[6] McCarty, solidly built and agile, stood about 6'4", and used his 80" reach to throw his strong left jab to both his opponent's head and body with equal accuracy.

[5] Though he was at his best controlling the action from a distance, he also possessed a powerful right hand, a devastating left hook to the body, and a punishing uppercut - called Betsy - that he would use when his opponents tried to fight him in close.

[7][8] In addition to his physical strengths, McCarty also had a cool fighting style, never appearing in the ring too nervous or affected by his opponents.

[11][12][13] Depending on the source, he was born on a farm 30 miles southwest of Lincoln, Nebraska, on a ranch near McCook, Driftwood Creek, Wild Horse Canyon, or in a hollow somewhere in Hitchcock County.

[17][16] By 1910, eighteen-year-old Luther decided to go west to lead his life as a cowboy, and found work on a farm in Montana, as an itinerant farmhand, breaking horses.

[11][20] Of these such bouts included legendary iron-chinned Joe Grim, earning a draw spending his energy in trying to knockout the "toughest man on earth".

[24] After defeating McCarty, Clark was said to be matched to fight Harry Wuest on December 28, 1911, followed by that of Joe Jeanette at Memphis in January 1912.

[27] McCarty started off with a rush, taking Stewart by surprise and slamming him back against the ropes with a volley of left and right swings and straight punches.

He rushed continually, with his arms extended at full length, and wasted the power which the blow would have carried had he stood still and snapped his punches.

"[28] Following his loss to Stewart, McCarty began his journey towards the top of the heavyweight division by facing future lineal champion Jess Willard (10–2–0, 7 KOs) at Madison Square Garden on August 19, 1912.

[30] On August 20, 1912, The New York Times wrote: "Willard's great height and reach had McCarty baffled in the first two rounds, but in the next two the Westerner tore in at a clip that gave promise of an easy victory, if not a knockout.

[33] Undeterred by his previous two results, McCarty fought and beat Jim Barry, Jack McFarland and Al Kaufman, by way of knockout.

[34] On December 10, 1912, McCarty fought against Fireman Jim Flynn (60–16–20, 40 KOs) in Vernon, California, with the winner to face Al Palzer on January 1, 1913, for the heavyweight championship of the world.

[39] Twice more before the end of the round Flynn went down, once rolling over on the floor three times before rising to his knee, where he crouched with blood pouring in a stream from his mouth and face, while Eyton tolled the seconds.

[39] Both of Flynn's eyes were closed, his right ear was pounded to a grisly pulp, his noise broken and his lips driven to shreds between his teeth, resulting in referee Charles Eyton heeding the demands of the howling crowd to stop the fight.

[41] A succession of lefts and rights to the head, which rocked Palzer to the bottom of his immense frame and caused blood to stream from cuts on his eyes and lips.

[43][13][44] Upon his defeat of Palzer, he was given a diamond-studded belt, valued at five thousand dollars, and was the recognised white heavyweight champion of the world.

[10] After the events of the Palzer fight, Jack Johnson (54–10–10–3, 25 KOs) set side the tradition that required the champions to wait for others to challenge them, and called on McCarty to face him for the lineal championship.

[54][55] Everyone connected with the fight suffered, with Billy McCarney, and the referee, Ed W. Smith, the Chicago Evening American sports editor, were arrested.

[55] On June 4, 1913, according to the Windsor Star, Pelkey was described as a broken man, with his nerves being torn to shreds by the events of the few preceding days: "He may never fight again, but if he does, there appears to be every possibility that the recollection of the one blow to McCarthy's chin will make him an easy mark for opponents.

"[54] The Star added that Pelkey declared that he was unsure what he would do, though he stated he wished to defend his title, but whether he would be able to or not was a matter for the future to decide.

[54] Offers by theatrical promoters flooded in to put Pelkey on stage, no doubt in re-creation exhibitions of this bout, all of which he seems to have refused.

[12] On March 8, 1913, he was among some of the top personalities in boxing who paid their respects at the grave of middleweight Stanley Ketchel at Holy Cross Cemetery in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

[63][61] Burns, McCarney, and SMith were unable to account for the way in which McCarty received his fatal injuries, in which they said the blows exchanged a force insufficient to have scored a knockdown.

[61] McCarney stated that eight-ounce gloves were used and the men obeyed the rules not to hold or hit in clinches, with him asserting on the witness stand that McCarty was in good condition when he entered the ring.

[61] Once McCarty's body arrived in Ohio, his casket was set up at the Wagner, Grover and Company furniture store and more than 7,500 people filed past it in one night and the following morning.

[17] The casket was then paraded through town in a hearse drawn by the two white Arabian horses that his father used to pull his medicine show wagon.

[17] The Dayton Daily News reported that "...several thousand persons looked upon the face of the dead fighter as his body lay in state.

[13] McCarty's grave – in a plot that now includes his father, his stepmother, Caroline, and his older sister Elleta – has a front stone bearing the appropriately chiselled text: "The Champion Rests.