The Big Fellows

[BigBoyBrackey]

The third round opens at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field with a pair of two-fight cards.

On Friday night, sixth-seeded Young Stribling faces No. 11 George Godfrey and No. 4 Max Schmeling takes on No. 13 Tuffy Griffiths.

Billy Miske (No. 7) opens the show on Saturday against the Wild Bull of the Pampas, No. 23 Luis Firpo, with second-seeded Gene Tunney squaring off with No. 18 Primo Carnera in the main event.

[BigBoyBrackey]

George Godfrey (11) W12 Young Stribling (6): Stribling boxes smartly throughout, but Godfrey lands the harder punches and more of them, particularly in dominating rounds seven through 10. Neither fighter goes down, but Stribling’s right eye begins swelling in the fourth, with Godfrey’s left starting to puff a round later.

Godfrey works effectively to the body, forcing Stribling into exchanges along the ropes, where The Leiperville Shadow’s immense size advantage comes into play. Seemingly needing a knockout going into the 12th, Stribling nearly delivers, trapping the exhausted Godfrey in a neutral corner and firing away until the final bell. The split verdict, though, is controversial only because one judge preferred Stribling in a fight in which Godfrey seemed to clearly win at least seven rounds. Godfrey prevails 115-113, 113-115, 116-112.

Max Schmeling (4) W12 Tuffy Griffiths (13): Griffiths comes out looking to take advantage of Schmeling’s reputation as a slow starter, peppering The Black Uhlan with jabs and crosses up top and straight rights to the body. Though Griffiths piles up points through the first two frames, he lacks the power to do any serious damage.

Schmeling starts to assert himself in the third, using his jab to keep Griffiths on the outside. Jabs to the body and hooks to the jaw hurt Tuffy in the third and fourth. Even after he gets back inside in rounds five and six, Griffiths looks to get the worst of both tightly contested rounds.

After a close, but slow, seventh, Griffiths has his best round in the eight, scoring big with a pair of uppercuts in the final minute that force Schmeling into preservation mode and hang on until the bell. Things slow down in the ninth and 10th and, after Griffiths spends whatever he has left in the 11th, the two arm-weary fighters slog their way to the final bell.

As in the evening’s first fight, the scoring is closer than it looked to many at ringside, with Schmeling eking out a split decision by scores of 115-113, 113-115 and 116-115, with differing views of rounds six and 10 – each of which looked like clear rounds for Max – accounting for the divergence.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Billy Miske (7) W12 Luis Firpo (23): Miske outboxes Firpo from the opening bell, peppering him with jabs and right crosses, causing his stalking foe’s right eye to swell from the fight’s midway point.

After getting blanked in the early going, Firpo seems to be closing the gap in rounds six and seven, driving Miske into the ropes with an overhand right in the latter round. But Billy merely speeds up his bicycle, quickly regaining control with his vastly superior quickness.

Firpo lands a few desperation shots late in the 11th to win that round, but Miske prevails by scores of 116-112 and 117-111, twice. He also out-lands the Argentinian by better than a 2-1 ratio, while landing 51 percent of his punches, compared to 20 percent for Firpo.

Miske showers quickly and returns to ringside to watch the Tunney-Carnera main event, knowing that he will face the winner in the quarterfinals.

Gene Tunney (2) TKO9 Primo Carnera (18): The crowd of 44,293 at Forbes Field is eerily quiet as the fighters are introduced, perhaps expecting a replay of Miske-Firpo, with the superior boxer efficiently, if unexcitingly, mastering the crude brawler.

Unlike Firpo, though, who let Miske set the pace from the opening bell, Carnera comes out heaving bombs. A right cross blasts past Tunney’s high guard, with a follow-up left hook to the body doubling The Fighting Marine over.

Carnera continues throwing at a surprised, and possibly overwhelmed, Tunney, drilling home a couple more right crosses and another hard hook to the body.

Not surprisingly, The Ambling Alp then gets careless, and Tunney lands a left hook to the solar plexus that severs the neural connection between Carnera’s legs and his brain. He falls to his knees, then to his elbows, gasping for breath.

Carnera makes it to his feet before referee Jorge Alonso’s count reaches four, with the bell ringing as the fighters are waved back together.

Undeterred, Carnera continues firing in the second, landing heavier shots, while Tunney tries to jab and move.

In the third, Tunney’s game plan works to perfection, as he lands jabs at will and follows up with clean rights to the jaw when the mood strikes him. At least, that is, until late in the round, when Carnera belts him in the jaw with his best right thus far.

Unable to keep Carnera at bay early in the fourth, Tunney stands his ground and launches a left hook that rips a gash over Carnera’s right eye. By the end of the round, Alonso briefly stops the fight to look the cut over with the ring doctor. Carnera angrily talks throughout the examination, with an Italian reporter translating his comments to the referee as “watch his &%$#ing elbows, will ya?”

Carnera keeps plodding forward and a pair of big rights to the face earn him the sixth round, with the second causing Tunney’s left eye to swell noticeably.

A hard Tunney jab early in the sixth reopens the cut over Carnera’s eye. Again, the feel of his own blood seems to invigorate Da Preem, who forces Tunney into a toe-to-toe battle until the bell.

Things slow down in the seventh until the final 30 seconds, when Carnera’s ponderous jab slices open Tunney’s eyebrow. The eighth is a re-run of the sixth, with a Carnera hook to the beltline and another to the temple giving him the edge after three minutes of pure attrition.

Exhausted and bleeding, the fighters clinch for most of the first 40 seconds of round nine. On a break, Tunney delivers a lightning-quick left hook that tears Carnera’s cut even further, veering south through his eyebrow and into his eyelid.

This time, Alonso has no choice but to stop the fight and declare Tunney the winner by TKO at 0:53 of the ninth. Despite the see-saw action, the judges saw Tunney clearly in control by scores of 78-73, 77-74 and 79-72.

[Mad Bomber]

Loving the tournament so far, but I'm still in shock, at the quick exit of Jack Delaney. I am expecting a few more upsets along the way.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Originally Posted by Mad Bomber

Loving the tournament so far, but I'm still in shock, at the quick exit of Jack Delaney. I am expecting a few more upsets along the way.

No question, Delaney got shafted. The referee ruled that his cut was caused by a butt -- intentional on Cook's part, no less -- in the first minute of the first round, but then declared Jack the TKO loser when the cut reopened and worsened due to a cut in the third.

I don't know if a glitch in the game caused the outcome, but it has added some intrigue to have a sub-.500 fighter still alive heading into the third round ...

[BigBoyBrackey]

Two nights of action at Braves Field in Boston completes the third round of The Roaring Twenties Heavyweight Extravaganza.



On Friday, it's long-shot night, as 57th-seeded George Cook takes on No. 9 Jack Sharkey and Fred Fulton (30) squares off against Jack Johnson (19).

Saturday night's card opens with No. 5 Harry Wills against Georges Carpentier (12), while top seed Jack Dempsey meets another Cinderella man, No. 49 Quintin Romero Rojas.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Originally Posted by BigBoyBrackey

I don't know if a glitch in the game caused the outcome, but it has added some intrigue to have a sub-.500 fighter still alive heading into the third round ...

Just realized I haven't been giving Quintin Romero Rojas his proper due. While Cook's 45-54-2 record is rather mind-boggling by modern standards, he's got nothing on Rojas' 25-49-8 mark, largely the result of a little 5-34-4 slump over the last seven years of his career. Apparently, wins over Jack Sharkey (in his 10th pro fight), Johnny Risko and Jack Renault -- all in 1924 -- were enough to land him a spot in The Ring's rankings and= make him a marketable, exotic-sounding stepping-stone in the half of the decade.

Should be an interesting fight with Dempsey ...

[Mad Bomber]

Originally Posted by BigBoyBrackey

No question, Delaney got shafted. The referee ruled that his cut was caused by a butt -- intentional on Cook's part, no less -- in the first minute of the first round, but then declared Jack the TKO loser when the cut reopened and worsened due to a cut in the third.

I don't know if a glitch in the game caused the outcome, but it has added some intrigue to have a sub-.500 fighter still alive heading into the third round ...

Sound like the Barrera - Khan fight to me. Barrera has been past his prime since the Morales fights, but he still got shafted. Keep up the great work.

[BigBoyBrackey]

This thread got frozen in time when I moved this summer. I have TB2.5 loaded on both a desktop and my laptop, and the former sat unused and unconnected to the internet at my old house ever since.

I haven't figured out how to transfer the full universe from one machine to the other, but did pull off the Word summary file, which will let me finally finish this sucker.

We return you now to Braves Field in Boston to begin two nights of third-round action in The Roaring Twenties Heavyweight Extravaganza ...

[BigBoyBrackey]

Jack Sharkey (9) KO9 George Cook (57): In their single real-life meeting, Sharkey got the benefit of a hometown decision in a 10-round decision at Boston’s Mechanics Building, a fight which even the Boston Globe reported that the interloper deserved to win.

There was no such controversy this time. Sharkey shook off a pair of fouls by Cook in the first half of the first round, then dominated most of what action there was in a rather ugly fight. The shorter Cook tried to force his way inside, with Sharkey alternating between left jabs and a varied body attack – when the two were not intertwined in a clinch, that is.

After Sharkey controlled the first five rounds, Cook started to land more effectively in the sixth and seventh, winning one of the rounds on two cards and both on the third. After a seemingly even eighth, Sharkey stunned Cook with a left hook early in the ninth, following up with a pair of hard jabs leading to a clean right cross.

Just past the midway point, Sharkey sized up his smaller foe, the tournament's lowest remaining seed, with another jab to set up a devastating right hand. Exhausted, Cook stumbled to his right, but was unable to keep his feet, or come close to rising before referee Gary Rosato’s count reached 10.

Jack Johnson (19) KO2 Fred Fulton (30): The 40-something former champion stunningly refuted any thought that he had survived this far into the tournament on guile and instinct alone, demolishing the bigger and theoretically stronger Fulton in little more than a round.

After making Fulton miss with a right hand to the head early in the second, Johnson deftly shifted his feet and unloaded a right uppercut that rendered the Rochester Plasterer unconscious before he hit the floor, rendering moot the ensuing 10-count issued by referee Jay Nady. The time of the knockout, Johnson’s second in three tournament victories, was 1:17 of the second.

Fulton opened strong, scoring with a jarring one-two moments after the opening bell. He shook Johnson again with a left hook to the body, but The Galveston Giant used a series of short, straight right hands to the head and jabs to the face and belly to gain control. Near the end of the round, Johnson delivered a hook to the beltline that caused Fulton’s knees to buckle and brought the sell-out crowd to its feet.

[mikehoudini]

An excellent read! Glad you're back in action. Hope the move went well.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Harry Wills (5) W12 Georges Carpentier (12): This physical mismatch looked like a quick blowout in the early going, as Wills knocked The Orchid Man across the ring with a heavy right cross 20 seconds in, then dug home a series of crunching hooks to the ribs that threatened to break the smaller man in half.

Bobbing and weaving against the ropes for the last half of the first, Carpentier – ceding three inches and 40 pounds to The Black Panther – ate a number of jarring shots, but managed to avoid just enough to make it to the bell.

When Carpentier staggered to his corner at the end of the first and out of it at the beginning of the second, it seemed only a matter of time until Wills would secure his spot in the quarterfinals. But instead, the bigger man had apparently punched himself, doing little beyond stalking as Carpentier’s head cleared and he began to score with quick, if relatively light, jabs to the face and rights to the body.

It was more of the same in the third until the final 30 seconds, when Wills regained control with a bruising jab and a series of damaging body shots.

A pattern emerged in the middle rounds, with Carpentier attempting to force the action with quick flurries before retreating or moving to the side. Wills patiently countered, though, often landing a hard shot or two before the Frenchman was able to flee.

Wills was landing more clean shots and his punches did far more damage, though Carpentier did rattle his larger opponent on a few occasions.

Well ahead going into the 10th, Wills decided to protect his lead, rather than trying to close the show. He became even more passive after a Carpentier right opened a cut over his right eyebrow, though neither the wound’s location nor its severity posed a serious threat.

Wills was content to block punches and clinch through the last three rounds, a strategy which nearly backfired, Oscar de la Hoya-style. But unlike The Golden Boy’s come-from-ahead loss to Felix Trinidad, Wills had amassed enough of a lead through the early going to pull out a majority decision by scores of 115-114, 116-113, while the overly generous third official saw it even at 114-114.

Jack Dempsey (1) TKO5 Quintin Romero Rojas (49): Dempsey’s third fight – the last of the third round -- lasted longer than his first two tournament outings combined, but wasn’t much more competitive than his two-round demolition of Sully Montgomery or his first-round blowout of Fighting Bob Martin.

Rojas, who had the worst career record (25-50-8) in the field, but upset No. 16 seed Bob Roper and No. 17 Bearcat Wright to reach the third round, barely made it out of the first. He failed to land a meaningful punch in the opening three minutes, while absorbing a horrific two-handed beating to the face and body. Referee Sean Curtin watched closely over Rojas for the final minute of the first and, while few would have objected had he stopped the mismatch, was apparently swayed – or mesmerized -- by the Chilean’s ability to stay upright under the onslaught.

Rojas fared little better in the second, third or fourth rounds. In each frame, an equally powerful but less-frenzied Dempsey battered Rojas about the ring, but didn’t have him in serious trouble until the end of the fourth. An overhand right raised rapid swelling under Rojas’ left eye and a vicious right uppercut forced him to hang on. Dempsey freed himself and unloaded a pair of hooks followed by another overhand right that again had Curtin ready to step in when the bell rang.

Rojas had nothing but heart left in the fifth, eating a steady barrage of power shots, capped by a pair of flush right crosses, followed by a right uppercut-left hook-right uppercut combo from Dempsey that finally dropped his over-matched target.

Rojas, his left eye swollen shut and his mouth bleeding, managed to climb to his feet as the count reached four. After wiping off his gloves, Curtin looked ready to wave the fighters together when he thought better of it and wrapped his arms around Rojas, saving him from serious injury.

Two of the officials had Dempsey ahead 40-35 at the conclusion, giving him a 10-8 edge in the brutally one-sided first. The third judge somehow saw fit to give Rojas the second round, cutting Dempsey’s advantage to 39-37.

According to PunchStat, Dempsey landed 207 punches to just 62 for Rojas.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Originally Posted by mikehoudini

An excellent read! Glad you're back in action. Hope the move went well.

Thanks, Mike. I'm not sure any move ever truly goes "well," but this one was about as painless as could be expected. Plus, we're not selling the old house yet, so didn't have to move every last box and piece of furniture we never use. Yet ...

[BigBoyBrackey]

The top two seeds in The Roaring Twenties Heavyweight Extravaganza, Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney, advanced impressively to the quarterfinals, as did the lowest seed to make it to the round of eight, No. 19 Jack Johnson.

FIGHT OF THE ROUND: While the judges were split on Max Schmeling's win over Tuffy Griffiths and Harry Wills had to settle for a majority draw over Georges Carpentier, neither had the drama of Tunney's ninth-round stoppage of Primo Carnera.

The oft-maligned Carnera had been surprisingly impressive through the first two rounds and continued his strong showing against the quicker and far more technically proficient Tunney. He got up from an early knockdown to force Tunney into a brawl, landing clubbing punches and angering The Fighting Marine with a well-placed elbow in the fourth round.

Though Tunney had amassed a healthy lead on all three cards by the time a nasty cut forced a ninth-round stoppage, Carnera's raw strength and enormous size advantage made an enormous upset seem like a real possibility on several occasions.

UPSET OF THE ROUND: An easy selection, since seven of the eight fights were won by the higher seed.

The exception was 11th-ranked George Godfrey's split-decision win over No. 6 Young Stribling. Three inches taller and 50 pounds heavier, Godfrey was able to dominate most of the action and survive Stribling's desperate final-round onslaught. The announcement that the decision was split drew boos from a crowd that believed, rightly, Godfrey to be the clear winner.

QUICKEST KNOCKOUT: Most expected Johnson to try to patiently outbox lanky slugger Fred Fulton, but L'il Arthur had other ideas.

Hoping to avoid a long, grueling night, Johnson made short work of the 30th seed when he avoided a wild swing early in the second, then stepped in to deliver a right uppercut that dropped Fulton for the full count.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Jack Dempsey (1) vs. Jack Sharkey (9)

In real life, a past-peak Dempsey stopped Sharkey in the seventh round of a back-and-forth fight with a controversial ending, with Sharkey claiming he was fouled shortly before the knockout. The win set up Dempsey’s second meeting with Gene Tunney.



In this one, Sharkey will be faced with a prime Manassas Mauler, who has torn through the first three rounds of the tournament with a trio of knockouts totaling eight rounds.



The Boston Gob (a contender for Worst Nickname Ever) narrowly escaped with a split decision over Vittorio Campolo in the first round, but advanced with victories inside the distance in his next two outings, including a ninth-round stoppage of one of the tournament Cinderellas, George Cook, in the third round.

Since an aging Dempsey was a bad match-up for Sharkey, it’s tough to see things going any better for him this time.

ODDS: Dempsey 5-1

Gene Tunney (2) vs. Billy Miske (7)

Boxing purists should thrill to this match, with neither fighter likely to initiate a brawl.



Tunney has shown more power thus far, scoring an early knockout against first-round foe Bud Gorman and keeping the much larger Primo Carnera at bay in scoring a ninth-round stoppage to reach the quarterfinals.

Miske has scored clear-cut and efficient, if not terribly exciting, decisions in his first three bouts.



Out-boxing Tunney seems a very tall order, but Miske may be better equipped than anyone else in the tournament to give it a try.

ODDS: Tunney 3-1

Jack Johnson (19) vs. George Godfrey (11)

Even in his mid-40s, Johnson has shown a variety of skills that have survived the years.



He used his defensive talents and combination punching to coast to a clear decision over Chuck Wiggins in the first round, frustrated the favored Johnny Risko before scoring a ninth-round knockout and exploded a perfectly timed second-round uppercut on Fred Fulton’s fatally flawed chin to reach the quarters.



Godfrey never got a title shot in real life, due in large part to the racist backlash resulting from Johnson’s championship reign a decade earlier. So far, the 6-foot-3, 250-pound slugger has demonstrated why he deserved one, flattening Jack Dorval in five rounds, flattening Phil Scott in the seventh after falling well behind on points and earning a decision win over Young Stribling that was not as close as the split-decision verdict would indicate.

Godfrey has all the physical advantages in this one and is almost certain to test Johnson’s jaw, which was a liability in his dotage, one that he has skillfully protected in the tournament so far. On the flip side, Godfrey has a tendency to take rounds off, as shown early on against both Dorval and Scott, and Johnson is more than capable of taking advantage of such opportunity.

ODDS: Godfrey 8-5

Max Schmeling (4) vs. Harry Wills (5)

Perhaps the two most versatile boxer-punchers in the field meet, with Wills’ superior size the only clear advantage enjoyed by either man.



Schmeling pummeled Arthur de Kuh throughout a sixth-round TKO to open the tournament, then dropped Jess Willard four times en route to a 10th-round stoppage and scored a split decision over Tuffy Griffiths in the third round.



Wills knocked out Ray Neuman in five rounds, earned a closer-than-expected nod over Larry Gains in the second round and dominated Georges Carpentier for most of their third-round bout before going on the defensive in the late going, allowing the Frenchman to earn a draw on one card and forcing a majority decision.

It’s difficult to imagine either man letting up with a berth in the semifinals at stake, most likely against the top-seeded Jack Dempsey – particularly given Wills’ unsuccessful campaign for a real-life shot at Kid Blackie.

ODDS: Wills 7-5

[BigBoyBrackey]

The quarterfinals of The Roaring Twenties Heavyweight Extravaganza will take place at Sesquicentennial Stadium in Philadelphia, site of the first Dempsey-Tunney fight, over a single weekend.



Friday's card features fourth-seeded Max Schmeling against No. 5 Harry Wills, with No. 2 Gene Tunney facing No. 7 Billy Miske in the main event.

On Saturday, No. 19 Jack Johnson tries to continue his remarkable tournament run against No. 11 George Godfrey, with top seed Jack Dempsey squaring off with No. 9 Jack Sharkey.

A crowd of 126,000 attended Dempsey-Tunney, and promoters are ready for equally large crowds for the two-night stand.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Max Schmeling (4) KO5 Harry Wills (5)

Though Schmeling was seeded just ahead of Wills, The Black Panther was a popular pick here and, if the result was not a huge upset, the manner of The Black Uhlan's win was certainly stunning.

Wills opened in expected fashion, landing frequent combinations in contrast to Schmeling's one-at-a-time approach, landing heavily with a hook well below the belt for good measure late in the first.

It was more of the same in the second, with Schmeling unable to mount a sustained attack as Wills' superior footwork put him in position to exploit his hand-speed advantage.

Midway through the third, Schmeling managed his first damaging shot, a right uppercut that jolted Wills. The No. 5 seed slowed almost imperceptibly, but enough to allow Schmeling to close the distance between the two.

In the fourth, the fighters were working in close quarters early on when an apparent head butt sent Wills stumbling back. No warning was given to either fighter, but Wills seemed clearly shaken.

Schmeling took advantage, landing several hard lead rights -- the same punch that demolished a young Joe Louis in 1935 -- and also worked that hand behind an increasingly effective jab.

Late in the round, Schmeling trapped Wills in his corner, where Harry was forced to hang on until the bell.

The minute before the fifth did little to revive Wills, who absorbed another immense right 30 seconds into the fight and spent most of the round in survival mode as Schemling walloped him with both hands.

With a half-minute left, Schmeling sized Wills up with a pair of jabs and dug a hook to the ribs, pinning his target to the ropes. Schmeling launched one more right cross, which landed flush and dropped Wills as his skeleton had been instantaneously removed.

Referee Telis Assimenios could have, and probably should have, waved off the count instantly. Instead, his count reached 10 at 2:44 of the fifth round, with Wills' corner and the ringside medical team rushing in as soon as he waved the fight over.

Wills was unconscious for several minutes, but slowly came to and left the ring under his own power.

"I seed something," Schmeling said when asked about his fight plan. "Just like Joe Louis, he drop his left after throwing it. I knew I would have room to hit him with my right."

Schmeling moves on to the semifinals, where he awaits the winner of Saturday's Dempsey-Sharkey bout.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Gene Tunney (2) W12 Billy Miske (7)

Just about everyone in the crowd of 124,364 expecting a rather dry tactical match was stunned when Miske, the No. 7 seed and a heavy underdog, did his best Jack Dempsey imitation at the opening bell, charging Tunney and firing away with both hands.

After taking a minute or so to collect himself, Tunney fired back in kind, and the two precision punchers unloaded their arsenals for the rest of the opening frame, triggering a deafening crescendo from the appreciative gathering.

Alas, it was not to last. Tunney took control with his jab in the second. After rather sloppy third and fourth rounds in which Miske tried -- with some success -- to maul away Tunney's increasingly clear physical advantage, The Fighting Marine skillfully took control through the middle rounds, establishing a steady of rhythm of jab-cross combos bouncing off Miske's head, causing his right eye to swell grotesquely.

Believing himself to be safely in the lead, Tunney retreated over the final two rounds, taking more shots than he threw without ever putting himself in serious jeopardy.

The stylistic match-up made for some interesting scoring. Tunney took a unanimous nod by scores of 116-113, twice, and a surprisingly close 115-114. Even more intriguing about that third card, which belonged to Frank Lombardi, was that he gave the final round -- which looked to clearly belong in Miske's column -- to Tunney. If he had not, the verdict would have been a split decision.

Tunney advances to face the Johnson-Godfrey winner in the semis.

[BigBoyBrackey]

George Godfrey (11) KO12 Jack Johnson (19)

For more than 11 rounds, Jack Johnson boxed masterfully, befuddling his bigger, stronger, younger and higher-seeded foe.

Unfortunately for the oldest fighter in the field, The Roaring Twenties Heavyweight Extravaganza quarterfinal bout was scheduled for 12.

Trailing badly on all three cards, Godfrey landed a thunderous left hook 31 seconds into the final frame. Johnson, who had taken a number of heavy shots throughout the fight without visible effect, dropped instantly to his knees, then tipped over on his back, his legs awkwardly bent beneath him.

In a scene eerily reminiscent of his controversial 26th-round knockout to Jess Willard in 1915, he instinctively brought his right arm over his face. This time, though, there was no question as to whether he could have reached his feet before the referee's count reached 10. Johnson remained in that bizarre position for more than two minutes before regaining consciousness.

The jarring turnaround was easily the most abrupt of the tournament to date, as Johnson had controlled almost every second of action to that point.

The 40-something former champion surprised Godfrey and the mammoth crowd of more than 120,000 at Sesquicentennial Stadium by racing across the ring at the opening bell and drilling The Leiperville Shadow with a straight right, snapping Godfrey's head back.

He opened each of the first three rounds the same way, though he varied his opening shots. The tactic kept Godfrey on his heels through the early going, allowing Johnson to steadily build a lead.

Johnson's superior defense and footwork caused Godfrey to miss two-thirds of his swings, according to PunchStat, while L'il Arthur's counters opened a nasty cut over Godfrey's left eye in the fight. When Godfrey did land, Johson stifled any attempts to follow up by clinching (often while poking his opponent in the neck or kidney with a free hand), countering with a quick combination or deftly scooting out of range.

Any suspense seemed to vanish early in the 10th, when Johnson took a hard left hook, but immediately fired back with a pair of hard right uppercuts, then connecting with a hard right to the temple that put Godfrey on the seat of his pants.

He rose at the count of four, but looked too exhausted to finish the fight, much less come up with the tournament's most dramatic knockout less than two rounds later. After 11 rounds, Johnson led by scores of 106-103, 108-103 and 107-102.

Godfrey, who also came from way back to score a seventh-round knockout of Phil Scott earlier in the tournament, advances to face second-seeded Gene Tunney in the semifinals.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Jack Dempsey (1) TKO2 Jack Sharkey (9)

Jack Dempsey continued his rampage through The Roaring Twenties Heavyweight Extravaganza, demolishing Jack Sharkey in less than two rounds.

Sharkey managed to distinguish himself from Dempsey's first three victims of the tournament by actually winning the first round.

Sharkey ducked Dempsey's first swing of the night and answered with a hard uppercut. After Dempsey took control with a left hook to the body and a pair of rights to the head, the fighters bonked heads midway through, with a mouse forming under Dempsey's left eye.

Sharkey boxed smartly over the final minute of the first, jabbing to the head and body to set up a crushing right uppercut that forced The Manassa Mauler to take a step back for the first time in four tournament fights.

Apparently miffed at having lost a round after dispatching his first three opponents in less than eight combined one-sided rounds, Dempsey came out firing in the second.

Sharkey landed another uppercut in the early going, but Dempsey shook this one off and drilled home two hooks to the body that shook Sharkey and one up top that seemed to paralyze him.

From there, Sharkey was little more than a stationary target, with only Dempsey's rabid aggression and a resultant warning from the referee (for hitting with an open glove), allowing things to go on as long as they did.

Another downstairs-upstairs series of hooks wobbled Sharkey. A right uppercut left the underdog defenseless near the ropes, his left eye swelling grotesquely, and a flush right cross nearly drove him through them.

With only the middle strand keeping Sharkey off the floor, referee Telis Assimenios had no choice but to intervene, stopping the carnage at 2:30 of the second round.

The win earned Dempsey a semifinal meeting with fourth-seeded Max Schmeling.