Special feature: 10 unforgettable heavyweight rematches

Will the rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua join the most-memorable sequels in history? That’s no easy task.

GENE TUNNEY VS. JACK DEMPSEY II
Date / Location: Sept. 22, 1927 / Chicago
Result of first fight: Tunney UD
Result of rematch: Tunney UD
Background: Tunney, the superior boxer, had no trouble outpointing the once-feared knockout artist to become heavyweight champion in September 1926. Their second meeting – dubbed “The Long Count Fight” – wouldn’t be quite as uneventful. Tunney was winning again after six rounds when, in Round 7, Dempsey put him down with ferocious flurry of punches but Dempsey then made a mistake. He forgot the new rule requiring fighters to go to a neutral corner after a knockdown; instead, he hovered over his wounded prey. The referee got Dempsey to retreat but that process extended the count, allowing Tunney more time to recover. Did he need that time? That debate rages to this day. Tunney won another unanimous decision and Dempsey never fought again.

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