Jack Dempsey declares war on robotic boxing machines

Apparently, 1934 was the year that robotic boxing machines were so imminent that Jack Dempsey was moved to declare that he could "whip any mechanical robot," as reported in the April, 1934 issue of Modern Mechanix.

The reason is simple: Engineers can build a robot that will possess everything except brains. And without brains no man can ever attain championship class in the boxing game. It is true enough that we have had some rare intellectual specimens in the higher frames of boxing glory, but I can truthfully say that no man ever attained genuine boxing recognition without real headwork. The best punch in the world is not worth a whoop if the boxer doesn’t know what to do with it. The most damaging of all blows is the short, straight-arm punch to the solar plexus—the punch which came into being when Fitzsimmons took the championship from Jim Corbett in one of the boxing-game’s greatest surprise victories.

In hitting to the solar plexus, that spot just below the meeting point of the ribs, the blow travels only about six or eight inches and the result is comparable only to the terrific effect of being struck by a piston which moves forward as its arm slides out. There never has been and never will be a boxer who could remain on his feet after being struck by a mechanically perfect solar plexus punch.

Link

[#1 posted by SednaBoo , October 26, 2007 10:12 AM]

Clean up your data field! var federated_media_section = \'\';

[#2 posted by Bonnie , October 26, 2007 11:43 AM]

Is it wrong that I'm now thinking of a fight between Dempsey and C-3PO? I would totally have paid good money to see that...

[#3 posted by Tesahli , October 26, 2007 11:48 AM]

Course, I don't think Jack ever stopped to ask himself where the Solar Plexus is on a robot.

Also, I don't think when your body is steel, and you probably have some kind of crazy machinery (not unlike the pistons Jack alludes to in describing the perfect punch) that it really matters WHERE you put the punch.

It's funny, the drawing of a robot doesn't even look like a robot, it looks like a guy in a robot suit.

[#4 posted by mrfitz , October 26, 2007 11:54 AM]

Apparently, Jack has never heard of the T-800, one of which is now the governor of California.

[#5 posted by JamesMason , October 26, 2007 1:00 PM]

Ridiculous. Boxing is one step removed from Gladiator. Instead of actually killing the other guy, you just try to inflict enough damage so he (or she) can't get up again, sometimes actually killing them in the process. Look what it did to Ali - one of the most articulate and entertaining men in sport. "Sweet science" my ass.

[#6 posted by randombits , October 26, 2007 1:11 PM]

But would Jack ever hit a lady... ACTROID

[#7 posted by Art Carnage , October 26, 2007 4:47 PM]

Back in the mid-50s, Richard Matheson wrote about boxing robots in his short story "Steel", which was turned into a Twilight Zone episode. TZ also feature an episode ("The Mighty Casey") about a robot who could play baseball.

[#8 posted by zenhammond , October 26, 2007 6:01 PM]

The best part about this story was that Jack used the word "whoop".

What a great word. I remember saying this in the 60s when I was a kid, wonder why it went out of fashion.

[#9 posted by Robert , October 26, 2007 6:06 PM]

I wonder what Jack would do faced with The Little Rascal's perpetually peasant-punching machine?

[#10 posted by ill lich , October 26, 2007 7:45 PM]

Hmmmm. . . RANDOMBITS' comment makes me think. . .

would Jack fight a LADY robot?