Dempsey did indeed make these statements. But context is often ignored. Dempsey refused a Langford fight twice. In 1916 when Dempsey was a novice with only a handful fights and Langford had over 100 recorded bouts Dempsey refused to fight the great Langford and was wise to so at that time. But by the time Dempsey won the title Langford was in decline, losing his sight was gaining weight and losing over and over to Harry Wills. Fred Fulton destroyed Langford in 1917. The same Fred Fulton the prime Dempsey KO'd in 18 seconds 2 years later. Dempsey was respectful of the aging great. Does anybody have really believe Dempsey had anything to fear from Langford when he turned down a proposed fight in 1922? Langford had lost 11 fights and not all to top contenders from 1919 when Dempsey won the title to 1922 when a Langford fight was proposed. They were really from 2 different eras. It was Jack Johnson who avoided a prime Langford 1908-1913.