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Source: Unsplash Boxing is awash with the names of great Irish boxers. Some go down in history for their amazing feats in the ring, others for what they do outside. Yet some boxers encapsulate a moment, a period in world history.

One of those men was the legend that is Jack Nonpareil Dempsey. The word nonpareil means to be unmatched or without equal. From an early age, it was quite apparent that John Edward Kelly was just that.



Born in 1862 in Curragh, County Kildare, competitive sports were around him from his early days as he grew up in what would later become the centre of Irish horse racing. Not a sports betting site on earth would be able to survive without the legacy this patch of Ireland has produced, not just for its illustrious horse racing history, but for birthing the first holder of the World Middleweight Champion. Little is known about his early days, except that he started as a collar and elbow wrestler, most likely working carnivals and fayres.

He was part of a group of top-class fighters at the time known as the Three Jacks, including Jack McAuliffe and Jack Skelley. Most of his fights at this time were off-record bare-knuckle bouts with London Prize rules. As a result, his record of wins around this time is hazy at best, with many published not counting towards official records.

Source: Unsplash Eventually, Jack emigrated to the USA where he would become one of the greatest boxers of the 1880s. His first 65 contests yielded only three losses. George La Blanch.

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