Fast hands, quick feet, and possessing some of the slipperiest moves ever seen in a Minnesota prize ring, Doug Demmings entertained Twin Cities' crowds whenever he was in action. For the 5' 10" boxing machine with the chiseled physique and addictive smile, was truly something to behold. Doug Demmings was born in Sioux City, Iowa on May 9, 1951 and later moved with his family to Minneapolis while in grade school. While in his teens he began boxing and excelled rapidly through the ranks, winning the Minneapolis Golden Gloves title multiple times. In 1972 he won the Upper Midwest Championship at 165 pounds but his chance at winning the National title that year was thwarted by future World Light-Heavyweight Champion, Marvin Johnson, as the two fought toe-to-toe in Minneapolis. After the winning the Upper Midwest title again in 1973, Doug turned professional and launched one of the more successful pro careers in modern state history.
Demmings trained primarily out of the famous Seventh Street Gym, a talent-rich gym located below street level at the corner of 7th & Hennepin. There, many of Minneapolis' best boxers worked out and trained. Rafael Rodriguez, Scott LeDoux, Glenn Morgan, and Al Franklin, were just a few of the faces honing their craft at the Seventh. Demmings quickly made a name for himself and found sparring hard to come by. Noted state historian, George D. Blair, once wrote of Demmings in a Ring Magazine article that Demmings was "too good for his own good", and Blair was correct, as the right kind of fights eluded Doug from the very beginning, as no one wanted to fight him.
He began his pro career on August 6, 1973, blasting out poor Keith Deon in 2 heats, followed by a TKO victory over Larry Hauseman down in Des Moines a few months later. He suffered his first setback when a deep cut could not be stopped, so the referee did it for him, giving him his first defeat while fighting Danny Brewer down in Chicago, a fight Doug was winning. Calls for a rematch went unanswered. What happened next is a piece of 1970's boxing trivia, as Doug, motivated by the false loss, went on a tear of boxing excellence, winning his next 20 consecutive matches, the second longest winning streak in Minnesota during the decade of the 1970's, second only to another Minnesota boxing Hall of Famer in Duane Bobick. This is no small accomplishment, as Demmings did this while fighting out of state a few times as well as posting two notable victories over the rising prospect in Kansas City's Tony Chiaverini. By June of 76', Demmings had cracked the Top 10 of The Ring's U.S. Rankings, and quickly shot as high as #6.
In late 1977, Doug signed to fight Olympic Gold Medalist, "Sugar" Ray Seales in Chicago for the USBA Middleweight title. A close fight by all accounts, two of the three judges had the scores within 1 and 2 points. Boos and cat-calls were reported after the verdict was read. But when things are close, Doug learned the benefit of the doubt always goes to the bigger name, an unfortunate reality of the business of boxing. But his fantastic showing landed him a big money fight against another world-rated killer, in one of the greatest fighters of all-times in "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler in April of 1978 in Los Angeles. Demmings confused Hagler in the early going, blooding the future champion's nose with sharp counters and stiff jabs, and made himself a hard target. He came on extra strong in the 6th and 7th rounds, but the "Marvelous" one was gaining steam. In the 8th round, Hagler caught Doug with right-left-right combination that dropped him for a 2 count. Doug arose but the fight was stopped moments later.
Doug picked up a few more wins and then traveled to London, England to face the British and European Middleweight Champion, and soon-to-be World Middleweight Champ, Alan Minter. Minter, was 35-6 with 22 KO's and was the #1 rated challenger in the world at the time. No one expected Doug to have a chance, especially in England. Doug not only lasted all 10 rounds against the gritty Brit, but made the fight entertaining and embarrassed Minter on several occasions with his slippery defensive shoulder rolls and fast counter-punches, but it was not to be, as the referee awarded the fight to Minter 100-95. Doug came back to the States with his head held high, but suffered a TKO loss to Detroit's rising star, Dwight Davison in January of 1980. He then embarked on a steamy 2-fight rivalry with Canada's hot Middleweight prospect, Wayne Caplette, both of which were for the Midwest Middleweight title. They were reported as two of the best fights of the year in Canada, with Caplette pulling out both victories. After these fights, Doug picked up a win over Jeff Madison and then traveled to the Netherlands where he lost to undefeated prospect, Alex Blanchard. Just when it seemed Doug's luck had run out on him, he went on an 8-fight winning streak, beating the talented Willie Featherstone in Canada, as well posting a slew of victories around the country.
As 1982 rolled around, Doug's career was coming to a close. He had faced the best of his division's talents, including 2 World Champions, and the USBA champ and Olympic Gold medalist in Seales, and there was little left to prove. Still, Doug's love for the sport propelled him to keep fighting, this time facing another future champion in John "The Beast" Mugabi, a man who would later give Marvin Hagler one of the toughest fights of his career. The fight was in Germany and despite winning the early rounds with clever boxing, Mugabi caught up to Doug, stopping him in the 5th. Doug's last fight was with Canadian rival, Caplette in March of 1983. Once again, Caplette had Doug's number and won by unanimous decision. Years later, Caplette recalled his fights with Doug, saying, "Doug was a great fighter. He really was. All 3 of our fights were in my backyard, so who knows. They were all close fights and Doug was a class act outside the ring as well." Doug hung up his gloves for good after the loss to Caplette, but boxing remained in his blood for the rest of his life; unfortunately, something else entered his blood too; cancer. Doug was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and succumbed to the disease on March 24, 2002 in the arms of his mother. His trainer and best friend, Willie Carter, wrapped his hands and dressed him in full boxing garb for the funeral and burial and the boxing community mourned his loss. We've never recovered.
Today the Minnesota boxing community still mourns the loss of Doug Demmings, but his name lives on. The name that once plastered marquees, posters, and programs, is now plastered in our hearts, on our lips, and in boxing immortality as we induct him into the Hall of Fame. And the smile that he so frequently flashed; flashes once again…this time on our faces as we recall the man who captured so many ring honors with his fists, but captured so many more with his heart and with his presence.
