William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey ("The Manassa Mauler") (June 24, 1895 ? May 31, 1983), American professional boxer and cultural icon of the 1920s. He held the World Heavyweight Championship from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Inset picture shows French boxer, who challenged Dempsey to the title in 1921. The Dempsey-Carpentier contest took place on July 2, 1921 at Boyle's Thirty Acres, Jersey City, New Jersey, generating the first million dollar gate in boxing history. A crowd of 91,000 watched the fight. Though it was deemed "the Fight of the Century" and many people who didn't know much about boxing thought Carpentier had a chance to win, most experts anticipated a one-sided win for Dempsey, and they were right.