Dempsey was good-looking, talented, and one of the most entertaining pugilists ever to step through the ropes. Dempsey beat Jess Willard for the heavyweight title in 1919, and he would defend the championship multiple times in the 1920s to large crowds, all hungry to see Dempsey win. Dempsey was the man who set the first “million-dollar gate” when he defended against French war hero Georges Carpentier, and it was his events that helped draw interest in broadcasting live events.
