Have Arthur Pelkey and Jack Dempsey ever fought each other?

Yes. Arthur Pelkey and Jack Dempsey met once on May 29, 1918, and Jack Dempsey won by KO in round 1.

Who has the better record, Pelkey or Dempsey?

Arthur Pelkey is 27-23-6 and Jack Dempsey is 68-6-10. Jack Dempsey has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Pelkey or Dempsey?

Arthur Pelkey has 17 knockout wins and Jack Dempsey has 53. Jack Dempsey has more.

Do Pelkey and Dempsey have any common opponents?

Arthur Pelkey and Jack Dempsey share 2 common opponents: Jess Willard and Gunboat Smith. Jack Dempsey fared better against 2 of them.

Who is bigger, Pelkey or Dempsey?

Arthur Pelkey is the taller fighter at 187 cm, 2 cm above the other. Arthur Pelkey also has the longer reach, by 11 cm.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Pelkey and Dempsey?

This comparison is drawn from 11 bouts tracked for Arthur Pelkey and 85 bouts tracked for Jack Dempsey. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Arthur Pelkey vs Jack Dempsey — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇨🇦HEAVYWEIGHT

Jack Dempsey

Arthur Pelkey (27-23-6) and Jack Dempsey (68-6-10) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 2 common opponents.

Pelkey

Wins17 KO · 63%

Losses

Draws11 tracked bouts

Dempsey

Wins53 KO · 78%

Losses

Draws85 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Dempsey leads 1–0

Arthur Pelkey and Jack Dempsey have met 1 time; Dempsey leads 1–0.
Met	1918May 29	Series
Arthur PelkeyFighter A	LLost	0–1W–L
Jack DempseyFighter B	WWon	1–0W–L
Result	KOR1Dempsey vs Pelkey	1Meeting

Dempsey vs Pelkey · May 29, 1918

The Numbers

Pelkey 1 · Dempsey 7 of 8 measurable rows

PelkeyEdge = longer wingDempsey

Record: 27-23-668-6-10 (edge)
Win %0–100%: 53.6%
86.9% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 53: 17
53 (edge)
KO rate0–100%: 62.96%
77.94% (edge)
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 100% (edge)
79%
Times stopped^†max 7: 7
1 (edge)
Title reignsmax 2: 0
2 (edge)
Bouts per year^‡max 6.5: 1.9
6.5 (edge)
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 85: 11
85

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Height+1″: Arthur Pelkey: 6′2″ (edge); Jack Dempsey: 6′1″
Reach+4″: Arthur Pelkey: 77″ (edge); Jack Dempsey: 73″
Agenot comparable: Arthur Pelkey: Died aged 36; Jack Dempsey: Died aged 87
Stance: Arthur Pelkey: Orthodox; Jack Dempsey: Orthodox

Arthur Pelkey left, Jack Dempsey right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Arthur Pelkey1 win · from 11 tracked bouts

1 by KO/TKO 100%

Jack Dempsey68 wins · from 85 tracked bouts

54 by KO/TKO 79%9 on the cards 13%5 by another method or unrecorded 7%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Arthur Pelkey 11, Jack Dempsey 85 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

2 shared

2 shared · Dempsey better on 22 shared · Jack Dempsey better on 2

PelkeyArthur Pelkey

Opponent

DempseyJack Dempsey

Arthur Pelkey
Loss, NWS
1912Jul 1912
WillardJess WillardUnited States 25–7–2 · HeavyweightDempsey betterJack Dempsey better — 1–0 to 0–1
Jack Dempsey
Win, RTD 3
1919Jul 1919
Arthur Pelkey
0–2 against
Loss, PTS
1916Jun 1916
Loss, TKO 15
1914Jan 1914
SmithGunboat SmithUnited States 81–49–13 · HeavyweightDempsey betterJack Dempsey better — 3–0 to 0–2
Jack Dempsey
3–0 against
Win, KO 2
1918Dec 1918
Win, KO 2
1918Dec 1918
Win, PTS
1917Oct 1917

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Arthur Pelkey has lost eight straight. Pelkey last boxed on May 29, 1918.LLLLL

Johnson Apr 1915Smith Jun 1916Norfolk Dec 1916Norfolk Feb 1917Dempsey May 19181.9 tracked bouts per year

Jack Dempsey had won one in a row before losing a decision to Gene Tunney. Dempsey last boxed on Sep 22, 1927.WWLWL

Gibbons Jul 1923Firpo Sep 1923Tunney Sep 1926Sharkey Jul 1927Tunney Sep 19276.5 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Arthur Pelkey and Jack Dempsey ever fought each other?: Yes. Arthur Pelkey and Jack Dempsey met once on May 29, 1918, and Jack Dempsey won by KO in round 1.
Who has the better record, Pelkey or Dempsey?: Arthur Pelkey is 27-23-6 and Jack Dempsey is 68-6-10. Jack Dempsey has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Pelkey or Dempsey?: Arthur Pelkey has 17 knockout wins and Jack Dempsey has 53. Jack Dempsey has more.
Do Pelkey and Dempsey have any common opponents?: Arthur Pelkey and Jack Dempsey share 2 common opponents: Jess Willard and Gunboat Smith. Jack Dempsey fared better against 2 of them.
Who is bigger, Pelkey or Dempsey?: Arthur Pelkey is the taller fighter at 187 cm, 2 cm above the other. Arthur Pelkey also has the longer reach, by 11 cm.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Pelkey and Dempsey?: This comparison is drawn from 11 bouts tracked for Arthur Pelkey and 85 bouts tracked for Jack Dempsey. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Arthur Pelkey vs Jack Dempsey — record, stats and common opponents compared

Arthur Pelkey

Jack Dempsey