Why did jack dempsey duck black fighters?

Question

Why did jack dempsey duck black fighters?

Answer 1

Dempsey did NOT duck Black Fighters -- As I have indicated before, Dempsey wanted to fight Wills + signed to fight Wills. Tickets were even printed up for this fight HOWEVER due to lackluster ticket sales...the fight never materialized. The unused Dempsey/Wills fight tickets command big bucks among boxing memorabilia collectors today.---The fact  is that all fighters, INCLUDING Jack Johnson knew that there was no money to be made in the US then in fighting black fighters.

Answer 2

maybe because during that time ther were not many  black fighters...the only black fighter i know of from that era is jack johnson...and dempsey knocked out a guy that beat johnson!

Answer 3

When Jack Johnson beat a white fighter, there'd be race riots across the country with around 50 people getting murdered each time.  Jack Dempsey was the first real sports Icon, he could fight anyone and put 100,000 butts in seats.  The point is, if Jack lost to a black fighter, 50 murders would be a relief.  The country simply wasn't ready for that kind of boxing, and it took Joe Louis to allay white fears of black boxers.

Answer 4

He didn't. The promoters didn't want the fights. Dempsey actually did fight a lot of exhibitions against black fighters. Jack Johnson is the one who really did the ducking of black fighters.

Answer 5

You will read many accounts that he ducked black fighters most notably Harry Wills.  The fact is Wills lost to Jack Sharkey and Uzcudun in bouts leading up to fights with Dempsey.  Had Wills beat those men he may very well have had a chance to fight Dempsey.  Wills was an old fighter 37 or 38 years old when he lost those fights.  So even had he fought Dempsey he most likely would have lost.  In his prime Wills would have given any heavyweight trouble.

The other thing to note is that promoters didn't put a black fighter against the champ at that time due to aftershocks of Jack Johnson and  racism.  During the time of Dempsey the public was starting to demand that a black fighter be given a shot.  I don't think Dempsey purposely ducked black fighters

Answer 6

It was not jack, it was the promoters.

You have to understand it was a different time back then

blacks and whites were not seen as equals,

also the most famous black fighter of all time

JACK JOHNSON messed it up for a lot of

black fighters for a while