Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-12-07


first time bis story of the '1ong count"
and other angles involved in his battle
against Gene Tunney in Chicago last
September Due to a delay in the
mail, three chapters appear in this
s issue and the fourth and subsequent
chapters will follow in order.
Ever since Gene Tunney and /
fought it cut in Chicago, have heard
it said, or seen it written:
'Dempsey's stupidity in failing to go
stosa neutral corner cost him the cham
pionship."
Il <tJp to this moment have not at
tempted to make any detailed answer
to those comments. I felt that if I
stepped outwand attempted it, without
any reasonable provocation, that it
would be construed as "squawk." But
since Gene. Tunney, under his own
Signature, attempted to justify the
slong count" that Referee Dave Barry
gave hinn-well, / guess it's okay for
me to have my little sayso on the
neutral corner thing and a few other
happenings in that punching festival.
In face of Barry'S attempt to defend
4fis "long count" and in face of Tun-
sney'S long delayed support in Barry'S
behalf, say this:
The actual truth of this much dis
cussed mo neutral corner-no count"
angle, is that it never was mentioned
by Referee Dave Barry, within my
hearing, at any time. Ny first knowl-
edge that there was supposed -ot be
such a rule came after the fight when
Barry used it to explain his failure to
start count over Tunney until the
champion was on the floor six or seven
seconds.
Denies Agreement
Barry has said that it was agreed
between Tunney and myself that the
count over a fallen fighter would not
start until the fighter who was on his
feet had retired to a neutral corner
No such agreement was ever made.
And even if Barry had attempted to
suggest such a procedure, he would
have done so without power, for a
referee has no right to change the
laws Of state or boxing commits
! sion as he may will. A referees job is
to enforce existing rules create
new ones.
I answered the first round bell as
suming we were fighting strictly ac-
cording to the boxing rules of the state
sof Illinois, which, in substance, were
as follows, concerning conduct of all
parties in the event of d knockdowa:
when a fighter is knocked down,
the timekeeper shall Immediately arise
and announce the seconds audibly as
i they elapse The referee shall first
i see that the opponent has retired to
the ifurthe1most corner and then, turn
( ing to the timekeeper, shall pick up
the count in unison with the time
] keeper, announcing the seconds to the
boxer on the floor"
! Calls Barry'S Rule Myth
Tt Will be noted that the rule states
I that after the referee has seen to it
that the fighter who is on his feet has
y retired to the furthermost corner, that
he shall pick up the count of the time
keeper Nowhere in the rules is there
one iota of authority for referee to
null a count that already has started
and then begin new one.
Yet Barry did exactly that in alb
Solute violation of the written rules
governing boxing in Illinois the exact
/ and only rules under which Tunney
and were fighting
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rules to back him up, and without any
amendment offered by himself before
or during the fight, Barry quoted a.
mythical verbal rule of his own after
the fight to justify his conduct in do
ing everything but take a walk around
! the arena before he personally started
his so-called official" count over
Tunney
When Tunney went down in that
sSeventh round, the first thing Barry
did was to yell to me:
Get in your corner"
Ordered To ''My Corner"
2 AS Barry ordered, went to my cor
ner. That's where he told me to go.
He was bossing the job. InaSrnuch
@as he said Get in your corner" as
RSumed that's what he wanted me to-
do. And that is what did without
hesitation. didn't go into my corner
5 to be near my seconds for advice Nor
did I go there SO I'd be close to Tunney
when he got up. went there because
Barry ordered it.
i When I had arrived in my corner,
the ttimekeeper already had started his
count. Barry seemed to be in the at
titude of picking up the count, but
= changed his mind about this, looked at
me, then walked over to my corner,
got hold of my arm and said:
Get into the neutral corner"
That was okay with nle-and went
where Barry told me to go. Then he
went back to where Tunney was slump
ed on the floor. Arriving there he did
not pick up the count Immediately
He turned and took a look at me to
see that was parked in the neutral
corner. That also was okay with me,
for figured that the timekeeper was
tolling off the seconds and that Barry
would pick up the tirnekeeper's count.
I But Barry pulled the strangest trick
lin modern ring history, by cancelling|
the timekeepers count and instead of
picking it up, he began new count
that started with "one."
Bary'S Arm Slow
After Barry had reached the count
of 'nine'' over Tunney, he raised up his
arm, presumably for the stroke of
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