also see an incredible panorama of the crowd at the Library of Congress!
Michigan in Pictures 
