"Tall men come down to my height when I hit 'em in the body"
About this Quote
Dempsey’s specific intent is practical. He’s advertising body work as equalizer: take away a tall fighter’s legs, lungs, and confidence, and the reach up top starts to matter less. “Come down to my height” is a vivid way of describing what happens when your guard drops, your posture shortens, your feet get heavy. It’s also a reminder that boxing isn’t fought at the head’s level; it’s fought at the level of control, balance, and pain tolerance.
The subtext is classed and kinetic: the smaller, hungrier guy doesn’t ask for permission from the tale of the tape. Dempsey, a heavyweight who wasn’t the biggest in his era, built a myth on relentless forward pressure. This quote performs that persona: the anti-elegant technician, the brawler with a plan, turning violence into a kind of problem-solving.
Context matters. In the early 20th-century fight game, with rougher rules, longer fights, and a culture that celebrated toughness, “hit ’em in the body” is also a moral statement. It signals disdain for pretty boxing and a belief that reality lives below the ribs, where pride, stamina, and composure get tested.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Dempsey, Jack. (2026, January 17). Tall men come down to my height when I hit 'em in the body. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/tall-men-come-down-to-my-height-when-i-hit-em-in-56310/
Chicago Style
Dempsey, Jack. "Tall men come down to my height when I hit 'em in the body." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/tall-men-come-down-to-my-height-when-i-hit-em-in-56310/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Tall men come down to my height when I hit 'em in the body." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/tall-men-come-down-to-my-height-when-i-hit-em-in-56310/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.








