Why did Tunney retire after just two heavyweight title defenses?

He had sense
He did the right thing.

 

He retired because there was no contender around to generate the kind of money he desired. Dempsey in theory was around but Dempsey and the business would have wanted a tune-up to maximise his value and build up a third fight. Dempsey had been severely beaten around the eyes by Tunney and never had an official fight again.

Schmeling wasn't worth unretiring for. By the time Carnera or Baer became champion Tunney was probably properly dissipated.

 

Tunney walked away because he had nothing left to prove and everything to lose. He’d beaten Dempsey twice — once clean, once in the “Long Count” fight — and there wasn’t another heavyweight out there at the time who could really threaten him. He was smart, disciplined, and never the kind of guy who needed the spotlight to feel whole.

He also made a ton of money. The Dempsey rematch alone paid him $1 million — that’s roughly $17.6 million in today’s money. On top of that, he was about to marry into high society, and back then being a prizefighter wasn’t exactly seen as a refined or respectable profession for the circles he was marrying into.

And it’s worth noting that his final title defense against Tom Heeney was actually a financial loss at the gate, which likely confirmed to Tunney that there was no bigger payday left out there.

Tunney was ready for the next chapter of his life. Financially secure, in good health, and still at the top, he retired before time and the sport could take anything from him. It wasn’t fear or lack of opportunity — it was a deliberate choice by a man who valued the long game and walked away with everything intact.

 

Financially he was secure, having made himself a millionaire in the ring, and married into silly money.

Psychologically he had reached the summit of his personal Everest, having won the title, and defeated Dempsey.

It is obvious in hindsight that there were significant challenges out there, but it was far from obvious at the time.

What's the sense in him keeping getting his brain bashed against the inside of his skull?

 

That's interesting because I thought Tunney drew the color line and didn't want to face black boxers. If he was willing to fight Wills of all people, that takes guts. Shame it didn't happen.

 

Had Wills defeated Uzcudun and Sharkey, Tunney likely would have had to defend his title against Wills, but Harry was basically shot by the time Tunney became champion. Before Gene became champion, he was able to finesse his way into a title shot without fighting Wills. His goal wasn't to fight Wills. It was to get a title shot. So why risk fighting Wills if he didn't have to? Granted, Gene benefited from the politics of the day in beating out Harry for the title shot, but you might as well take the shortest distance between two points and make the best play with the hand you are dealt.

 

He didn't want to ruin his perfect record.

 

Hi Seamus.
Thing is it wasnt perfect, a certain middleweight gave him the beating of his life.
Stay safe buddy, chat soon.
Mike.

 

He had no need to fight anymore.

 

He got himself a sugar mommy.

 

That's not the record I was referring to.

 

Maybe he just didn’t want to do like Dempsey and mothball the title while he galavanted around the country not defending it for years.

 

@ the time that he made that declaration, yes, he was correct.

After the Dempsey rematch, there was a nearly year-long effort to find another standout challenger for him. Initially, there was talk of a 3rd fight w/ Dempsey (who was still rated The Ring's top contender), but that ended once Dempsey formally announced his retirement the following year. Sharkey was then considered the next logical candidate, but he blew his shot by drawing w/ Heeney & then losing to Risko. Rickard then hoped to set up a "final eliminator" between Heeney & Risko, but the NY Commission stepped in & demanded that Tunney pick an opponent w/o any further delay. Tunney then selected Heeney over Risko b/c both Tunney & Heeney had already beaten Risko. However, despite Rickard's best efforts to "sell" Heeney to the public, the fight failed to generate enough ticket sales to turn a profit.

 

I’m surprised nobody thought of making a rematch between him and the LHW champ Tommy Loughran, given how close their first fight was. It was probably the best fight Gene was gonna get around the time he fought Heeney and when he retired though Sharkey, Schmeling and Godfrey were also standouts.

 

Enlighten me .