"The Long Count" Controversy
"The Long Count" controversy occurred during the second meeting of Dempsey and Tunney. It was the 7th round and Dempsey was clearly on the losing side when Dempsey knocked Tunney to the ground. Due to a new rule established that year, Dempsey had to immediately go to a neutral corner where he waited for the count to ten to announce the KO. The problem was that Dempsey had forgotten this rule and the referee didn't start his count until well after Tunney was on the ground. The official count was 14 seconds. This meant that it should've counted as a KO. However, due to the new rule in place, the referee had to delay his count and only got to 9 seconds, and Tunney got up. This was debated for months and years after.
Loaded Gloves Scandal
1919, it was Jack Dempsey vs Jess Willard. This was Dempsey's first heavyweight title fight.
The fight ended in favor of Dempsey by forfeit as Willard said he was fighting for his life. Dempsey even came out to say that he had "never handed out more punishment to anyone and have him come right back for more as Willard did today". Talks from Willard and his staff aroused as they believed Dempsey had loaded his gloves with a concrete electrical tape. Dempsey immediately came forward to deny the accusations and there is still ongoing speculation on the topic to this day.
The fight ended in favor of Dempsey by forfeit as Willard said he was fighting for his life. Dempsey even came out to say that he had "never handed out more punishment to anyone and have him come right back for more as Willard did today". Talks from Willard and his staff aroused as they believed Dempsey had loaded his gloves with a concrete electrical tape. Dempsey immediately came forward to deny the accusations and there is still ongoing speculation on the topic to this day.