[JCWeb]

Dateline September 4, 1915 -- San Francisco: Jack Dempsey steps into the limelight as part of a Heavyweight triple header as the co-feature to the main event, a NABF BW Title Bout between Frankie Conley and Eddie Campi. The other featured HW performers are unbeaten prospect Fred Fulton and veteran Fireman Jim Flynn. Dempsey is matched up with Jack Thompson, his first real-life opponent who IRL fought Harry Wills three times for the colored HW championship and also had numerous matchups against top contenders of the era like Fulton, Joplin Ghost Jeff Clarke, Sam McVey and others in a career that lasted from 1913-26, roughly parallel to Dempsey's. Dempsey and Thompson never met in real life. The bout is set for 10 rounds and Thompson enters the bout with a respectable 9-2-1 (6) record, and a fairly good chin although he was KO-ed once by Bill (KO) Brennan.

The bout takes place right after Fred Fulton mopped up with a demolition job over George "One Round" Davis in a bout that ended -- you guessed it -- in one round.

Round one, Dempsey moves inside and immediately finds Thompson to be a be bit tougher than his previous 10 TC opponents. Thompson tries to establish the jab early, but Dempsey works inside to land a right hook followed by a straight right. A late flurry guarantees the round to the Manassa Mauler but other than piling up points he seems to have made little impression on the impervious Thompson.

Round two sets the tone as Dempsey is looking for the KO, but Thompson is fighting a very defensive bout, trying to stay away from Dempsey's power. A solid hook to the body rocks Thompson, who is cornered on the ropes. Dempsey lands a right to the head to solidify his lead in the fight, but Thompson is still standing after being on the receiving end of some vicious shots by Dempsey.

Round three, Thompson starts off well, landing some jabs while keeping his distance. Dempsey breaks through with a right directly on the chin of Thompson but otherwise can make no impression.

Round four, Dempsey fights inside while Thompson stays on the outside. Thompson bounces around, popping jabs and combinations from the outside, while a frustrated Dempsey can't seem to find the range. For the first time as a pro, Dempsey is the clear loser in a complete round of boxing.

Dempsey shifts tactics for round five, fighting from the outside while an emboldened Thompson tries his luck on the inside. Not a good move. A big hook lands for Dempsey, and when Thompson misses, Jack gets in some good countershots, and the accumulated effect of the blows causes some minor swelling to develop just below the right eye of Thompson. Still, a big round for Dempsey but it's the first time he has been forced to go this far.

(A check of the unofficial scorecard at this point actually shows Dempsey trailing, 48-47, although the punch count stats have him well ahead. What do those unofficial experts know, anyhow?)

Round six, Dempsey is clearly out for the kill, landing a short hook and then following with an uppercut that staggers Thompson. Thompson covers up to get through the rest of the round, and Dempsey's well-known "killer instinct" isn't enough to finish the job this time.

Round seven sees an all-out assault by Dempsey, while Thompson wisely elects to put defense first. Dempsey stalks his prey, scoring with a sharp combination and then a late surge but, once again, no knockdown.

Into the 8th round and Dempsey is looking to keep that perfect KO streak going. A cross one minute into the round stuns Thompson, who covers up again. This time Dempsey makes no mistake, putting on the pressure to land repeated blows on a tired opponent, causing puffiness near Thompson's left eye, and with the right eye worsening and Thompson nearly defenseless, the ref, George Siler, steps in to stop the bout at 2:15 of the round. Dempsey wins by TKO in round 8.

Dempsey's win versus his toughest opponent to date pushes his record to 11-0 (all by KO) and puts him at 531 pp (a big boost because Thompson had a positive perf pts total going into the bout). He is expected to fight one more time in 1915 versus an as-yet-to-be-named opponent. Fans at the Cow Palace are clamoring to matchup Jack with Fred Fulton or KO Bill Brennan, but Dempsey's management team is likely to find a more "appropriate" opponent given the fact that Dempsey was severely tested by Thompson, a 6-rated boxer, in this last bout, and may need more "seasoning" before facing one of the other really top HW prospects.

By the way, the main event bout proved to be quite exciting, as Frankie Conley retained the NABF title with a dramatic last round KO of Eddie Campi. It was a close contest throughout, but a check of the scorecards after the bout showed Conley so far behind on all three cards that the only way he could win -- and keep the belt -- was with the last round KO, which is exactly what he did.