Jess Willard Jack Dempsey Boxing 1919 Toledo Ohio 100 Anniversary poster SIGNED

Description

SIGNED AND NUMBERED #17 OF ONLY 40 MADE!
Only 40 were made for the 100th Anniversary event located here where i live in Toledo Ohio
Condition is New.
Shipped with USPS First Class TUBED
From Wikipedia about the fight...
At age 37, Willard lost his title to Jack Dempsey on July 4, 1919, in Toledo Ohio Dempsey knocked Willard down for the first time in his career with a left hook in the first round. Dempsey knocked Willard down seven times in the first round—although it should be remembered that rules at the time permitted standing almost over a knocked-down opponent and hitting him again as soon as both knees had left the canvas. Dempsey won the title when Willard was unable to continue after the third round. In the fight, Willard was later reputed to have suffered a broken jaw, cheekbone, and ribs, as well as losing several teeth. His attempt to fight to the finish, ending when he was unable to come out for the fourth round, is considered one of the most courageous performances in boxing history. However, the extent of Willard's injuries have been highly disputed, since contemporary reports show that only a few days after the fight, there were few traces of any damage other than a couple of bruises:
A statement was issued after the fight by Jim Byrne, "official physician to a local athletic club in Toledo", that Willard had a dislocated jaw, a fractured cheek bone and several "mashed" ribs and that it would be "at least six weeks before Willard is back to normal condition and can move comfortably." This was reported in the Kansas City Times, July 8, 1919, p. 10 "Willard's Jaw Dislocated.”Pacheco and other reporters based the extent of Willard’s injuries on this widely distributed report by Byrne who was not a physician. However it soon turned out that Jim Byrne was not a doctor, but was rather a "rubber" in a bathhouse in Battle Creek, Michigan. According to the reporter in an article, "Willard's Jaw is All Right," Kansas City Star, July 8, 1919, p.11, Byrne "doesn't know a nickel's worth about the human anatomy."Other reports also make it clear that Willard was not as severely injured as has been claimed. An interview by a reporter from Kansas City on July 5, 1919, "Jess Refuses to Alibi," Kansas City Star, July 6, 1919, p. 14, the day after the fight, showed that "aside from the swelling on the right side of his face, which is under cold applications, he was none the worse apparently for his encounter with Dempsey."In an interview on July 7, the Kansas City Times announced that Jess and his wife were leaving Toledo and driving their car back to Lawrence, Kansas that day. His condition seemed to be fine. "The swelling over his left eye had entirely disappeared and the only mark he bore was a slight discoloration over the eye and a cut lip." ("Willard starts for Home," Kansas City Times, July 8, 1919, p.10).Another reporter interviewed Jess in Chicago on his way home. "Hello, Jess" said the reporter, "How do you feel ?" "Hello," said Willard, "I'm feeling great. Would you like to spar a few rounds?" (Kansas City Star, July 10, 1919, p. 10).Later, according to a reporter for the Topeka Daily Capital, July 16, 1919, p. 8, who interviewed Jess when he got back to Lawrence, "The ex-champion didn't have any black eye, nor any signs that he was injured in any way."
Contemporaries also reported that Willard had lost no teeth, and that his jaw was not broken. A day after the fight, the New York Timesinterviewed Willard at length, and speaking would have been very hard if his jaw really had been multiply fractured. Willard said:
Dempsey is a remarkable hitter. It was the first time that I had ever been knocked off my feet. I have sent many birds home in the same bruised condition that I am in, and now I know how they felt. I sincerely wish Dempsey all the luck possible and hope that he garnishes all the riches that comes with the championship. I have had my fling with the title. I was champion for four years and I assure you that they'll never have to give a benefit for me. I have invested the money I have made.
Jess Willard
Shortly after the fight rumors of foul play from Dempsey's corner began to spread. The rumours appeared to be confirmed years later when the January 13, 1964 issue of Sports Illustrated contained an article titled "He didn't know the gloves were loaded" in which Dempsey's manager, Jack Kearns, confessed to loading Dempsey's gloves with plaster of Paris disguised as talcum powder, without Dempsey's knowledge. Kearns claimed he had bet ,000 at 10-1 odds that Dempsey would win in the first round and couldn't afford to lose.
However, this story has been disputed. Nat Fleischer, later founder of The RingMagazine, was there when Dempsey's hands were wrapped: "Jack Dempsey had no loaded gloves, and no plaster of Paris over his bandages. I watched the proceedings, and the only person who had anything to do with the taping of Jack's hands was Deforest. Kearns had nothing to do with it, so his plaster of Paris story is simply not true. Deforest himself said that he regarded the stories of Dempsey's gloves being loaded as libel, calling them 'trash' and said he did not apply any foreign substance to them, which I can verify since I watched the taping." Historian Johnson ended all discussion when he pointed out that "the films show Willard upon entering the ring walking over to Dempsey and examining his hands. That should end any possibility of plaster of Paris or any other substance on his hands." And if the extent of Willard's injuries was exaggerated, as contemporary sources indicate, there is nothing to explain about Dempsey's hands. Furthermore, tests performed by Cleveland Williams, Hugh Benbow and Perry Payne (William's manager and trainer) for the magazine Boxing Illustrated proved that the plaster of Paris would have crumbled in the intense heat experienced on the day of the fight, rendering it useless for the purpose of inflicting damage or pain on Willard.