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
Sergio Cervantes
Great read! Boxing is an important sport of the American culture and has been for some time as we can see. I will admit I only became interested in boxing due to the Rocky movie series, but nonetheless, it is wonderful to watch. I can recall still numerous fights that I saw with family members and friends. It is sad to read that it was by fault of the ref and the technicality that Dempsey lost. However, it is nice to see that both eventually made their way to the Hall of Fame.
Samuel Sanchez
Amazing article. I have always enjoyed looking at boxing and reading about the legends always draws me in. In my opinion, Tunney was the righteous victor because in that sport you have to be smart and tactical about your fights. Tunney took advantage of the rule. He was aware of situation so he deserved the victory. But I guess Dempsey was the “People’s Champion” so he has that. Overall, great article keep up the great work.
Mario De Leon
I had no idea boxing has been around in the U.S. since the 1800s. I’m not a huge fan of boxing but this was easy to read. This was a very well written and interesting article to read. It is obvious you did your research. It unfortunate what happen to Dempsey! I always love reading about sports and I find it interesting the controversy involved with gangsters like AL Capone.
Cesar Zavala
Awesome article on a great part of the history of the sport of boxing. I had not heard of this bout before reading but I was aware of the rules for the count down during a knock down in boxing. It’s awesome to know that the rule of going to a neutral corner during a knock down was first introduced to the sport in such a controversial bout. Great article and facts! Only thing I did not like was that you did not include Mike Tyson on your list of great boxers.
Anayeli Prieto
Outstanding article! I love watching boxing matches on tv and watching the techniques that they use in order to win the fight. They eac have their signature moves and the best boxing players have the most stradegies in order to confuse the opponent ans win the battle. From this article, you can tell that boxing has evolved significantly over the years by the rules and the way the match is organized. they still however make us scream at the top of our lungs with excitement encouraging our favorite boxer!
Briana Bustamante
This article was very interesting and informational.Growing up my grandfather was obsessed with boxing to say the least, so I knew little information about it, but your article shed some light on the history of boxing. I know that in each sport the rules and game itself change as the years progress, so it was interesting to see how boxing has changed. Over all you wrote a very well article!
Alexis Soto
As a boxing fan I’m glad someone was able and willing to write and an article about the sport. This was a great topic to chose from as it goes to a time before pay per view. It was written well and I enjoyed reading the whole article. I hopened to read more sport articles from you.
Natalia Zuniga
I can tell you took a lot of time and did a lot of research for this article! I had heard about Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney, so it was great to learn about them. The photo of the newspaper headline was great and caught my attention, as well as your photo of Promotion Photo of Jack Dempsey was great. Overall interesting article!
Gabriela Medrano
What a cool article! Dempsey was right-out a good looking man and I feel his persona had much to do with the people’s choice. On the other hand, Tunney was a different take. He served in the U.S. military and was obviously a smart fella. What a ridiculous rule! However, I am glad both boxers were recognized for the great fighters they were. I wondered why there was only a picture of Dempsey in your article and not Tunney, for he was the “technical winner” but now I see. Well done, great read!
Nelson Smithwick
This was a very interfering article, It is very interesting to know that boxing had people who would “game” the system back then just as some boxers take advantage of the compubox system today. It its really unfortunate that Dempsey lost, due to the new rule on the knockdown count, but being remembered as the people’s champion must have been some consolidation to the man.