Jack Sharkey: From Jack Dempsey to Joe Louis & Life After Boxing
By Peter Silkov
Jack Sharkey was a talented all-round fighter, who could both box or slug it out, and was a decent puncher as well. While not the tallest of heavyweights, at just under 6 feet tall, Sharkey was powerfully built, and weighed between 185 to 205 pounds during the course of his career. Nicknamed “The Boston Gob” Sharkey’s main weakness was his temperament, which saw him produce some erratic performances throughout his career. The fans were never quite sure what to expect from Sharkey from fight to fight. Despite his success, it could be said, for a fighter of his talent, he never quite ‘put it all together.’ His temperamental and sometimes surly character led to Sharkey having a stormy relationship with both the fans and the press, and the boxing scribes gave him a number of less than flattering nicknames, such as ‘The Lispin Lith‘, ‘The Garrulous Gob’, and ‘The Weeping Warrior.’
Sharkey’s real name was Joseph Paul Zukauskas and he was born in Binghamton, New York, on October 26, 1902, to Lithuanian parents. After picking up boxing while serving in the navy, Sharkey turned professional in 1924, fighting in Boston; that was to become his new hometown. Needing a more ‘catchy’ moniker with which to fight under, he created the name “Jack Sharkey” from his two fistic idols, Tom Sharkey (the legendary heavyweight contender of the 1890s) and Jack Dempsey.
Despite his lack of amateur experience, Sharkey was soon mixing it with capable and experienced fringe contenders, and building a reputation for himself. In 1926, he beat the formidable Harry Wills on a foul in the 13th round, having out-boxed the aging Wills for much of the fight. Wills had been clamouring for a world title shot against heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey for the best part of a decade, and with his victory, Sharkey became a top contender for the title (now held by Gene Tunney) himself. Sharkey’s hopes of a world title shot received a set back in July, 1927, when he faced his idol, Jack Dempsey, now a former champion making a comeback, and was knocked out in the 7th round. Sharkey’s defeat by Dempsey was highly controversial. He had been winning the fight handily and handing Dempsey a beating, when in the 7th he turned to the referee to complain about a low blow (one of many by Dempsey throughout the match) and was struck and knocked unconscious by a left hook.
Eventhough he lost to Dempsey, “The Boston Gob’s’” reputation as a contender for the World heavyweight title was confirmed. However, it would be another three years before Sharkey would finally get a world title shot, when on June 12, 1930, he fought German Max Schmeling for the vacant title (champion Gene Tunney having retired). After making a good start, the fight ended in disaster for Sharkey, when he was disqualified in the 4th round for a low blow. Sharkey had to wait two years for a rematch, then on June 21, 1932, he out-pointed Schmeling over 15 rounds, to win the world heavyweight crown.
In his first defense a year later, on June 29, 1933, Sharkey defended his championship against the huge Italian Primo Carnera, who he had beaten previously on points in 1931. In what was a huge upset at the time, Sharkey was knocked out in the 6th round, losing his world title in a cloud of controversy. It was already widely known at the time that many of Carnera’s opponents had ’dived’ against him,and many in the press and public accused Sharkey of doing the same. Sharkey always denied any wrong doing and claimed that just before he was knocked out he had seen a vision of Carnera’s previous opponent, Ernie Schaaf (who had been a protégée of Sharkey), and who had died after being knocked out by Carnera in 13 rounds.
After losing his world title to Carnera, Sharkey was never the same fighter again. In his next two fights, he was out-pointed by King Levinsky and Tommy Loughran, and looked to have retired, only to comeback in late 1935 after over two years of inactivity. “The Boston Gob” was unimpressive in his comeback, going just 2-1-1 against moderate opposition, and then being badly beaten in 3 rounds by the rising Joe Louis, in August 1936, in what would turn out to be Sharkey’s final fight.
Jack Sharkey’s final record was (37-13-3, 13koes).
In his retirement, Sharkey became a widely known authority on fly fishing and a boxing referee, and was the referee for the classic Archie Moore vs. Yvon Durelle World light heavyweight title fights in 1958. Sharkey was also the only man to fight both Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis.