Global InformationThe Long Count Fight information
 The two boxers at Soldier Field on September 22, 1927 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | September 22, 1927 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Soldier Field in Chicago, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | World heavyweight championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Long Count Fight, or the Battle of the Long Count, was a professional boxing 10-round rematch between world heavyweight champion Gene Tunney and former champion Jack Dempsey, which Tunney won in a unanimous decision. It took place on September 22, 1927, at Soldier Field in Chicago. "Long Count" is applied to the fight because, when Tunney was knocked down in the seventh round, the count was delayed due to Dempsey's failure to go to and remain in a neutral corner. Whether this "long count" actually affected the outcome remains a subject of debate.
Just 364 days before, on September 23, 1926, Tunney had beaten Dempsey in ten rounds by unanimous decision to lift the world heavyweight title, at Sesquicentennial Stadium in Philadelphia. The first fight between Tunney and Dempsey had been moved out of Chicago because Dempsey had learned that Al Capone was a big fan of his, and he did not want Capone to be involved in the fight.[citation needed] Capone reportedly bet $50,000 on Dempsey for the rematch, which fueled false rumors of a fix. Dempsey was favored by odds makers in both fights, largely because of public betting which heavily tilted towards Dempsey.
The rematch was held at Chicago's Soldier Field, and would draw a gate of $2,658,660 (equivalent to $46,634,000 in 2023). It was the first $2 million gate in entertainment history.[citation needed] Tunney received a record purse of $990,445.[1]
The match was broadcast by announcers Graham McNamee and Phillips Carlin to more than 60 NBC radio stations.[2]
Despite the fact that Tunney had won the first fight by a wide margin on the scorecards, the prospect of a second bout created tremendous public interest. Dempsey was one of the so-called "big five" sports legends of the 1920s,[citation needed] and it was widely rumored that he had refused to join the military during World War I.[citation needed] He actually had attempted to enlist in the Army, but had been turned down; a jury later exonerated Dempsey of draft evasion. Tunney, who enjoyed literature and the arts, was a former member of the United States Marine Corps. His nickname was "The Fighting Marine".
The fight took place under new rules regarding knockdowns: the fallen fighter would have 10 seconds to rise to his feet under his own power after his opponent had moved to a neutral corner (i.e., one with no trainers). The Dempsey camp requested the new rule, which was not yet universal, be used.[3] Dempsey, in the final days of training prior to the rematch, apparently ignored the setting of the new rule. Also, the fight was staged inside a 20-foot ring,[4] which favored the boxer with superior footwork, in this case Tunney. Dempsey liked to crowd his opponents, and normally fought in a 16-foot ring that offered less space to maneuver.
- ^ Morrison, Ian (1990). The Guiness World Championship Boxing Book. Guiness Publishing Limited. p. 151. ISBN 0 85112 900 5. Retrieved May 3, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Tunney-Dempsey Match Tonight at 10 O'Clock". The Boston Globe. September 22, 1927. p. 22.
- ^ "Jack Dempsey - The Idol of Fistiana by Nat Fleischer". Archived from the original on 2007-03-14.
- ^ "The Time Tunnel: 75th Anniversary of "The Long Count"".