Dempsey vs Tunney: without the neutral corner rule.

Luf, JackDempsey was a PRODUCT of his times, no more ,no less. As was
Tom Cribb, John L, Fitz etc...I defend his prowess and get flack for it by some
because of his Duran like panther movements and reputation he earned from his contemporaries as a rough and ready,ask no quarter man of his times. I think that if not for the extra 7 or so seconds Tunney had to clear his head from the violent 7 punch barrage that floored him, Gene if he did beat the 10 count might not have had his noggin cleared enough to back peddle away from the
rushing 32 year old Dempsey. But it is what it is...

 

Tunney stated he was confident he could have gotten up inside the ten count if he had to,he also said he did not know if he would have survived the onslaught that would have followed. I'm inclined to think not.

 

In two 20 round fights, many historians believe thats the ONLY round Dempsey won.

 

Both were ten rounders.:huh

 

Without the extra seconds and with Dempsey standing right over him, I believe Dempsey would be on Gene as soon as he regained his feet and probably would have had enough left to finish him off.

 

I've watched that KD hundreds of times. Certainly with Dempsey standing over him he regains his title by seventh round ko.

Even though Gene felt he could have risen if it had been a proper ten count my feeling is he would have NOT beaten the count. He was hit a ton by Dempsey and 4.5 extra seconds is an entirnity of extra time to loosen the cob webs. Tunney does not beat the count if he was given 10 proper seconds to fully arise.

 

As much as I am an admirer of Gene Tunney, I have to say,..honestly, that there's no way he could have survived the followup onslaught of Jack Dempsey in that 7th round.

 

This 7th round...the famed "Long Count" 7th, was,...in my opinion, the most impressive display of punching in Dempsey's career...even exceeding the merciless beating he put on Willard,..even better than that *******jack left hook he squashed Sharkey with.

 

Dempsey at 32 just did not all of a sudden discover combination punching. You see these punches/combinations all through his career but hidden due to film quality. The short combination punching during his bout with Firpo was unprecedented and awe inspiring to this very day. My fav is the KD just prior to the ko. Dempsey weaves, feints, freezing Firpo for a split second. Dempsey then throws a perfect ultra short right to the heart and left hook to the chin. His favorite combination which was listed by Fleischer as the best combination in hwt history.

 

Would Dempsey have been able to beat Tunney if he had rocket powered roller skates and brass knuckles? What is the point of questioning how Dempsey would have done had he been allowed to not follow the rules? Im sure he would have turned those fights around if he were allowed to carry a magnum with him into the ring. How about a more realistic discussion of: had Dempsey been forced to follow the rules of the nysac against brennan, sharkey, and firpo instead of being allowed to hit low, rabbit punch, and stand over a fallen opponent, would the outcome of those fights look different? Better or worse for Dempsey? And before Burt comes on here pretending Dempsey was a product of his times and those rules werent in place i suggest he dig up the Walker Law which governed all three of those bouts and recite the rules to me.