Gene Tunney vs Tom Heeney

Gene Tunney retained the world heavyweight championship by stopping Tom Heeney in the 11th round of their scheduled 15-round contest at Yankee Stadium, New York, on July 26, 1928. Referee Eddie Forbes intervened at two minutes and 52 seconds with the challenger bleeding, half-blinded and no longer able to defend himself properly. Tunney weighed 192 pounds and Heeney 203. Charles Mathison and Tom Flynn served as judges, although their scorecards were rendered unnecessary by the stoppage. Promoter Tex Rickard reported 43,191 paid admissions, with a further 3,496 complimentary tickets bringing the gathering to nearly 47,000. The promotion nevertheless lost heavily. Tunney was guaranteed $525,000 and Heeney $100,000, while the gross gate of $691,014.50 proved insufficient to meet the purses, stadium rental, taxes and other expenses. Tunney entered as a three-to-one favourite for the second defence of the championship he had taken from Jack Dempsey in 1926 and retained against him in the celebrated return contest at Chicago the following year.

The occasion lacked the intensity which had surrounded Tunney’s two meetings with Dempsey. Jack Dempsey was present at ringside and received the loudest demonstration of the evening when he entered the ring to shake hands with both contestants. Heeney, the rugged New Zealander known as the “Hard Rock from Down Under,” was also warmly received. He came into the ring wearing a traditional M?ori cloak sent by H?ni Materoa, the widow of Sir James Carroll. Heeney had earned his challenge through victories over Jim Maloney, Jim Delaney and Johnny Risko, together with a draw against Jack Sharkey in an elimination contest. His appeal rested upon strength, persistence and a refusal to retreat. Tunney, by contrast, was a measured boxer who relied upon footwork, a straight left, accurate counters and close study of his opponent. Heeney appeared the thicker and more powerful man when the robes were removed, but his shorter arms and looping punches gave Tunney opportunities almost from the opening bell.

Heeney began as expected, moving steadily forward and seeking to force Tunney towards the ropes. In the first round he took a right to the chin but answered immediately, drove the champion into a corner and landed twice to the body. Tunney boxed his way clear with punches to the head, but Heeney continued to press and made the early exchanges competitive. They stood at close quarters for periods, trading to the head and body, and Heeney’s activity obliged Tunney to give ground. The champion’s punches were already straighter and more accurate, however, and a firm right checked Heeney near the end of the round. Tunney assumed greater control in the second. With his back near the ropes, he struck Heeney with a quick series from both hands, opened a cut on the challenger’s lip and drove in a right uppercut. Heeney continued to make the fight and exchanged willingly, but he was being struck too often as he came forward.

Heeney produced his best work in the third round. Tunney opened with a combination to the jaw and followed with a right counter, but Heeney landed a heavy right which staggered the champion and sent him into retreat. A swinging left nearly knocked Tunney from his balance, and another right reached the jaw as Heeney followed him across the ring. Tunney’s footwork carried him away from the immediate danger, and his jab drew blood, but Heeney landed heavily to the body and deserved the round. The challenger continued to attack in the fourth, although Tunney’s counters began to leave more visible damage. A left hook opened a cut beneath Heeney’s chin, while rights to the jaw and body interrupted his advances. Heeney drove Tunney towards the ropes with body punches late in the round, but returned to his corner bleeding from the nose and chin. The difference in accuracy was becoming evident: Heeney often required several broad punches to land one, whereas Tunney scored cleanly through the centre whenever the challenger moved within range.

Tunney worked more deliberately to the body in the fifth. Heeney, still advancing with blood running from his nose, absorbed several punches to the head before answering with rights and left swings. A solid right to the body staggered him, and a further combination sent him briefly to his knees. He rose immediately and resumed his attack, but the champion had again taken the round. The sixth followed the same pattern. Heeney forced Tunney backwards with swings to the ribs and head, yet the champion continued to strike him with short, straight punches while retreating. Heeney’s face was being cut and bruised, and Tunney staggered him near the bell. The seventh was more favourable to the challenger. Tunney scored early to head and body, but Heeney worked through the punches, landed repeatedly in a close exchange and again forced the champion to retreat. His persistence won applause, although the effort required to reach Tunney was steadily draining him.

The fight altered sharply in the eighth round when Tunney’s thumb entered Heeney’s left eye during a jab aimed at the face. Contemporary observers generally treated the incident as accidental. Heeney recoiled and tried to clear the eye with his glove, but his sight was badly affected. Tunney saw what had happened and briefly lowered his hands rather than attack at once, giving the challenger a moment to recover. Heeney soon resumed fighting, but for the first time he was compelled to give ground. Tunney reached him repeatedly with both hands and left him groggy at the bell. The eye continued to trouble Heeney in the ninth, and a cut opened above it as Tunney attacked the body and head. Blood covered much of the challenger’s face, but he remained determined to move forward. Tunney met each advance with straight lefts, rights to the body and short punches on the inside. Heeney still landed occasionally, but his restricted vision prevented him from judging distance and left him increasingly exposed to blows from his left side.

By the tenth, Heeney’s left eye was almost closed, and his face was badly marked. Tunney maintained a controlled attack rather than throwing recklessly. He jabbed to the head, hooked to the chin and drove his right into the body and solar plexus. Heeney refused to retreat and continued trying to reach the champion, but his punches had lost their earlier force. In the final seconds, Tunney landed a right to the jaw which sent him down near the ropes. The bell sounded while Forbes was counting, and confused officials rang it repeatedly as though the contest had ended. Heeney remained unconscious for approximately 28 seconds and was assisted to his corner, where his seconds worked urgently to revive him. Forbes consulted the corner and allowed the challenger to answer the bell for the 11th. Heeney came out unsteadily and again attempted to advance, but Tunney struck him with repeated punches to the head. A left knocked the mouthpiece from Heeney’s bruised mouth, and further lefts and rights left him reeling. Heeney managed one final right to the jaw, but could not protect himself from the reply. Forbes stepped between them eight seconds before the bell, ending a contest which had ceased to be competitive.

Tunney had given a more forceful performance than in either of his championship contests with Dempsey. He had not merely outboxed Heeney from a distance but had beaten him at close quarters, striking repeatedly to the body and gradually taking away the challenger’s strength. Heeney’s third and seventh rounds demonstrated that he could trouble the champion when he reached him, and his resistance was considerable, but his attacks were too wide and his defence too limited against a boxer of Tunney’s precision. The damaged eye hastened the finish, although Tunney had already established a clear advantage and was wearing Heeney down before the accident. The challenger was applauded for continuing under severe punishment, while the champion left the ring without having been placed in sustained danger after the third round. It proved to be Tunney’s final contest. He retired as heavyweight champion, having lost only once in his long career, to Harry Greb, and having completed his title reign with the only stoppage victory recorded in his three world heavyweight championship bouts.