Jack Dempsey Quotes

• When I was a young fellow I was knocked down plenty. I wanted to stay down, but I couldn't. I had to collect the two dollars for winning or go hungry. I had to get up. I was one of those hungry fighters. You could have hit me on the chin with a sledgehammer for five dollars. When you haven't eaten for two days you'll understand.

  Jack Dempsey

  Motivational, Sports, Food

  174 Copy quote

• A champion is someone who gets up when he can't.

  Jack Dempsey

  Inspirational, Motivational, Positive

  140 Copy quote

• Nobody owes anybody a living, but everybody is entitled to a chance.

  Jack Dempsey

  Justice, Fairness, Ethics

  60 Copy quote

• You know what a champion is? A champion is someone who's ready when the gong rings - not just before, not just after - but when it rings.

  Jack Dempsey

  Champion, Gongs, Ready

  56 Copy quote

• I never went to bed in my life and I never ate a meal in my life without saying a prayer. I know my prayers have been answered thousands of times, and I know that I never said a prayer in my life without something good coming of it.

  Jack Dempsey

  Prayer, Bed, Meals

  67 Copy quote

• The best defense is a good offense.

  Jack Dempsey

  Offense And Defense, Defense, Offense

  74 Copy quote

• Champions get up when they can't.

  Jack Dempsey

  Champion, Get Up

  56 Copy quote

• All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him.

  Jack Dempsey

  Funny, Thinking, Boxing

  63 Copy quote

• By forgetting the past and by throwing myself into other interests, I forget to worry.

  Jack Dempsey

  Life, Past, Worry

  36 Copy quote

• Tall men come down to my height when I hit 'em in the body.

  Jack Dempsey

  Men, Body, Height

  40 Copy quote

• Don't worry honey, I'm too mean to die.

  Jack Dempsey

  Mean, Worry, Honey

  40 Copy quote

• For the first and only time, I was more worried about getting hurt by the crowd than by the guy I was fighting. I got a pretty good blast when introduced. The crowd was hollering and raising hell. I looked around for my bodyguard, a colorful New York character named Wild Bill Lyons, who packed two pearl-handled pistols and used to talk a lot about his days in the West. Wild Bill was under the ring, hiding.

  Jack Dempsey

  Hurt, New York, Character

  52 Copy quote

• I can't sing and I can't dance, but I can lick any S.O.B. in the house.

  Jack Dempsey

  House, I Can

  24 Copy quote

• A champion owes everybody something. He can never pay back for all the help he got, for making him an idol.

  Jack Dempsey

  Idols, Champion, Pay

  25 Copy quote

• Tell him he can have my title, but I want it back in the morning.

  Jack Dempsey

  Funny, Morning, Boxing

  23 Copy quote

• Honey, I just forgot to duck.

  Jack Dempsey

  Ducks, Boxing, Honey

  Quoted in N.Y. Times, 20 Feb. 1927. Said to his wife after losing the world heavyweight boxing championship to Gene Tunney, 23 Sept. 1926. President Ronald W. Reagan joked to his wife, "Honey, I forgot to duck!" after John Hinckley tried to assassinate him 30 Mar. 1981.

  24 Copy quote

• A good fighter usually knows, to within a very few seconds, when a three-minute round is going to end.

  Jack Dempsey

  Three, Fighter, Ends

  21 Copy quote

• I was a pretty good fighter. But it was the writers who made me great.

  Jack Dempsey

  Fighter, Made, Good Fight

  17 Copy quote

• A Gentle Man and a Gentleman.

  Jack Dempsey

  Tombstone, Men, Gentleman

  37 Copy quote

• Nailing him was like trying to thread a needle in a high wind.

  Jack Dempsey

  Wind, Boxing, Trying

  23 Copy quote

You May Also Like:

Gene Tunney

Joe Louis

Rocky Marciano

Jack Johnson

Muhammad Ali

Sugar Ray Robinson

Joe Frazier

Georges Carpentier