Do I really need 2 make a post on this? No. Did I? Yes. There's really not much 2 say about this fight anyway. It's brief, it's tactless. Round 1-Firpo goes down 5 times, real fast. Most of the time it doesn't really look like he was hit w/ anything that hard. But maybe it's just that film; idk. But after the fifth knockdown, Firpo fights back, the two get into an exchange and Dempsey's glove touches the canvas. He didn't slip, he was hurt. I'm wondering who here think Dempsey went down though. His glove did touch the canvas, so I counted it among the knockdowns. However, Dempsey recovered instantly and put the Wild Bull of the Pampas down twice more. Firpo attacked w/ a fury after that, but in almost a kind of inefficient, wasted way. He threw long blows that had no definite aim. It reminded me of the way Baer and Carnera traded blows in their silly brawl. However, the blows must of been pretty thudding 2 cause the champion 2 go sailing thru the ropes and into the crowd. Even though I've read and watched this fight 4 yrs, I still can't imagine what that must of been like, esp. 4 the sportswriters. Round 2-It's interesting how this fight declined so much. I mean, heck, in Foreman-Lyle, the 4th is definitely the best round, but the 5th was still a fitting, dramatic, and brutal round in itself. After all the drama of the 1st round of Dempsey-Firpo, there was nothing left 2 see ig. Dempsey put Firpo down twice more, rather easily, and he was counted out. As a note, I have 2 say that although I enjoy this fight, I think it's seriously overhyped. Although I would objectively call it one of the most significant, one of the most famous, and one of the most exciting fights of all time, I have 2 readily admit it's certainly not one of my favorite fights 2 watch. Verdict: Despite my personal feelings about the fight, it's still a classic. Without hesitation, watch it if you haven't seen it already. If you have seen it already, watch it anyway.
Was his win very controversial, because the journalists pushed him back into ring? I am not sure about. I think boxer have also some extra time to recover, after falling out of the ring (don`t know if the rules have changed for that in boxing history). For me some of Dempseys title fights were a bit shady. Miske had a disease and I think Carpentier broke his right hand early against Dempsey, but before he hit Dempsey with a right and Dempsey was dazed.
much is made of Dempsey being sent "flying out of the ring" when it was clearly a push to the shoulder/neck that was responsible
I think the existing film is not good quality and it impacts viewing .. it was a kind of Foreman - Lyle of the day ... may take is that Firpo, while crude had underrated speed to go w his power and Dempsey was hit very hard on the opening seconds and went not a vicious slugfest right from that point .. he was kinda pushed out of the ring but the huge shot right before had him badly stunned and allowed it ..
on knockdowns--Dempsey went to one knee right at the beginning from a Firpo right. Bert Sugar claimed he saw an "uncut" version in which Dempsey sprawled out and took a count of seven. There is a jump cut at this point. Take it for what Sugar's word is worth. Later it did appear Dempsey's glove touched the canvas after a Firpo punch. So I think Dempsey was down three times and Firpo nine times. on the out of the ring knockdown--I watched a film which replayed the punch frame by frame and froze the picture at impact. The punch looked to me to have hit Dempsey on the side of the chin. The tip off was it spun his head around. I can't see this as a "shove" to the shoulder as one poster claimed. It was a legit punch which knocked Dempsey out of the ring. Dempsey hit Firpo when he was arising after the fourth knockdown. The ref seemed to let anything pass. I agree with you that it was difficult with this film to know how cleanly Dempsey was hitting Firpo for some of these knockdowns. Firpo was throwing telegraphed rights and yet they landed rather often. When Firpo went on the offense with a wild attack, Dempsey didn't seem to have a defensive answer which led to his being knocked out of the ring. When he came back, Firpo hit him often but Dempsey showed chin and took it. That was the most impressive facet of Dempsey's performance. I agree that the second round wasn't much. My reaction was that Firpo punched himself out in the first round and was not in good enough shape to gather himself before the second. The first knockdown in the second looked to me to have been merely Dempsey throwing Firpo down almost in a wrestling move. Then he finished him with a left and right which the film doesn't show too clearly. A big edge for Dempsey was that he seemed to be in much better condition and therefore able to outlast Firpo. Firpo showed almost no skill, but those wild attacks were effective not only against Dempsey, but also Willard and Brennan. Dempsey was shaky also, but was clearly the better conditioned athlete.
It's still voted on most polls...as the best fight of all time! There's more action in these 2 rounds than in 12 rounds of the mostly "safety first" boxing today! In 1923...it was survival of the fittest. Now it's jab..."pose"...grab till the ref breaks you...and hope that the crowds don't fall asleep! And don't forget the stupid costumes that the "fighters" wear into the ring!!!
According to the Chicago Daily News, KO Christner was given 20 seconds to get back in the ring against Walker, on 28 of November 1930. Which the report implies was standard.
Looking back, Dempsey-Firpo is somewhat better than the first time I watched it. I thought it was very crappy and not enjoyable at first but watching it the second time.. yeah, it's actually more entertaining than I remembered.
I like it, it's one of the first old films I watched, loved how both guys hit the floor. Full of drama.
