So, Firpo floored Dempsey late in the first round, but Dempsey got up. What if Firpo knocked Dempsey out and became Heavyweight Champion of the World?
If Dempsey had then gotten a rematch with Firpo, he would have become the first ex-heavyweight champion to regain the crown, and by a quick KO at that.
Didn't Jack really mess up his hip when he went out of the ring? I seem to remember reading that he really came down hard on some guy's typewriter and suffered pain from it off and on for the rest of his life. Who knows, maybe that injury and the humiliation of losing in the first round would have convinced him to retire. I don't think that's very likely but if that had happened then there's an excellent chance Wills would have won the title from Firpo. I don't think Firpo would have felt any pressure whatsoever to maintain the color line, we know Wills would have jumped at that title shot, and we know what would have happened. But obviously the most likely scenario is Dempsey brutally avenging the loss.
It is not very well known that Firpo went into this fight with an elbow just that afternoon pulled into place after being dislocated. Firpo was in horrible pain leading up to and during the fight yet insisted the bout go on. Also it's not fully realized the film of this fight was heavily edited for theatre audiences. First thing if you watch the fight Firpo drops Dempsey to his knees with a right hand seconds after the bell rings. Dempsey rushes Firpo, Firpo rears back and throws his right on the button. Jack holds onto Firpos waist preventing him from going down. I've read it was Rickard himself who dictated how the film was cut. I've always been told that French Pathe had a film crew at this fight but the film for whatever reason has never surfaced. What a find if one day we could see an unedited clear version of this fight!
You can find a video of Tunney and Corbett reenacting this opening sequence of the Firpo Dempsey fight somewhere on YouTube.
