Tunney-Dempsey: 10 rounds?

For the first fight the New York Boxing Licence Committee (a separate body to the State Athletic Commission) refused Dempsey a licence unless he fought Wills first.

So the fight was moved to Philadelphia, where there was a State limit of Ten rounds...

The rematch was not in New York as Rickard thought Yankee Stadium too small, plus he could only charge $27.50 for a ringside seat.

So the bout was moved to Chicago, where in the 20s basically anything went if you had the money, and thus Dempsey insisted on another 10 round fight, figuring his best chance was to catch Tunney early. Dempsey knew the feeling was, if the first bout was a 15 rounder, Tunney possibly would of stopped Jack.

 

This was an era before the process of natural selection finally established 15 rounds as the optimal championship distance standard.

After Dempsey-Tunney I & II, Walker-Hudkins I and Loughran-Walker were a pair of other famous filmed title fights which were scheduled for ten rounds and went that limit. (Walker was also filmed in live natural sound defending against Tommy Milligan in London, a scheduled 20 rounder, but Mickey ended matters in round ten there.)

It does raise a good trivia question about what was the last title fight scheduled for ten rounds. (At least prior to Larry Holmes-Marvis Frazier, which boxWRECK has at times recorded as a World Heavyweight Championship bout, although not at the moment.) Bukkake? Henry? Burt?

 

It seems that Dempseys team might have pushed for the venue to be somewhere where there was a ten round limit, fearing for their mans ability to handel a longer fight.

Tunney was greatly puzzled by this, because he saw the ten round limit as playing into his hands.

 

Ironically, the premature controversial ending of Dempsey-Sharkey, scheduled for 15 rounds, may have cost the Mauler dearly. Dempsey was coming on, but Sharkey had what it took to extend him further. If this one had gone into the championship rounds, Dempsey and his camp may have had the renewed confidence in his stamina to opt for a 15 round rematch with Gene.

This of course presumes that Dempsey comes out on top in a longer match with Sharkey. I'd need to review the footage again, but it seems to be that Dempsey's sledgehammer blows, particularly to the body, were taking a toll after he'd weathered the early storm, with Sharkey having expended himself a bit. Sharkey would then sputter in his next two outings, drawing with Heeney to blow his second and last chance at Tunney, then dropping a 15 round SD to Risko before righting himself with his blowout of Bright Eyes Delaney.

Dempsey had won over the championship distance against Tommy Gibbons, something Sharkey wouldn't do until Carnera I, over four years in the future. Reports were that Dempsey trained diligently for Sharkey in a bid for redemption, while Sharkey was somewhat casual in his preparations, so endurance may actually have been in the older man's favor, especially when coupled with Dempsey's enervating body attack. Whatever the case, Tunney was previously able to successfully withstand in Philadelphia what Sharkey succumbed to in Yankee Stadium, low blows and all.

 

I have carefully watched Dempsey-Sharkey many times and feel while Sharkey was still ahead on points Dempsey was punishing him badly and was in good position for the finish of the bout ....

As far as the Tunney fights go, Gene was a different match up for Jack and Team Dempsey was either very smart or lucky that the fights went ten .. he would have been stopped twice if they went 15 and his legacy would have badly suffered ..

 

It's always the presumption that Jack would have been stopped if the championship distance was in place for his matches with Gene, even by Dempsey advocates like Arcel. But Jack had tremendous heart, and withstood incredible batterings from both Tunney and Sharkey. No, I absolutely do not believe Gene ever would have stopped him within 15 rounds. Jack had too much fighting spirit to give in. He got up instantly from a flash knockdown in the round following the Long Count, and weathered a storm in the final round. Tunney himself said he rarely had a clean shot at Dempsey's jaw, suggesting that Jack could at least protect himself sufficiently to last as long as it was scheduled. He could clinch effectively in an extreme crisis, having survival skills as good as anyone's. Stopping him in 1926 or 1927 would have taken the relentless power of a Frazier or Marciano, or composite punching of a Louis.