Editing Jack Dempsey (section)

===Title defenses===
[[File:Jack Dempsey v Georges Carpentier cph.3b35134.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Dempsey and Carpentier in the arena before the fight]]
Following his victory, Dempsey traveled around the country, making publicity appearances with circuses, staging exhibitions, and appearing in a low-budget Hollywood movie. Dempsey did not defend his title until September 1920, with a fight against [[Billy Miske]] in [[Benton Harbor]], Michigan. Miske was knocked out in three rounds.

Dempsey's second title defense was in December 1920 against Bill Brennan at [[Madison Square Garden (1890)|Madison Square Garden]], New York City. After 10 rounds, Brennan was ahead on points, and Dempsey's left ear was bleeding profusely. Dempsey rebounded to stop Brennan in the 12th round.

====Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier====
[[File:TIMEMagazine10Sep1923.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' cover, September 10, 1923]]
{{Main|Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier}}
Dempsey's next defending fight was against French [[WW I]] hero [[Georges Carpentier]], a fighter popular on both sides of the Atlantic.<ref group=upper-alpha>{{cite news |first= John S.|last= Radosta|title=Georges Carpentier, Boxer, Dies in Paris; He Fought Dempsey at Boyle's Thirty Acres in 1921 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/29/archives/georges-carpentier-boxer-dies-in-paris-he-fought-dempsey-at-boyles.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 29, 1975|access-date=October 16, 2008}}</ref> The bout was promoted by [[Tex Rickard]] and [[George Bernard Shaw]], who claimed that Carpentier was "the greatest boxer in the world".<ref name="Sann">Sann, Paul. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080304091047/http://www.lawlessdecade.net/21-1.htm The Lawless Decade]. lawlessdecade.net</ref>

The Dempsey–Carpentier contest took place on July 2, 1921, at [[Boyle's Thirty Acres]] in [[Jersey City, New Jersey]]. It generated the first million-dollar gate in boxing history;<ref name="auto">{{cite news |last1=Gustkey |first1=Earl |date=June 25, 1995 |title=This Champion Was a Real Bum : Jack Dempsey, the Man Who Inspired Boxing's First Million-Dollar Gate, Was Born 100 Years Ago |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-25-sp-17054-story.html |access-date=March 16, 2018 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> a crowd of 91,000 watched the fight. Though it was deemed "the Fight of the Century", experts anticipated a one-sided win for Dempsey. Radio pioneer [[RCA]] arranged for live coverage of the match via [[KDKA (AM)|KDKA]], making the event the first national radio broadcast.<ref name="PBS">{{cite web |url= https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/fight/peopleevents/p_dempsey.html |title= Jack Dempsey (1895–1983) |series= [[The American Experience]] |work= The Fight |publisher= [[PBS]] |date= September 22, 2004 |access-date= June 24, 2012 |url-status= dead |archive-date= October 9, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161009224329/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/fight/peopleevents/p_dempsey.html |df= mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="Fisher">{{cite book | last =Fisher | first =Marc | title =Something in the Air | publisher =[[Random House]] | year =2007 | location =New York | page =xiv | isbn =978-0-375-50907-0 | no-pp =true | url-access =registration | url =https://archive.org/details/somethinginairra00fish }}</ref>

Carpentier wobbled Dempsey with a hard right in the second round. A reporter at ringside, however, counted 25 punches from Dempsey in a single 31-second exchange soon after he was supposedly injured by the right.<ref name="Sann"/> Carpentier also broke his thumb in that round, which crippled his chances. Dempsey ended up winning the match in the fourth round.

Dempsey did not defend his title again until [[Jack Dempsey vs. Tommy Gibbons|July 1923]] against [[Tommy Gibbons]] in [[Shelby, Montana]]. Dempsey won the match as result of a 15-round decision.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uDuNfZGC7g |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/6uDuNfZGC7g| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Jack Dempsey vs Tommy Gibbons (Full Film), part 1/5|last=rsmorodinov|date=June 30, 2010|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdCcMZZoVMY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/XdCcMZZoVMY| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Jack Dempsey vs Tommy Gibbons (July 1923)|last=Hao1981|date=January 11, 2010|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
[[File:Bellows George Dempsey and Firpo 1924.jpg|thumb|left|''Dempsey and Firpo'', 1924 painting by [[George Bellows]]]]

{{Main|Jack Dempsey vs. Luis Ángel Firpo}}

The last successful title defense for Dempsey was in September 1923 at New York City's [[Polo Grounds]] in [[Jack Dempsey vs. Luis Ángel Firpo|Dempsey vs. Firpo]]. Attendance was 85,000, with another 20,000 trying to get inside the arena. Firpo was knocked down repeatedly by Dempsey, yet continued to battle back, even knocking Dempsey down twice. On the second occasion he was floored, Dempsey flew head-first through the ring ropes, landing on a ringside reporter's typewriter. At this point he was out of the ring for approximately 14 seconds, less than the 20 second rule for out-of-ring knockouts. He was helped back into the ring by the writers at ringside. Ultimately, Dempsey beat Argentinian contender [[Luis Ángel Firpo]] with a second-round KO. The fight was transmitted live by radio to [[Buenos Aires]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.elgrafico.com.ar/coberturas-historicas/1923-cuando-firpo-tiro-a-dempsey-fuera-del-ring-detalle.php |date=September 22, 1923 |title=Cuando Firpo tiró a Dempsey fuera del ring: El encuentro por la corona mundial de Box |magazine=[[El Gráfico (Argentina)|Revista El Gráfico]] |access-date=July 10, 2012 |archive-date=February 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226132309/http://www.elgrafico.com.ar/coberturas-historicas/1923-cuando-firpo-tiro-a-dempsey-fuera-del-ring-detalle.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Dempsey's heavyweight title-defending fights, exhibition fights, movies, and endorsements, made Dempsey one of the richest athletes in the world, putting him on the cover of ''[[Time (Magazine)|Time]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19230910,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106104447/http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19230910,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 6, 2007 |title=Jack Dempsey cover |newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=September 10, 1923 |access-date=January 20, 2014}}</ref>