The Long Count is the biggest non-controversy in boxing history

McGrain · Jan 28, 2015

lora said: ↑

Dempsey i never really expected to impress that much, so that was different.
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lora · Jan 28, 2015

:yep

The Morlocks · Jan 31, 2015

klompton2 said: ↑

For generations the battle of the long count has gone down as one of boxing's biggest controversies. Dempsey apologists often paint this as a robbery of Dempsey. Ive been working on this film lately and Im struck by just how blind some fans can be to the obvious. There was absolutely nothing controversial about this fight. First and foremost the rules in Illinois, and the rules that both Dempsey and Tunney agreed to were that a fighter had to go to the corner in the event of a knockdown. In fact this rule had been in place in New York in 1923 when Dempsey fought Firpo and it was noted by many at the time that he had been allowed to linger over Firpo on several occasions and attack upon rising in that fight.

In the seventh round Dempsey floors Tunney and then begins to linger over him, there are a few seconds of confusion as the referee tries to get Dempsey to a corner. First Dempsey attempts to go to the closest corner to Tunney (directly behind Tunney, and incidentally the same thing he did against Firpo) and then is forced by the referee to observe the rule and go to the far side of the ring before resuming the count. Tunney picks up the count in time, gets up, and then goes on his bicycle before resuming control.

In the next round Tunney floors Dempsey with a short right and Dave Barry immediately jumps in to begin his count but is interrupted before he even completes "1" as Dempsey rises. Dempsey supporters have used this as evidence of a bias by the referee but watch the seventh round again. When Tunney is knocked down Barry does exactly the same thing. Tunney goes down and Barry leaps in with arm raised to begin a count. He even attempts to continue to the count for a split second, looking back at Tunney while trying to usher Dempsey away but is interrupted by Dempsey going to the wrong corner and points to the correct corner.

The only difference in Barry's reaction to Tunney and Dempsey is that Dempsey rose before the count of 1 could even be completed and before there was even a chance for Tunney to go to a different corner or for the referee to direct him there. I see no inconsistency here and given the rules, and the actions of both fighters I see nothing wrong with the officiating or how the fight played out.

There will always be questions about what MIGHT have happened had Dempsey not bungled going to the corner prolonging the count and whether Tunney could have recovered enough without those few extra seconds but the blame for that is on Dempsey, not the referee or Tunney. One could easily turn that argument around and wonder how successful Dempsey would have been against some of his previous opponents had he not been allowed (whether the rules allowed it or not) to linger over his opponents and strike them upon rising.
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Your utter hatred of anything Dempsey is so obvious. What the guy ever do to you? AND yr writing a book about him and Wills? Boy, that will be unbiased! Give it up dude, everyone sees through yr constant put downs of the man to yr hatred. I can't believe anyone takes yr piosts on Dempsey or Tunney as anything but a guy w/ an agenda to try to bring down a legend. Grow up.

klompton2 · Jan 31, 2015

The Morlocks said: ↑

Your utter hatred of anything Dempsey is so obvious. What the guy ever do to you? AND yr writing a book about him and Wills? Boy, that will be unbiased! Give it up dude, everyone sees through yr constant put downs of the man to yr hatred. I can't believe anyone takes yr piosts on Dempsey or Tunney as anything but a guy w/ an agenda to try to bring down a legend. Grow up.
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Can you refute anything Ive written in this thread? No? I didnt think so. When logic fails, the facts dont support you, and hero worship prevails resort to personal attacks...

McGrain · Jan 31, 2015

Morlkocks, I can't be ****d following you around all night deleting your posts. Log off, calm down, or i'll have to ban you for a bit.

I don't "protect" klompton. But NOBODY is allowed to obsess and attack other posters on this forum (apart from McVey and Mendoza...that's sort of like bear baiting in the 1600s though?). It's not acceptable. If you want to discuss that, do it in the moderation thread, a thread about the long count is not an acceptable place to do that.

Very last warning on this issue. And I make it about your sixth in total.

The Morlocks · Jan 31, 2015

McGrain said: ↑

Morlkocks, I can't be ****d following you around all night deleting your posts. Log off, calm down, or i'll have to ban you for a bit.

I don't "protect" klompton. But NOBODY is allowed to obsess and attack other posters on this forum (apart from McVey and Mendoza...that's sort of like bear baiting in the 1600s though?). It's not acceptable. If you want to discuss that, do it in the moderation thread, a thread about the long count is not an acceptable place to do that.

Very last warning on this issue. And I make it about your sixth in total.
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Follow me around? This is the only thread where I argued w/ him the other thread i wrote on had nothing to do with him or an arguement.

McGrain · Jan 31, 2015

The Morlocks said: ↑

Follow me around? This is the only thread where I argued w/ him the other thread i wrote on had nothing to do with him or an arguement.
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Yes, but without looking at your posts with my eyes it's impossible for me to know whether you are posting material which needs to be deleted.

In other words, I have to follow you around, when i'm trying to watch the undercard of the Kevin Mitchell fight.

Morlocks, don't post off topic in this thread again. I've made this abundantly clear to you now, in PM, in the deleted thread message, and now here expressly in writing.

You can't say you weren't warned, for Christsake.

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The Long Count is the biggest non-controversy in boxing history

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The Long Count is the biggest non-controversy in boxing history

McGrain Diamond Dog Staff Member

lora Fighting Zapata Full Member

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