Colleen Alcock's Reporting of the First Dempsey Tunney fight

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by he grant, Nov 12, 2016.


  1. he grant

    he grant Historian/Film Maker

    25,429
    9,413
    Jul 15, 2008
    In boxing written Colleen Alcock's book on Tex Rickard she gives a very different description of the first Dempsey Tunney bout, ripping the long standing count that Tunney dominated and won every round convincingly .. according to Colleen, Dempsey, who entered the ring clearly sick, fought competitively in the early rounds, actually hurt Tunney in the fourth and eight and while ultimately faded and lost , he did not take the one sided beating that is so often repeated by route .. she also makes references to the films clearly supporting this .. my question .. what rounds of Dempsey Tunney exist in their entirety ? Is there truth to this ?
     
    dempsey1234 and reznick like this.
  2. Mendoza

    Mendoza Hrgovic = Next Heavyweight champion of the world. banned Full Member

    55,255
    10,354
    Jun 29, 2007
    Dempsey lost 9 of 10 rounds. Tunney is looking at the ref at the count of four during the long count.
     
  3. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

    97,727
    29,077
    Jun 2, 2006
    Its the first fight being discussed!lol
    In their second fight Tunney on the canvas, looks in the referees direction at the count of three, he then looks away and isn't watching him toll off the count on his fingers at all.
    This content is protected
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2016
  4. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

    97,727
    29,077
    Jun 2, 2006
    I haven't read her work, but her book on Joe Gans got decidedly mixed reviews.
     
  5. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

    97,727
    29,077
    Jun 2, 2006
    "On the morning of the fight, Mike Trent, one of Dempsey's bodyguards, gave the champion a small glass of olive oil, a habit meant to aid digestion. Dempsey suffered something akin to food poisoning. Rumors spread that gamblers had paid Trent to put something in Dempsey's olive oil, but nothing was substantiated. Many believed racketeer Arnold Rothstein was behind it. Rothstein, who was ringside for the fight, bet $125,000 at 4 to 1 odds that Tunney would win ."This was mentioned in Dempsey's first auto biography.
     
  6. he grant

    he grant Historian/Film Maker

    25,429
    9,413
    Jul 15, 2008
    I am simply curious what film she was referring to ? How many actual full rounds of the first fight exist ?
     
  7. lufcrazy

    lufcrazy requiescat in pace Full Member

    81,360
    21,805
    Sep 15, 2009
    Tunney had better skills. But if the rematch was in Dempsey's prime there is no doubt Tunnel would not have survive the knockdown. No doubt what so ever.
     
  8. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

    97,727
    29,077
    Jun 2, 2006
    Klompton might know.
     
  9. Mendoza

    Mendoza Hrgovic = Next Heavyweight champion of the world. banned Full Member

    55,255
    10,354
    Jun 29, 2007
    Tunney looks at the ref at the for a bit longer than the count of three ( Did you watch the video ) , and clearly hears him well enough to get up when needed. And when he gets up, he's got his legs, a sign that he wasn't that hurt. Stunned and floored yes, but mentally and physically capable of getting up when he had to.
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2016
  10. Mendoza

    Mendoza Hrgovic = Next Heavyweight champion of the world. banned Full Member

    55,255
    10,354
    Jun 29, 2007
    Judging by his past posts he's not a big fan of either Dempsey or Tunney.

    I'm pretty sure round 7 can not be seen today due to film damage over the years. This leaves 24 minutes of the other nine rounds, the majority of which can be seen today. Round 8 is rare. The late Tony Fosco had it. Last I heard his wife wants to sell the entire colleciton for $250,000.00 and won't give out anything via piecemeal.
     
  11. Perry

    Perry Boxing Junkie Full Member

    9,343
    1,536
    Apr 26, 2015
    This content is protected


    Fight is certainly competitive early. At times Tunney appears not to be able to handle the charging Dempsey.
     
    choklab likes this.
  12. klompton2

    klompton2 Boxing Junkie banned Full Member

    10,974
    5,432
    Feb 10, 2013
    All of the rounds exist including round 7, which was filmed in slow motion for the theatrical release. rounds 7 and 8 have bad hypo damage but are still watchable. Tunney won a wide, easy decision. Aycock is completely mistaken. Dempsey was battered in the fight. His face was bruised, bloody, and swollen with multiple cuts around his eyes.
     
  13. klompton2

    klompton2 Boxing Junkie banned Full Member

    10,974
    5,432
    Feb 10, 2013
    [url]http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z335/klompton/close_zpsc14f19c0.jpg[/url]

    [url]http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z335/klompton/dempcut_zpsed70f15c.jpg[/url]
     
    Seamus likes this.
  14. choklab

    choklab cocoon of horror Full Member

    27,674
    7,654
    Dec 31, 2009
    While your on, what do you make of Larry Gains story of the training camp where he sparred Dempsey ahead of the Tunney fight?
     
  15. klompton2

    klompton2 Boxing Junkie banned Full Member

    10,974
    5,432
    Feb 10, 2013
    refresh my memory, what story?