Ranking the 10 Most Iconic Bouts in Boxing History | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Few champions in history have known the kind of adulation Jack Dempsey enjoyed. The Manassa Mauler won the heavyweight belt from the Jess Willard in 1919, a giant of more than 6'6 ½", who Dempsey dropped seven times in the first round. 

That title win by Dempsey launched the first "Golden Age" of the sport. Dempsey was rivaled only by Babe Ruth in terms of mainstream popularity during the 1920s.

His 1921 knockout of the French World War I hero Georges Carpentier was boxing's first million-dollar gate, as more than 90,000 fans paid their way into Boyle's Thirty Acres in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was also history's first coast-to-coast radio broadcast. 

For Dempsey's 1923 battle with Luis Angel Firpo, 85,000 fans crowded into the old Polo Grounds in New York City, with 20,000 more turned away. Dempsey was knocked down twice, once clear out of the ring. He dropped Firpo nine times in return, putting him down for good less than a minute into Round 2.  

Known as The Fighting Marine, Gene Tunney was a tough but highly scientific fighter. It shocked the world when Tunney was able to use his superb jab and lateral movement to unseat Dempsey in 1926. 

For seven rounds, their 1927 rematch went mostly the same way. But then, Dempsey finally caught up to Tunney, dropping the champion to the canvas. 

Dempsey continued to loom over the downed Tunney, in violation of a newly instituted rule requiring a fighter to retire to a neutral corner when his opponent went down. The referee delayed the count as a result.

There is no question that Tunney was down for longer than 10 seconds. At the same time, in the existing footage, Tunney does seem to be following the referee's count, indicating he probably could have risen more quickly if necessary.