I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT 2
JACK DEMPSEY & LUIS FIRPO
I’ve always had a hard time understanding art. Maybe it’s because my brain is tuned to music as my form of artistic expression. In an effort to become more well-rounded, and to be a cheap date to art museums, I’ve recently begun to study the traditional form of art.
It is for this reason that I rediscovered the George Bellows painting, Dempsey and Firpo. The painting depicts one boxer knocking his opponent out of the ring. “Wow,” I think to myself, “what an amazing way to end the fight.” Little did I know, that was not the whole story.
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September 14, 1923
The match was ready to begin. The challenger, Luis Angel Firpo, The Wild Bull of Pampas, stood at 6’ 2” and weighed 216.5 lbs. The heavyweight champion of the world, The Manassa Mauler, Jack Dempsey stood at 6’ 1” and weighed 192.5 lbs.
The bell rang. Dempsey lunged a left hook and Furpo was on the backfoot and landed a right that dropped Dempsey to one knee. After a clinch, both men launched a barrage of haymakers. Dempsey landed his deadly left hook and it dropped Furpo. Furpo got up fast and the two men grappled. Dempsey knocked down Firpo two more times, courtesy of well placed and fast body shots.
After his seventh knockdown in two minutes, Firpo got up and launched a barrage of blows that sent Dempsey to the ropes. Firpo landed a right hook to Dempsey’s jaw that sent him out of the ring and into the laps of unsuspecting reporters. The referee was shocked and almost forgot to start the count. The count began and Dempsey barely made it back in the ring within ten seconds. Firpo did not waste time and delivered blow after blow until the bell sounded, ending round one. According to legend, Dempsey was dazed and needed to be revived with smelling salts. When he recovered he asked “what round was I knocked out in?”
The bell for round two rang and Firpo got up shakily, exhausted after throwing the champion out of the ring and being knocked down seven times. After trading a few more blows, Dempsey dropped him with a left hook. This made eight knockdowns. Still not wanting to give up, Firpo rolled over and pushed himself up, but he could not get up in time for the ten count. The fight was over. Dempsey immediately helped Firpo to his feet as the crowd erupted. The whole fight lasted just over four minutes.
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There were many points where this fight could have been over. It could have been in one of the seven times Firpo ate canvas in round one. It could have been when Dempsey was catapulted head first out of the ring. It could have been when Dempsey was dazed coming back into the ring. However, these two men held on. They held on tight. They held fast. The fight is not over when it seems that you are losing. Firpo kept getting up after being knocked down. The only thing that stopped the fight was his body moving too slow. After being dropped seven times he could have been discouraged and given up. But he didn’t, he got up and sent the heavyweight champion of the world over the ropes. At that point Dempsey could have thrown in the towel. Dempsey could have said that was the writing on the wall and gave up. Even when he thought he had already lost, the man kept on going. That is the attitude Christians need to have.
We are facing an uphill battle. The world today is as it always has been. “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
(Matthew 7:14 ESV). We are constantly outnumbered. It is truly us vs. the world. Like Dempsey, we need to keep on fighting even if we think we lost. Like Firpo, when we are knocked down, we need to be determined to get back up and continue fighting with all the strength in our heart, soul, and mind. “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
(Matthew 22:37 ESV).
In reality we are never losing, though it may seem like it sometimes. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 ESV). The fight is only over when you decide that it is over. Faith is the victory.