I just watched the dempsey-willard fight on youtube for the 50th time and considering willard's injuries(broken ribs, missing teeth, broken jaw, broken everything) i think it's safe to say he wasn't wearing a mouthpiece. Around what year were the first mouthguards used in boxing and when did they become mandatory. One of the old-timers here must know.
"The first recorded use of a mouthguard was by boxers and in the 1920s professional boxing was the first sport to make mouthguards mandatory. In those days, the mouthguard or toothguard, as it was then called, was a preformed, thick semi circle of rubber, which was worn over the top teeth." - from the british orthodontic society website.
how the hell did those guys fight for 80 rounds with 4 ounce gloves and not lose all their teeth? I've gotten a couple of mine loosened with a mouthpiece and 16ouncers when i first started. It seems that losing teeth was unavoidable in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Dempsey was so small compared to Willard. Dempsey was like 6' 190lbs and Willard was like 6'7" and 245lbs or so. That was a beating though. BTW, I could've sworn there was some controversy over Jack "Doc" Kearns saying he used plaster of paris to wrap the hands of Dempsey. Maybe I was just imagining things but I thought I heard this on ESPN Classic when this fight was shown 3 years ago.
Theres reason to believe Doc Kearns was full of shit. Dempsey and Kearns had a hell of a falling out, and Kearns tried to get back at him in a couple different ways.
I don't know how I missed this thread. I had a crazy talk with an older Canadian boxing writer on a poker table at the Wynn a few weeks ago about this. He insisted on Doc Kearn's innocence and reliability on this. Surprising, but this guy knew he shit. I actually was exhausted but I hung around an extra hour or so just to talk to the guy. Talking to a boxing historian is a rare gift that I always try to take pleasure in. I still give Joe Louis a pat everytime I walk by him @ Caesars.
