Why is Dempsey vs Firpo highly edited film?

I think the fact that Rickard copped to having the film edited is key here. Had he not volunteered that info Id say it was wear and tear in most cases. The fact that he not only admitted it but then gave a lame and completely false excuse as to why draws my attention.

 

Have we lost al the: "where is the 20 count nonsens".
At the time of the fight there were only a handful of cameramen who were able to crank the film and make some sort of panorama at the same time. They were in Hollywood and not in the sports business.

 

By the 1920s handfranking wasnt an issue because motion picture cameras were fitted with a cam that allowed gor a uniform speed regardless of how fast you cranked. Furthermore a significant portion of the US film industry was still based in New York and New Jersey. Particularly the journalistic branches that would have been shooting documentary footage. Being able to pan wasnt a prohibitive talent it was simply easier to insure stability of the image and make sure you capture all the action by framing the image from rope to rope.

 

Dempsey's left knee touched the canvass in the first flash knockdown but not his right knee

 

Does anyone else think that Dempsey stays in the ring anyway if Firpo doesn't push him out with his glove on his extended arm??? I mean it is definitely a punch that Firpo threw but the punch comes basically from a 90 degree angle so the follow thru would be past Dempsey face. Looks to me that it was a half ass punch, for the lack of better words, and when he made contact he left his glove on Dempsey face and changed directions pushing his face back till Dempsey fell out of the ring..

 

On film there does appear to be a fair amount of push in that punch yes.

 

I looked at it over and over again .. and what I found the most intriguing was the angle from where the punch came from .. I'm not a physicist .. but to me it would defy the laws of physics for that to be a true punch coming from a 90 degree angle and end up with the end of the punch being completely straight through.. I'm not buying it .. I think Dempsey was pushed out... And that's not to say that he wouldn't have fallen out anyway if the punch didn't change angles and direction ... who knows? .. do we have any physicists out there???

 

Firpo was known for downwardly thrown right hands. Oddly thrown but incredibly powerful.

 

Then by you saying that do you agree with my post just before yours? Curious to know your thoughts?? thanks

 

I agree. I think the previous overhand right hurt Dempsey but the one that landed and put him out of the ring was a push punch.

 

It appears it was a punch and a push punch but taking into account the relatively poor quality of the film we can't really be sure how powerful these punches were. Certainly Firpo was known for a downward thrown very powerful right hand.

 

Firpo had that magic old timer's fairy dust that meant despite having zero boxing skill, despite his dad bod, despite his complete aversion to training and his cheapness in ever hiring and paying a real trainer, despite possessing zero balance and despite the fact he wasn't even that big... He threw magical punches whose power were more difficult to ponder than the ever receeding depths of the universe.