Boxing is the closest sport to writing, or is it vice versa?

I'm all for boxers get paid grandiose fees, as they're alone in the ring, the loneliest place in the world as my grandfather use to say, no stranger to the travelling boxing booths himself in the 30s.

Interesting that the dog shown with Jack Dempsey is a fighting pit bulldog. I named my second male Japanese Tosa "Dempsey" in honor of the great fighter.

As for how Dempsey fared in later years, the answer is "quite well." He trained members of the armed services in hand-to-hand combat during WWII. For many years he was a successful restaurateur in New York city. I believe his establishment was especially famous for its steaks, and he remained lucid and vigorous in later life. He died at age 87.

Well, I'm not sure "not having been hit" is the full story. Jim Jeffries was a real "iron man." He could take a terrific beating, as in his fights with Bob Fitzsimmons, and still knock out his adversary. Several fighters from the early 20th century, including Jack Johnson, were reported to have said in his prime Jeff could have knocked out Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis in the same night. Dempsey said he believed he might have gotten clobbered had he faced Jeff in his prime. Jeff remained vigorous and lucid and died just shy of age 78, which we thought of as a very ripe old age 60 years ago. Jeff and my great-uncle were good friends. However, I met neither: My grandfather and his brother had become estranged back in the 1930s.

As to the weight of gloves, I think six-ounce gloves were the norm in the time of Jeffries. Eight-ounces were the norm for professional fights when I was young, 12 ounces for college boxing and 16 ounces for sparring. I am not sure what the weights are now since I don't follow the fight game the way I did in my younger days.

Always somewhat surprising that Joe Louis ended up in such bad shape. Except for his loss to Max Schmeling and his final fight with Rocky Marciano he never took any bad beatings as far as I know.