Dempsey

vs.

Gibbons

July 4, 1923

"Tommy Gibbons was not ashamed to run."

-Haywood Hale Broun

A scene no one expected to see, the coming of round 14. As Joe Benjamin fans the Champion Dempsey, the Challenger Gibbons sets shaded by an umbrella. Going into the fight Dempsey was a 2-1 favorite with no takers, most experts believing the much lighter Gibbons, Dempsey out weighed him by 12 1/2 pounds, could not survive Dempsey's savagery.

Surprizingly, Gibbons had held his own through the first seven rounds, a ring rusty Dempsey unable to find the mark. From the seventh round onward Dempsey pounded at Gibbons body at every opportunity, but could not land the fatal blow. At the end of fifteen rounds, although Dempsey was the clear victor, Tommy Gibbons was still standing. For the first time in nearly a quarter of a century the Heavyweight Championship of the World had changed hands via a decision . Not since Jeffries fought Tom Sharkey in 1899 had the outcome rested in the hands of the referee.

"Nailing him was like trying to thread a needle in a high wind."

-Jack Dempsey

Size: 4 1/2 X 6 1/2 in.