Dempsey-Tunney - Did the neutral corner rule affect the outcome..??

Let's face it before the neutral corner rule you could slap an opponent as he'd barely got off the floor..

Also Tunney got extra seconds whilst Dempsey was manoeuvred away......for his count..

Probably the biggest change...... bar 15 rounds-12 in Boxing ...The neutral corner rule....(giving fallen fighters extra time)

My question is did it have any affect on the outcome...

What helped Dempsey against Willard was gone by Tunney 2......

Surely less seconds of count and less time to get over back at the guy when the count is complete...gives you basically an extra 5/6 seconds overall to finish a dazed opponent...and 5/6 less seconds of respite..

How hurt was Tunney...looked hurt to me!!

Did it affect the outcome...It probably did....

A simple rule change could've changed history forever!!

Possibly.

Dempsey never won a fight wherein he had to go to a neutral corner.

But Tunney looked like he was waiting, may have got up earlier.

The beat your opponent up rule before he is barely off the canvas is in full force for Dempsey Willard

As for Tunney...iv watched it many times with a narrator count and doing my own. Both times when the ref got to the real count of 9 Tunney looked well within his senses and ready to get up if he had to. He just made use of the extra seconds in my opinion

Interesting isn't it...but the time it takes Dempsey to get over after the count and the time it took to start the count...probably talking 5/6 seconds...

Which is a lot......just ask your girlfriend!!

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Interesting isn't it...but the time it takes Dempsey to get over after the count and the time it took to start the count...probably talking 5/6 seconds...

Which is a lot......just ask your girlfriend!!

Dont get that problem thankfully...unless of course you were talking to Scott who as far as im aware has never had a girlfriend...

Can never quite make up my mind on this one, Truss, though if I had to pick one, I'd be slightly more inclined to say that Tunney would have survived the onslaught even without those extra few seconds.

Tunney was definitely hurt and heavily dazed when he went down, I think. I'd say that his head was probably clearing by the time Barry reached 'three', which probably would have been eight without the delay of getting Dempsey to a neutral corner and, you'd think, the time at which Tunney would have got off the canvas. I believe he'd have definitely beaten the count no matter what, however the blitz from Dempsey immediately afterwards would have been harder to get through had Jack not had to rush over from the other side of the ring to begin it.

But what makes me think that Tunney would still have survived is what happened straight after, when Dempsey rushed him looking for the finish. It seems that Tunney was not only cleared in the head but also that the knockdown had taken little from him, as he soon after hit Dempsey with a right to the heart in a clinch, of which Dempsey said in his autobiography, "It was the hardest blow I've ever received. It was not a question in my mind of being knocked out - I thought I was going to die."

Seems to me, then, that Tunney was still the fresher of the two at that point, despite the knockdown. As I say, my gut instinct coupled with that testimony from Dempsey makes me think that Tunney may just have survived regardless, but it still makes for great thought.

I find it odd that when Tunney went down, the ref didn't take up the count until he'd sorted out where Dempsey was. When Dempsey went to his knee the ref started counting immediately.

John Bloody Wayne wrote:I find it odd that when Tunney went down, the ref didn't take up the count until he'd sorted out where Dempsey was. When Dempsey went to his knee the ref started counting immediately.

Think that the style of the two fighters played a part in the refs actions, Dempsey without firm instruction would have waited over Tunney until he came to his feet while Tunney would have immediately started going to the neutral corner. It shouldn't be the case but can understand why it happened.

Did it affect the outcome? Possibly. However, the change in ruling has affected the outcome of a lot of fights - can think of many fights that would have had a different result if the rule wasn't in effect. The issue is heightened in relation to this fight because of the images we've seen in the Dempsey v Willard fight and to a lesser extent in Jack's fight with Firpo.

Could Tunney have withstood the storm if Dempsey was standing over him?

Hard to say, regardless of the lenghth of the count, Tunney looks ready to fight before a proper count of ten from the moment he is floored (even supposing that Jack had sprinted to a neutral corner). Jack didn't hesitate and waded into Tunney once he was up but Gene was able to see out the rest of the round in releative comfort and as Chris mentioned, landed a beauty of a right hand.

On the flip side, Tunney had a few extra seconds to clear his head that he wouldn't otherwise have had if Dempsey was standing over him. Dempsey was an expert finisher and may well have been able to have landed something to finish it right there and then.

In summary - I don't know!!