John Edward Kelly (December 15, 1862 – November 1, 1895) was an Irish-born American boxer, better known as Nonpareil Jack Dempsey, who was the first holder of the World Middleweight Championship (1884–1891). He was nicknamed "Nonpareil" because of his reputation of being unbeatable.
Biography Dempsey was born on December 15, 1862, in Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. He claimed the middleweight title on July 30, 1884, by defeating George Fulljames in Great Kills, Staten Island, New York. He held the title for over six years, defending the title against two fighters during the reign.
In Dempsey's first 65 contests, he lost only once, in a non-title bout to George LaBlanche (a fighter he had beaten previously to cement his claim as middleweight champion)Ring Sports Magazine. (Reno, Nevada) April 1994. via a spinning backfist, a move that was later banned following Dempsey's death. He also faced Billy Baker in a 4-round bout that was fixed to have Baker win, though Baker failed to score a knockout, resulting in a no decision—Baker was later defeated by Dempsey on points in a rematch. His reign as middleweight champion ended when Bob Fitzsimmons pummeled him around the ring and begged him to concede before he was hurt any more. Dempsey, the reigning champion, would not give up; the fight continued and Fitzsimmons knocked him out in round 13. In his final bout, Dempsey, suffering from tuberculosis, lost to Tommy Ryan.
Though Dempsey beat his first battle with tuberculosis, he died at age 32 at the Portland, Oregon, home of his wife's parents on November 1, 1895, due to a recurrence of the disease.Lenzen, Connie. "Mount Calvary Cemetery; Portland, Oregon", June 1994. He was buried in an initially unmarked grave at Mount Calvary Cemetery. M. James Brady, Dempsey's father-in-law, refused to permit former World Champion John L. Sullivan and John S. Barnes to raise funds to erect a monument over Dempsey's grave. The family believed that a four-foot marble shaft was a sufficient memorial. The matter was thus dropped.Tacoma Daily Times, Tacoma, Washington, March 13, 1909.
Dempsey was inducted into The Ring magazine Hall of Fame in 1954, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992. The brothers Bernie and William Harrison Dempsey used his name as a pseudonym. And after the latter's success in the 1910s and 1920s he was usually mentioned with his nickname Nonpareil.
Professional boxing record
All newspaper decisions are regarded as "no decision" bouts as they have "resulted in neither boxer winning or losing, and would therefore not count as part of their official fight record." ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes69Loss51–3–11 Tommy RyanTKO3 (15)Jan 18, 1895 68Draw51–2–11 Billy McCarthyPTS20Sep 5, 1895 67Win51–2–10 Billy KeoughPTS4Feb 28, 1893 66Loss50–2–10 Bob FitzsimmonsRTD13 (?)Jan 14, 1891 65Win50–1–10 Billy McCarthyTKO28 (?)Feb 18, 1890 64Loss49–1–10 George LaBlancheKO32 (?)Aug 27, 1889 63Win49–0–10 Mike DempseyKO7 (?)Aug 22, 1889 62Draw48–0–10 Mike DonovanPTS6Nov 15, 1888 61Win48–0–9 James StevensPTS4Apr 23, 1888 60Win47–0–9 Billy BakerPTS10Feb 18, 1888 59Win46–0–9 Dominick McCaffreyPTS10Jan 31, 1888 58Win45–0–9 John ReaganTKO45 (?)Dec 13, 1887 57Win44–0–9 Bill GabigPTS4Nov 5, 1887 56Win43–0–9 Denny KelliherPTS4Nov 3, 1887 55Win42–0–9 Frank BosworthPTS4Nov 1, 1887 54Win41–0–9 Ned McCannPTS4Oct 31, 1887 53Win40–0–9 Billy DaceyPTS4Oct 15, 1887 52Win39–0–9 Jim McHughPTS4Oct 13, 1887 51Win38–0–9 Eddie ReedePTS6Oct 10, 1887 50Draw37–0–9 Reddy GallagherPTS6May 2, 1887 4937–0–8 Billy BakerND4Apr 9, 1887 48Win37–0–8 Denny KillenPTS4Feb 5, 1887 47Win36–0–8 Jack LangdonPTS4Feb 2, 1887 46Win35–0–8 Mike BodedPTS10Jan 31, 1887 45Draw34–0–8 Jack BurkePTS10Nov 22, 1886 44Win34–0–7 Ed MoehlerPTS4May 25, 1886 43Win33–0–7 Paddy NortonTKO4 (5)May 20, 1886 42Win32–0–7 Jimmy RyanPTS4Apr 30, 1886 41Win31–0–7 Charle McCarthyPTS4Apr 28, 1886 40Win30–0–7 Ned McCannKO4 (4)Apr 26, 1886 39Win29–0–7 George LaBlancheTKO13 (?)Mar 14, 1886 38Win28–0–7 Pete McCoyPTS6Feb 24, 1886 37Win27–0–7 Jack FogartyTKO27 (?)Feb 2, 1886 36Win26–0–7 Jim MurrayPTS4Jan 15, 1886 35Win25–0–7 Tom HenryPTS4Jan 15, 1886 3424–0–7 Mike DonovanNC4Jan 15, 1886 33Win24–0–7 Tom BerryTKO6 (10)Dec 14, 1885 32Win23–0–7 Dave CampbellKO3 (8)Nov 2, 1885 31Win22–0–7 Tom NortonTKO4 (6)Sep 12, 1885 30Win21–0–7 Young Billy ManningTKO8 (?)Aug 29, 1885 29Win20–0–7 Jack KeenanKO2 (?)Jul 20, 1885 28Win19–0–7 Jim CarrKO9 (?)Jun 5, 1885 27Win18–0–7 Tommy ClearyKO5 (?)May 11, 1885 26Win17–0–7 Tom BarryKO5 (?)May 4, 1885 25Win16–0–7 Charles BixamosKO5 (?)Mar 19, 1885 24Win15–0–7 Jim FellPTS4Jan 22, 1885 23Draw14–0–7 Bill FrazierPTS4Jan 12, 1885 22Win14–0–6 Jimmy RyanTKO4 (4)Jan 12, 1885 21Win13–0–6 George WilsonNWS4Dec 15, 1884 20Win13–0–6 Mike MaloneTKO2 (?)Nov 30, 1884 19Win12–0–6 Bill FrazierTKO5 (?)Nov 20, 1884 18Win11–0–6 Tom FergusonPTS4Nov 6, 1884 17Win10–0–6 Tom HenryPTS6Oct 24, 1884 16Win9–0–6 Bob TurnbullPTS8Oct 8, 1884 15Draw8–0–6 Jimmy RyanPTS7Sep 15, 1884 14Win8–0–5 Mike DempseyKO7 (?)Sep 4, 1884 13Win7–0–5 George FulljamesTKO21 (?)July 30, 1884 12Draw6–0–5 Tom HenryPTS4Jul 8, 1884 11Draw6–0–4 Jack HayesPTS6Apr 25, 1884 10Win6–0–3 Bill DaceyTKO9 (?)Mar 6, 1884 9Win5–0–3 Tommy SullivanPTS2Mar 4, 1884 8Win4–0–3 Joe HenneseyPTS4Mar 2, 1884 7Win3–0–3 Jim BarryTKO3 (4)Feb 28, 1884 6Win2–0–3 Jim FellPTS2Feb 14, 1884 5Draw1–0–3 Joe HeiserPTS8Feb 10, 1884 4Win1–0–2 William MahoneyKO3 (?)Jan 15, 1884 3Draw0–0–2 Bob TurnbullPTS7 (4)Oct 25, 1883 2Draw0–0–1 Tom McAlpinePTS4Sep 17, 1883 10–0 Harry ForceNC11 (?)Sep 3, 1883
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