NEW YORK -- Former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey has received a pacemaker and is in satisfactory condition at New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center, his wife said Tuesday.
A spokesman for the hospital released a statement from Mrs. Dempsey that said, 'We are all -- the family of Jack Dempsey -- tremendously grateful for the interest and concern his good friends and fans have shown for Jack in the past few days.
'Jack did not have a heart attack. His heart was beating on the slow side and we decided it would be best to bring him to the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center on Sunday.
'The doctors thought that the installation of a pacemaker would be of benefit to him. The implant was performed this morning and I am happy to say that Jack is resting well, and is in satisfactory condition.'
The 86-year-old Dempsey, admitted to the hospital Sunday, was one of boxing's most popular heavyweight champions. He won the title from Jess Willard in 1919 and defended it five times before losing to Gene Tunney in 1926.
