[JCWeb]

Dateline Chicago's Comiskey Park, June 10, 1916 -- Unbeaten HW prospect Jack Dempsey appears in the main support bout for the WBA Light Heavy Title clash involving Georges Carpentier before a huge throng here in Chicago. Dempsey will be going for his 15th consecutive win by KO and his opponent, a well-traveled veteran named Tony Ross, knows all the tricks of the trade from a career that dates back to his debut, some 11 years ago right here in Chicago. However, Tony has been down on his luck recently and is clearly on the downside of his long ring career, having lost three in a row by KO to the likes of Matthew "Petty Officer" Curran, George "Boer" Rodel and Denver Jack Geyer, so his 21-18-1 (9) career record is not going to scare Dempsey or the fans, who have installed the Manassa Mauler as a 6-to-1 betting favorite. A win by Dempsey will mean a rating somewhere in the top 15 HWs right now.

Round one, bell sounds and Dempsey quickly traps Ross in a corner, working the head, body, and scoring a hook to the head. Ross is looking for a breather after just the first minute when he is stung by another flurry from Dempsey. The Manassa Mauler nails Ross with a straight right late in the round, but Ross did well to hold his own after the initial onslaught.

Round two, Ross tries to stay away from Dempsey's power and succeeds until a right hand to the chin staggers the veteran journeyman, midway through the round. Ross' left eye is already showing signs of swelling after several more Dempsey blows find their target. Dempsey punctuates the round with a left hook right before the bell, but Ross remains upright.

Round three, more of the same as Dempsey pursues Ross with a more methodical approach, looking for openings. Ross gets in a few good licks in a sharp exchange of blows near the center of the ring. Late in the round more Dempsey punches find their way home, reddening the mounting swelling around Ross' left eye.

In round four, Ross tries to change his luck by going toe-to-toe on the inside with Dempsey, something that has proved to be a mistake for others in prior bouts. Dempsey proves this when he connects with a solid uppercut less than a minute into the round, and Ross finds himself on his back as a result. He rises at the count of six, tries to cover up but Dempsey's great killer instinct is already in high gear, and another uppercut scores a second KD less than a minute later. There's plenty of time left for Jack to finish the job, and he does so, landing a combination for the third KD of the round and an automatic TKO victory.

Dempsey by TKO in the 4th (sorry didn't note the time) to go to 15-0 (15 KO wins) and 654 pp. This is good for #14 spot in the recent WBA HW rankings, and Dempsey will now almost surely be facing better competition in his next bout, perhaps a top ten opponent by the end of 1916. Right now he is just behind of guys like Willard, Miske and Fulton in the rankings, all of whom have lost bouts, but who have more pp because of having faced a higher caliber of opponents than Dempsey, who is still being brought along rather carefully.