Nonpareil Dempsey


John Edward Kelly was an Irish-American boxer, better known as Nonpareil Jack Dempsey who was the first holder of the World Middleweight Championship. He was nicknamed "Nonpareil" because of his reputation of being unbeatable.

Biography

Dempsey was born on December 15, 1862 in Curran, County Kildare, Ireland. He won the middleweight title on July 30, 1884, by defeating George Fulljames in Great Kills, Staten Island, New York. He held the title for over 6 years, defending the title against 2 fighters during the reign.
In Dempsey's first 65 contests, he lost only 3 times and to Billy Baker twice. This ended when Bob Fitzsimmons pummeled him around the ring and begged him to concede before he was hurt any more. Dempsey, the reigning champion, would not give up; the fight continued and Fitzsimmons knocked him out in round 13. In his final bout, Dempsey, suffering from tuberculosis, lost to Tommy Ryan.
Though Dempsey beat his first battle with tuberculosis, he died at age 32 at the Portland, Oregon home of his wife's parents on November 1, 1895, due to a recurrence of the disease. He was buried in an initially unmarked grave at Mount Calvary Cemetery. M. James Brady, Dempsey's father-in-law, refused to permit former World Champion John L. Sullivan and John S. Barnes to raise funds to erect a monument over Dempsey's grave. The family believed that a four-foot marble shaft was a sufficient memorial. The matter was thus dropped.
Dempsey was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
67Loss50–3–11 Tommy RyanTKO3 Jan 18, 1895 Sea Side A.C., Coney Island
66Draw50–2–11 Billy McCarthyPTS20Sep 05, 1895 Auditorium Club, New Orleans
65Win50–2–10 Billy KeoughPTS4Feb 28, 1893 Pastime A.C., Portland
64Loss49–2–10 Bob FitzsimmonsRTD13 Jan 14, 1891 California A.C., San FranciscoLost lineal middleweight title
63Win49–1–10 Billy McCarthyTKO28 Feb 18, 1890 California A.C., San FranciscoRetained lineal middleweight title
62Loss48–1–10 George LaBlancheKO32 Aug 27, 1889 California A.C., San Francisco
61Win48–0–10 Mike DempseyKO7 Aug 22, 1889 San Francisco
60Draw47–0–10 Mike DonovanPTS6Nov 15, 1888 Palace Rink, Williamsburg
59Win47–0–9 James StevensPTS4Apr 23, 1888 Grand Theater, Williamsburg
58Win46–0–9 Billy BakerPTS10Feb 18, 1888 Adelphia Theatre, Buffalo
57Win45–0–9 Dominick McCaffreyPTS10Jan 31, 1888 Pavonia Rink, Jersey City
56Win44–0–9 John ReaganTKO45 Dec 13, 1887 Long Island
55Win43–0–9 Bill GabigPTS4Nov 05, 1887 Grand Central Theater, Wilmington
54Win42–0–9 Denny KelliherPTS4Nov 03, 1887 Grand Central Theater, Wilmington
53Win41–0–9 Frank BosworthPTS4Nov 01, 1887 Grand Central Theater, Wilmington
52Win40–0–9 Ned McCannPTS4Oct 31, 1887 Grand Central Theater, Wilmington
51Win39–0–9 Billy DaceyPTS4Oct 15, 1887 Hoboken Casino, Hoboken
50Win38–0–9 Jim McHughPTS4Oct 13, 1887 Hoboken Casino, Hoboken
49Win37–0–9 Eddie ReedePTS6Oct 10, 1887 Hoboken Casino, Hoboken
48Draw36–0–9 Reddy GallagherPTS6May 02, 1887 Frankfort St. Gym, Cleveland
4736–0–8 Billy BakerND4Apr 09, 1887 Adelphia Theatre, Buffalo
46Win36–0–8 Denny KillenPTS4Feb 05, 1887 Theatre Comique, Philadelphia
45Win35–0–8 Jack LangdonPTS4Feb 02, 1887 Theatre Comique, Philadelphia
44Win34–0–8 Mike BodedPTS10Jan 31, 1887 Theatre Comique, Philadelphia
43Draw33–0–8 Jack BurkePTS10Nov 22, 1886 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco
42Win33–0–7 Ed MoehlerPTS4May 25, 1886 Leland Rink, Minneapolis
41Win32–0–7 Paddy NortonTKO4 May 20, 1886 Exposition Rink, Saint Paul
40Win31–0–7 Jimmy RyanPTS4Apr 30, 1886 Philadelphia
39Win30–0–7 Charle McCarthyPTS4Apr 28, 1886 Theatre Comique, Philadelphia
38Win29–0–7 Ned McCannKO4 Apr 26, 1886 Comique Theatre, Philadelphia
37Win28–0–7 George LaBlancheTKO13 Mar 14, 1886 LarchmontWon inaugural lineal middleweight title
36Win27–0–7 Pete McCoyPTS6Feb 24, 1886 Oakland Avenue Rink, Jersey City
35Win26–0–7 Jack FogartyTKO27 Feb 02, 1886 Clarendon Hall, New York
34Win25–0–7 Jim MurrayPTS4Jan 15, 1886 Germania Assembly Rooms, New York
33Win24–0–7 Tom HenryPTS4Jan 15, 1886 Germania Assembly Rooms, New York
3223–0–7 Mike DonovanNC4Jan 15, 1886 Germania Assembly Rooms, New York
31Win23–0–7 Tom BerryTKO6 Dec 14, 1885 Portland
30Win22–0–7 Dave CampbellKO3 Nov 02, 1885 Portland
29Win21–0–7 Tom NortonTKO4 Sep 12, 1885 Armory Hall, Sacramento
28Win20–0–7 Young Billy ManningTKO8 Aug 29, 1885 Turnverein Hall, Los Angeles
27Win19–0–7 Jim CarrKO9 Jun 05, 1885 Wigwam Theatre, San Francisco
26Win18–0–7 Tommy ClearyKO5 May 11, 1885 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco
25Win17–0–7 Tom BarryKO5 May 04, 1885 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco
24Win16–0–7 Charles BixamosKO5 Mar 19, 1885 Sportsmen's Park, New Orleans
23Win15–0–7 Jim FellPTS4Jan 22, 1885 Athletic Hall, New York
22Draw14–0–7 Bill FrazierPTS4Jan 12, 1885 New York
21Win14–0–6 Jimmy RyanTKO4 Jan 12, 1885 New York
20Win13–0–6 George WilsonNWS4Dec 15, 1884 Clarks Club, Philadelphia
19Win12–0–6 Mike MaloneTKO2 Nov 30, 1884 Philadelphia
18Win11–0–6 Bill FrazierTKO5 Nov 20, 1884 New York
17Win10–0–6 Tom FergusonPTS4Nov 06, 1884 Harry Hill's, New York
16Win9–0–6 Tom HenryPTS6Oct 24, 1884 Eighth-Street Theatre, New York
15Win8–0–6 Bob TurnbullPTS8Oct 08, 1884 Billy Madden's Athletic Hall, New York
14Draw7–0–6 Jimmy RyanPTS7Sep 15, 1884 Clark's Theatre, Philadelphia
13Win7–0–5 Mike DempseyKO7 Sep 04, 1884 Rockaway
12Draw6–0–5 Tom HenryPTS4Jul 08, 1884 Rockaway Beach, Queens
11Draw6–0–4 Jack HayesPTS6Apr 25, 1884 New York
10Win6–0–3 Bill DaceyTKO9 Mar 06, 1884 Campbell's Hotel, Coney Island
9Win5–0–3 Tommy SullivanPTS2Mar 04, 1884 New York
8Win4–0–3 Joe HenneseyPTS4Mar 02, 1884 New York
7Win3–0–3 Jim BarryTKO3 Feb 28, 1884 Billy Madden's Athletic Hall, New York
6Win2–0–3 Jim FellPTS2Feb 14, 1884 New York
5Draw1–0–3 Joe HeiserPTS8Feb 10, 1884 Williamsburg, Brooklyn
4Win1–0–2 William MahoneyKO3 Jan 15, 1884 New York
3Draw0–0–2 Bob TurnbullPTS7 Oct 25, 1883 Clarendon Hall, New York
2Draw0–0–1 Tom McAlpinePTS4Sep 17, 1883 Harry Hill's, New York
10–0 Harry ForceNC11 Sep 03, 1883 Coney Island, BrooklynPolice intervened at Blissville and fight moved to Coney Island. It was never completed