THERE ARE RICH REWARDS FOR PRESENT-DAY BOXERS ,

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 695, 21 June 1929, Page 14

THERE ARE RICH REWARDS FOR PRESENT-DAY BOXERS ,

TACK KEARNS, the astute manager of Jack Dempsey, was once asked Avliat the world’s heavy-weight boxing championship was AA-orth in dollars, and he replied

briefly, “A million.” That is about what Dempsey made for himself and his entourage while ho was the champion of the world. The Dempsey - Firpo fight in 1923 brought in £ 230.000 and the promoters did very Avell out of it—so did Dempsey. The receipts of the memorable contest Dempsey and Carpentier in 1921 amounted to £3 2 5,0 00, and Dempsey, as the A-ictor, took home nearly £IOO.OOO of that huge sum. He received about £200,000 Avhen he

defended his title against Gene Tunnev, and Tunney | was paid £200,000 for his return!

[ match -with Dempsey. For his fight with Gibbons Dempsey received £40.000. and Firpo and Wills each 1 received about £ SO.OOO for their contest. John L.

Sullivan was thought to have done marvellously Avell to get £4.000 for his fight with Jake Kilrain about 40 years ago, and AA'hen the promoters guaranteed £6.500 to Joe Gans and Battling Nelson for their match for the world’s title, seven or eight years later, everybody was astonished. The present era of large purses, which has done much to raise the status of boxing. is a long call from the day when Tom Sayers and Jem Mace would fight all day, over

100 rounds, with naked fists for £5. Times have changed with a vengeance: