Boxing has been part of American culture since the early 1800s. The popularity and notoriety of boxing comes from the legendary characters and fights in its illustrious history. Legendary men such as Floyd “Money” Mayweather, “Sugar” Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, “Smoking” Joe Frazier, and Ezzard Charles have produced timeless classics. Bouts such as “the Trilla in Manila” and “Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran II” are a constant reminder of boxing’s grandeur and appeal. However, there was one fight that preceded these and is still as relevant and important as it was when it occurred.1 This bout is known as “The Long Count Fight.” The two characters of this legendary tilt were Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney.
Dempsey and Tunney were two of the best fighters of the 1920s and each went on to have hall of fame careers. Jack Dempsey was known as the “Manassa Mauler” and was regarded as the people’s champion for his gritty fighting style and charismatic charm. His counterpart, Gene Tunney, was a retired Marine, who was regarded as an intellectual and thus went about boxing with a cerebral and surgical approach.2 These two had met in the ring in September of 1926, and Tunney had been the victor. However, Dempsey was as determined and hungry as ever for another chance to triumph over Tunney. Their rematch the following year would be legendary.
The Long Count Fight was fought on September 22, 1927, and it was fought at Soldier Field in Chicago. Prior to this fight, there had been a new rule implemented that stated that if a combatant was knocked down, the aggressor had to go to a neutral corner before the referee could begin the ten count, which would determine whether the match was over or whether it could resume.3 This rule is what made this fight so controversial.
The first six rounds were going in Tunney’s favor. He was besting Dempsey and the physical toll boxing had taken on Dempsey’s body was beginning to show. It was beginning to look like a repeat of their first encounter. The sixth round was over and the fight was looking like a victory for Tunney; that is, until the fateful seventh round arrived. In the seventh round, Dempsey knocked Tunney down to the mat. However, the referee did not start counting until Dempsey went to a neutral corner, which gave Tunney an extra seven to eight seconds to recover. Dempsey hadn’t been used to the new rule, and as a result, for the rest of that round, Tunney was able to avoided Dempsey. For the rest of the fight, Tunney held his lead on points, even though the crowd showered Tunney with boos for having taken advantage of the long count.4 The crowd also cheered for their man Dempsey until the bitter end. Unfortunately, Tunney was able to avoided Dempsey for the rest of the fight, and eventually won on points. After this fight, one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time, Jack Dempsey, retired.
Many believed that the fight had been rigged by way of the referee; others believed that gangsters, such as Al Capone, had influenced the fight.5 In fact, Jack Dempsey once stated “I positively was approached by people in Chicago. I was, in fact, told that for $100,000, I could win the heavyweight championship.”6 Although marred by controversy, neither of those speculations have been definitively proven. But there are many who contend that Dempsey should have been the rightful winner and not Tunney. While the record books will say that Tunney won, it will not be without a metaphorical asterisk. Although Dempsey lost, he was remembered by many as a people’s champion while Tunney was vilified for his role in the match, but still highly respected for his boxing style. Years after this fight, Tunney and Dempsey became close friends and both went on to be boxing Hall of Fame members.7 Both were, are, and forever will be intertwined due to the controversial Long Count Fight.
- Roger Kahn, A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20s (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co, 1999), 86. ↵
- Roger Kahn, A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20s (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co, 1999), 86. ↵
- Bobby Bearden, “The Time Tunnel: 75th Anniversary of ‘The Long Count,'” Boxing 247, no. 1 (March 2017): 1. ↵
- Roger Kahn, A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20s (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co, 1999), 422. ↵
- Bobby Bearden, “The Time Tunnel: 75th Anniversary of ‘The Long Count,'” Boxing 247, no. 1 (March 2017): 1. ↵
- Jack Dempsey, “In This Corner,” Saturday Evening Post 204, no. 9 (August 29, 1931): 25–38. ↵
- Roger Kahn, A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20s (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co, 1999), 422. ↵
65 comments
Michael Mandujano
After reading this article, I was influenced to get a visual of these two elite fighters in action. As a boxing fanatic, I was fortunate enough to find video footage of the famous “Long Count Fight.” Overall, I enjoyed how this article allows the reader to shape a well-rounded imagination of how the fight progressed. In fact, the images displayed throughout the article, particularly the newspaper visual is remarkable.
Evelin Joseph
As boxing is still such a big part of American culture, this article was very relevant and informing. I had never before heard of this match and its controversies, so it was definitely an enjoyable read. The article made me believe that I was viewing the fight myself and had me deeply invested in every round of the fight. It was depressing that Dempsey finally had his chance to prove himself in the Long Count Fight, but due to his unfamiliarity to the new rule and the referee’s long count, eventually lost. I am glad that he is still remembered as one of the greatest and is still respected for his style.
Michelle Falcon
I have never been a huge fan of boxing or anything like that, however this article made me want to watch the fight in person. In fact the way the author wrote this article gave me a vivid image in my head as to how the iconic fight between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney played out. Over all this was a very good article about something that I knew little to nothing about and made it interesting.
Rebekah Esquivel
I personally love to watch boxing, MMA, and any other type of fighting showed. I constantly see big named fighters who fight each other having some kind of controversy on who should of won or how something in the fight was rigged. I have never heard of this fight but it seems to me that it was justified for being questioned on who should have won. A ref waiting to start the count really doesn’t make sense to me but I am interested in seeing a clip of this fight to get a better understanding of this story. This was a very interesting and fun read.
Amber Aragon Alvarado
As a sports fanatic, I really enjoyed reading this article. I’m not huge on boxing, but the information that was provided helped me understand how Tunney took the second fight win. I genuinely believe that the fight was a rip off. If Dempsey would have remembered the new rule he definitely would’ve won. The extra seconds that were provided to Tunney helped with the victory. Despite the differences of each fighter, it’s amazing and inspiring how they both worked their way up to the hall of fame. Although they both made it to the top, it has become a huge bother to me that this wasn’t the first article I’ve read about a boxed not getting the fair end of the stick. The same situation happened with Tyson vs Douglas in the 1980s. Tyson would have won the fight if the Ref hadn’t given Douglas an extra long count to recover after Tyson knocked him down. It’s stories like these that makes history so unforgettable. Overall, great article. It was well structured and the there wasn’t any futile information. Loved it.
Rafael Azuaje
A brawler vs a technician.
Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor. Mayweather is a celebrated boxing champion with a long career behind him. McGregor is a mixed martial artist from the UFC organization. Although Tunney and Dempsey were not from different combat sports their styles couldn’t mirror what we are expecting from Mayweather and McGregor’s upcoming match closer. I’m sure both are just as confident they will be the victor as Tunney and Dempsey were in 1927. I doubt either truly knows what they have signed up for.
Teresa Valdez
This article gave nice insight into the impact that boxing had on culture. Through the fans’ reactions, it is easy to see how popular both the sport and the boxers were during this point. Although this article was rather short, it is rich in information. I may not know much about boxing, but the article was clear and made it easy to understand the changes in the sport going on at the time and why it would be upsetting.
Samuel Sanchez
I really liked this sports article and reading it the second time it still pulled me in. This match has a lot of contraversy and I can clearly see it. In boxing or actually in any sport, anyone can work the system and use the rules to their advantage. As Tunney did, he led in points and was able to ge extra seconds after he was knocked down. Dempsey has no excuse why he couldn’t win the fight despite this situation. If he got beat then he was not better than Tunney. Overall great article and best of luck to you.
Gabriela Medrano
You watch a boxing match and when the seventh round comes around you tend to think “awe this is it.” At this point the boxers are just as you said, “the physical toll of boxing” begins to show. I can only imagine how tense that seventh round must have been for Dempsey and Tunney and the crowd of fans. I would have been truly upset at the loss for Dempsey if I were watching it, and also I hate the kind of boxer to pace around the ring running from the opponent and I imagine that it was what this match was like with Tunney avoiding another blow. Great artice and cool topic!
Zaraly Frasquillo
Boxing is a really big thing in my family. As a kid I remember having the whole family at my aunts house just to watch a boxing match, but after watching many matches, I have realized that I am not really aware of its history. I really appreciate that you wrote an article on entertainment history, it just makes this website well rounded on all types of history. You have written an amazing article and ypu should be proud.