Jack Dempsey
11 quotes
Biography
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey, nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and was world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. He is ranked sixth on The Ring magazine's list of all-time heavyweights and fourth among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers, while in 1950 the Associated Press voted him as the greatest fighter of the past 50 years.
"A champion is someone ho gets up, een when he can't"
"A champion is someone who gets up when he can't."
"Honey, I just forgot to duck."
"Nobody has to go hungry today. There is plenty of work for a man who wants to work. A kid can make plenty of dough for himself doing almost anything. I was hungry. I had to fight my way along. Freights and the like, fight, fight all the time. The life was tough, but it hardened you."
"When I was a young fellow I was knocked down plenty. I wanted to stay down, but I couldn’t. I had to collect the two dollars for winning or go hungry. I had to get up. I was one of those hungry fighters. You could have hit me on the chin with a sledgehammer for five dollars. When you haven’t eaten for two days you’ll understand."
"He should’ve been the only heavyweight anybody ever thought of when they thought about the greatest heavyweight champion. I mean he had everything. He could punch, he could box. He was mean and determined."
"There's no place for pity in the ring. Many fighters can't bear to hammer a helpless opponent in the ring. They don't want to hurt him. But look at Dempsey he was probably the greatest rough and tumble fighter who ever lived."
"Tell him he can have my title, but I want it back in the morning."
"By forgetting the past and by throwing myself into other interests, I forget to worry."
"I never went to bed in my life and I never ate a meal in my life without saying a prayer. I know my prayers have been answered thousands of times and I know that I never said a prayer in my life without something good coming of it."
"Nobody owes anybody a living, but everybody is entitled to a chance."