Jack Dempsey’s rise to the heavyweight championship did not begin when he defeated Jess Willard for the title. It began one year earlier on July 27, 1918, when he demolished Fred Fulton in one of the quickest and most influential knockouts in heavyweight history. There was barely enough time for either man to establish himself before the fight was over.
Fulton entered the bout as one of boxing’s most respected heavyweights and the betting favorite despite giving away speed to the younger Dempsey. Weighing about 208 pounds to Dempsey’s 188, the towering “Rochester Plasterer” had built a reputation as one of the division’s hardest punchers. Many expected the bigger man to halt Dempsey’s climb toward the top of the heavyweight ranks.
Dempsey exploded from his corner before Fulton could take command with his reach. A left to the body forced Fulton to react. A crushing right hand then landed on his jaw. Fulton crashed to the canvas without landing a meaningful punch. Referee Johnny Eckhardt counted him out, ending the scheduled eight-round eliminator after only 23 seconds.
The result stunned the boxing world because there had been little warning that Fulton could be dismantled so completely. Newspapers treated the knockout as a sensation, and Dempsey suddenly became the fighter every leading heavyweight had to take seriously. In a single exchange, he erased doubts that his aggressive style could succeed against elite opposition.
Dempsey earned $5,000, the largest purse of his career to that point, while Fulton collected $12,500 before a crowd of about 10,000 at Federal League Baseball Park in Harrison, New Jersey.
The victory earned Dempsey a shot at the heavyweight championship the following July. Fulton later insisted the contest had been intended as an exhibition and claimed he had been deceived, an explanation Dempsey rejected outright. One explosive right hand transformed Dempsey from a promising contender into boxing’s next heavyweight champion.
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Last Updated on 2026/07/27 at 4:56 AM
