was dempsey a bum?

[RockyMarcianofan00]

The guy went 60-7-8 with 51 KO's and should have beaten Gene Tunney the second time around (long count). But shoulda, woulda, coulda I guess..

No doubt a top ten heavyweight of all time though.

true he should be in top 10

also i think Tunney was down anywhere from 13 seconds to 16 seconds so its like he was down twice

[The Noose]

I think people who use the term 'bum' are ****ing annoying.

Damn Ali!

[butterfly1964]

I think people who use the term 'bum' are ****ing annoying.

Damn Ali!

huh?

[Yogi]

The guy went 60-7-8 with 51 KO's and should have beaten Gene Tunney the second time around (long count). But shoulda, woulda, coulda I guess..

Ah, I'm a Jack Dempsey fan, but the thing is...I think that the controversy surrounding the Dempsey/Tunney rematch has been blown up to something that it isn't, and whether Dempsey went to the nuetral corner right away or not, I don't think it would've mattered or changed the outcome of the fight. Tunney looked out of it for the first couple of seconds with his legs awkwardly underneath him, but after about six or seven ,after being knocked down, his eyes looked clear enough as he started following the ref's count and I really believe he would've beat the count even if it was a normal count from the very beginning (added to that was the fact that Tunney looked very clear headed right after the knockdown, as he easily evaded Dempsey's immediate charge and made him miss with his footwork & head movement)...

And it's worth noting that Jack Dempsey himself also stated the same thing some time after the fight, as he also believed that Tunney would've risen before ten regardless of when the ref's count started.

[butterfly1964]

And it's worth noting that Jack Dempsey himself also stated the same thing some time after the fight, as he also believed that Tunney would've risen before ten regardless of when the ref's count started.

don't you think it might be becasue he's trying to fool himself into thinking that he didn't mess up his chance of regaining the title?

[Yogi]

don't you think it might be becasue he's trying to fool himself into thinking that he didn't mess up his chance of regaining the title?

I'd strongly doubt that and here's only one mention on how Dempsey handled that situation;

"Dempsey might have been excused a degree of bitterness towards his old rival, since half the world was convinced that he had been robbed of victory when they met a second time in what history came to know as 'The Battle of the Long Count'. Dempsey never shared that view, acknowledging that he had been in breach of the rules by not immediately going to a nuetral corner when Tunney was floored in the seventh round. When the bell sounded at the end of the tenth round, Dempsey immediately acknowledged Tunney's superiority."

That words were written in Harry Mullan's boxing encyclopedia, but I'll try to find some contemporary quotes from Dempsey right after the fight.

[Yogi]

"Jack Dempsey Says He Takes All the Blame For 'Long Count' Furor in Tunney Bout

To Comdr. Jack Dempsey of the Coast Guard only one person was responsible for all the fuss and furor that followed that'long count' incident in his fight to regain the heavyweight championship from Gene Tunney -- and that person was Jack Dempsey." - New York Times, Nov 21st, 1944

[LondonRingRules]

Dempsey never used the long count as an excuse, even admitting that the reason he didn't go to the corner was because he wanted was to kill the SOB. However, when Dempsey was KDed, the ref seemed to waive the rule and picked up a fast count in Dempsey immediately which contrasted the favorable treatment the ref seemed to give Tunney. Dempsey and Tunney became great friends so obviously there was no bitterness.

[Zab06]

And it's worth noting that Jack Dempsey himself also stated the same thing some time after the fight, as he also believed that Tunney would've risen before ten regardless of when the ref's count started.

I'm with you on that one. Tunney was probably taking his sweet old time is all. I hadn't really formed an opinion on the long count, just knew the hard fact.

[leff]

Dempsey also had as many as 100 unrecorded professional fights that are not on his record.


i thought i should just add this, i read it on