I Can Whip Any Mechanical Robot

I Can Whip Any Mechanical Robot!

Modern Mechanix is a daily font of fascination. And while the “Fix your nose with this device!” ads and Lucifer Butts inventions sidle up against flying cars and one-wheeled tanks, none have been as bizarre and schizophrenic as I Can Whip Any Mechanical Robot. This is Jack Dempsey, the former boxer, claiming that he can beat any boxing robot in the world. Then he explains why, neglecting the reason that there is no such thing as a boxing robot.

I think it’s really interesting that this guy is responding to something that is a real fear — losing relevance as machines are used to supplant humans in many respects — in his domain. John McEnroe was claiming that he could still, at 50-some years old, beat any woman tennis player in action today while Serena Williams regularly serves over 100 mph. The difference here is that mechanical men aren’t people because they don’t exist. That’s an important distinction, I think. How many times was Mr. Depsey hit in the head for this to make sense to him?

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