Gene Tunney & James J Corbett Sparring Film, New York 1925
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- References have been made over the years to a legendary sparring session between Heavyweight Champion to be Gene Tunney and former champ James J. Corbett, prior to Tunney's first fight with Jack Dempsey. A film was made of the meeting, but has not been seen for decades. Several years ago and a film archivist discovered an abridged version of this movie on 9mm film, a small but format high quality format in the 1920s. The Tunney-Corbett film was transferred to video for preservation.
See more historic film from the archive: fightfilmcollec...
The Meeting
According to published accounts, Jim Corbett was in Chicago for the Tunny-Risko fight of November 1925 and surprised Tunney in his dressing room after the fight. Grantlin Rice arranged for the two to meet again in New York a month later to be part of his Sportlight movie series. On the roof of the Putnam Building in New York's Times Square, Tunney and Corbett sparred for the cameras, and the two staged Corbett's demonstration classic boxing technique in slow motion. Two very brief shots of Jack Dempsey sparring at what appears to be an informal outdoor gathering are also shown.
The Film
Historically, this is perhaps the best documented meeting between pioneers of both vintage and modern boxing styles. Corbett is 59 years old and appears very fit, but I was most impressed with the fact that Corbett was taller than Tunney, and would have been even bigger in his prime. Eight months after this film was made, Tunney went on to win the Heavyweight Championship from Jack Dempsey in Philadelphia.
I obtained what turned out to be a low resolution copy of this film. Still, I made some adjustments to the exposure and image stabilization to make it as clear as possible. I'll be sure to post an update if a better copy becomes available. Enjoy this rare gem of vintage boxing.
How impressive is Corbett at 63 yrs young !. Tunney said he was so impressed he called Corbett better than Benny Leonard. Nat Fleischer stated Corbett was the fastest HW he ever witnessed, including Ali. Great upload.
59 yrs
This is a rare gem. Tunney and Corbett 2 of the greatest defensive specialists of all time. Corbett had not fought at this time for 20 years. Wow.
Thanks for this awesome video. I can't believe how well Gentleman Jim could still move in 1925 and he displays great reach and creativity. What a golden era. Men boxed for the pure love of it and had so much respect for eachother. These guys didn't train cause they had to. They trained cause they loved the game
1880'S vs 1920's style contrast! Very interesting. Corbett was must of have been one smooth and slick and fast boxer in his prime. I read about this sparring session years ago. Had no idea it had been filmed.
Corbett was slick. see how he locked tunney's left arm, and hit to the body and head a couple times! thanks for the blast from the past. love history.
Jon Jones used that same technique on Glover Texiera, except that Jones' intention was not to tie up GT's right arm but to damage it so that it became painful to use it. Nice little inside crank to pressure the shoulder and render GT's #1 weapon (right hand) inoperative.
Any yeah you're right...Corbett was a slick stylist. Was described as being 'cat-like' in his heyday.
hi Scott, boxing sure was different back then. I think Corbett was about 180 to 190lbs at the most. I wonder if he was too small for the heavyweights of the seventies and today?
jimmyd10100
A whole lot is different, not just the size of heavyweights. Ring size, glove size (not to mention what the gloves were made of; horse hair was even used into the 1960s for world title fights). Number of rounds... the floor/canvas changed. And even more stuff.
Some of the modern changes to boxing rules and gear would FAVOUR Corbett, even if he fought against heavyweights who outweighed him. For example, how hard would it be to stop Corbett within 12 rounds?! Few fighters at 180+ pounds in the history of boxing, EVER, could hope to outpoint him over 12 rounds. Hell, 15 rounds. A small ring? Some huge, powerful, athletic, and skilled heavyweight would have better chances at catching him in a small ring. How would Corbett stand up to, say, a couple of perfect uppercuts from Tyson who got his treetrunk legs into the punches? Corbett could well be KO'd by the big modern athletes in the heavyweight division. But he could also outpoint and avoid them for quite a while.
Corbett's interesting to talk about with modern heavyweights because the changes in equipment, ring sizes, round numbers, and so on, would actually work in his favour more than most other great heavyweights of his day (ie. contender for greatest heavyweight of all time, Jim Jeffries, who benefited from unlimited fights, or 25+ rounds, smaller gloves, and so on). Another interesting thought is... how many CRUISERWEIGHTS could handle Corbett within 12 rounds? I think using the modern designation of "Cruiserweight", Corbett is surely within the top 10 of all time. And he's in great company, because other so-called heavyweights would be in there with him: Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Gene Tunney, Rocky Marciano, John L. Sullivan, Peter Jackson, Bob Fitzsimmons, Tom Sharkey... all who were at their best below the modern 200 pound Heavyweight limit!!! What a Cruiserweight lineup that list would make for a fantasy tournament!
great comments. I agree with that. I have huge boxing collection and have studied all the fighters, styles, personality, the times they lived in also. I love he history. trivia. did you know most heavyweight champions first names started with the letter "J"? I will name some. John L. Sullivan, James J Corbett, Jack Johnson, James J. Jeffries, Jack Dempsey, Jack sharkey, Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, James Braddock, Jem Mace, Jess Willard, James Buster douglas, Joe Frazier, Jimmy ellis, and other old timers. I find that interesting? jim.
Two Heavyweight Greats from different time periods. Gentleman Jim Corbett at 63, still retained some of his moves and punches that made him the Heavyweight Champ in the 1890's. Gene was one year shy of winning the Heavyweight Championship from Jack Dempsey in 1926. One of the greatest pure boxing greats of all time with another great, Jim Corbett, doing some light sparring. What a treasure this video is! This is not many videos of Jim Corbett available because of no video hardware developed, except the giant monstrosities of 1890's time. His fight with Fitzsimmons was one of the first-evers in recorded boxing video. Thanks so much for this historical boxing footage. Rare and so needed for the student of boxing history.
Wonderful stuff. Tunney beating Dempsey must have reminded Corbett of when he beat Sullivan.
Some of the early pro fighters, like Corbett and Jess Willard,
used exaggerated hand movements as feints before throwing punches.
By the 1920s, that technique disappeared.
Most feints were now delivered with shoulder movements,
as pioneered by the likes of Gene Tunney and Tommy Loughran,
the method still used today.
it didnt dissappear in the 1920s and the shoulder movements are not strong enuff to warrant an opponent to lead ,the hand movements were more effective!
Very impressed with Corbett's physical condition at that stage in his life. Interesting how low he holds his hands like Ali and Jack Johnson and relies on his reflexes to keep him out of trouble, whereas as other classic boxers like Tunney and Conn held their hands high in the traditional defensive position.
Actually it was distance that kept him safe...In those days fighting distance was sword length, attacks and defence had a starting point from a greater distance and the set up included feints and fast feet coming in. Corbett looks silly to our way of thinking because of the difference in fighting distance. Tunney used techniques from both epoches. Watching him against Dempsey one can see how Corbett would have expressed certain techniques.
@@dsimon33871 maybe the distance stemmed from the no-glove (then smaller glove) era and how easy it was to get cut from simple jabs.
A truly great find; it is regrettable that none exists of peter jackson.
Imagine the match of Corbett vs, Jackson being preserved for the study of boxing. These were two great boxers. Jackson should have had a shot at the title. Corbett had to meet Jackson in order to ensure a title shot at Sullivan. From the sources, apparently Corbett got the better of it but it was determined to be a draw after 61 rounds.
amazing seeing some gentleman Jim's technique especially man coming from bare knuckle era to gloved
1:23, where Jim threads his arm under Tunney’s left then up to grasp Tunney’s right arm, to lock him up, then puts Tunney off balance by bumping Tunney’s center with his shoulder, then using the space to punch with his right hand, reminds me of Filipino arts. Wouldn’t ya know it, a lot of techniques from boxing without gloves (unlimited clinch time, and less restrictions on where and how you could hold, and more) are similar to many techniques from traditional arts.
Thanks in behalf of all the "Gentleman Jim" fans for posting this treasure,,,,,
Thank you Corbett was a revelation, and tunny was great as well
thanks for posting this
Thanks-A real treasure.I like Corbetts feinting.
Thanks for posting this gem.
Wonderful boxing by Corbett & Tunney. This film is a cool learning tool to learn great pointers in the noble art of self-defense.
Great stuff. Really see the evolution towards the modern style in Tunney. Great example of the contrast between the eras. Corbett had that old stance - weight on the back foot, both hands rolling at the left hip, like Johnson. Tunney could probably compete at 180 today, no problem.
Two smart, elegant boxers. These champions had interesting life stories, too.
Corbett was the first Heavyweight champ exclusively under Marquis of Queensbury rules. John L. Sullivan was champion under both London Prize Ring and Queensbury rules.
Great history a rare gem thanks for posting this
Corbett must have been so very slick and fast in his prime.
Thanks for the video, RIGHTFILMGUY
Love this! That Corbett was something else! I like when they did the reenactment.. hysterical. Corbett looks smooth when they spar.. though a bit winded afterward.. which is to be expected. This was outstanding.
DAMN!! I can't believe he was 63 here!! From the 2:40 to 3:05 range of the video he looks similar to Ali in movement. I have a newfound respect for Bob Fitzsimmons for being able to hang with this guy in his prime.
Thanks for posting .
Masterpiece
Look how skillfull Gene Tunney was. He moved a bit similar to how Muhammad Ali moved years later.
Watch Corbett in that 40 sec video and then watch Tyson fury
Corbett was really skilled. Father of modern day scientific fighting.
Skilled? hahaha. What he showed was far closer to the broughton rules than queenbury rules. Nothing like modern day professionals.
these guys fought John L Sullivan fought 75 round fight those where tuff guys despite style
Corbett only got that title because black fighters, who were far better than him, were over looked.
Plus Corbett was a racist scumbag punk lol
During Corbett's rise to the title who might that be? He did fighter the bigger more experienced Peter Jackson on his way up the rankings and held the heavy favorite to a 61 round draw? So who are your referring to? There was not black fighter ranked higher than Peter Jackson in the 1890's. Who?
don't you know, sir, that since he called him a racist that the argument is over and he has won? You should learn that. That way, you won't again waste an effort at trying to inject facts and logic into a debate.
Tunney, one of the best that ever was. Lacked punching power, but made up with by skill.
Harry greb beat em, only man to ever beat em, greb also beat 32 other world champions crazy numbers before his title shot he died, 29 years old on his prime, also blind in one damn eye
He was actually very strong and had an iron jaw. Greb beat the crap out of him in their first fight and he wasn't stopped and never went down. In the three fights he beat Greb, he fought at close range, attacking the body. In their fifth and final meeting, Tunney dismantled Greb with a punishing close range strategy.
@Blake Pariseau He went down ONE time from a hard combination from a fighter known for power. That was his one and only knockdown in his entire career. If you think that constitutes a "glass" jaw, you're clueless.
@@Nuvendil i don't think that guy knows his history too well lol, if i remember correctly Tunney also knocked Dempsey down in that fight.
@Blake Pariseau Tunney also knocked Dempsey down in that fight and won almost every single round in both fights aside from losing only 1 round, Tunney was the superior boxer.
It's like the old world war 2 close combat training films.
I knew Tunney was excellent and slick. But this showed what Corbett must have been like in his prime. Must have been very talented.
Thanks for this gem of archived boxing by the brilliant masters of early scientific boxing. Tunney had great intelligence to let himself be taught by Gentleman Jim Corbett, especially about the solar plexus which came in handy against Dempsey and was the same punch that Bob Fitzsimmons defeated Corbett with. Fitzsimmons was taught it by Jem Mace, the first ever World champion, who called it “the secret punch”.
Удивительно, как сохранилось видео того времени
Epic boxer.
The lost art of the feint. You seldom see it today. Fighters used to go round after round trying to feint an opponent out of position, looking for the perfect opportunity to throw a punch. We may have progressed in physical conditioning. But I don't think much progress has been made in technique, if any.
2 unbelievable IRISH blooded warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tunney and Corbett wow!!!!!! Tommy laughran too!!!! Along with sharkey,Dempsey,monaghan, john l Sullivan,I could literally go on and on.....billy conn lol etc etc etc lol haha wow those Irish blooded boxers from the little Ireland parts of New York,Philly,Boston northeast could box!!!!!
that move at 1:23 i kept replaying to try and learn it
Corbett hadn't fought in 20 years by the time of this film so it's not entirely fair to judge by. Lots of his techniques look like they'd get him in trouble today. Corbett was familiar with the concept of telegraphed punches in his era, but by modern standards, it looks like he telegraphs all his punches. Lot of the punches look thrown from the arm too. Anyway
I'm not gonna lie, but yea the way he punches is a little iffy looking at times. He makes up for it with his feinting and footwork though. Even by today's standards I would say that's impressive. Look at 2:40 to 3:05, the guy could move!! That arm trap move that he did was very clever too!
GR doesn't have a clue.
History of boxing.
Corbett apparently didn’t get hit to much in his career, he is in incredible condition 30 years after winning the Championship.
He has to be at least in his 50’s in the film
He did pickup a jab somewhere along the line .
Corbett was actually closer to 60 at this time. What surprised me most is that he's actually quite a large framed man. He's significantly bigger than Tunney.
The copyright is given as 1924. So, why does it say this is from 1925?
Money has inflation. One dollar back then can't buy you as much gold, land, shoes or anything as it can now [unless it didn't exist then of course].
$1 million was almost $14 million in 1923. In that time promoters took most of the cash.
Had these two met in their primes I believe Tunney would have emerged as the victor by decision. If anyone has the opportunity to watch the Tunney-Dempsey rematch (Long Count) they will see that a young Cassius Clay's style was the mirror image of Tunney's.
well..i mean they did make money....tunney was the first guy to make a million for a fight (actually a bit less)
I've gone fists with both, Tunney and Corbett. I'm 156-years-old. Wanna box?
Since you met both, who in your opinion would have emerged victorious in a bout between the two classic boxers in their primes?
That's possibly the worst demonstration of an uppercut ever captured on film.
Lol. Is that what that is? I didn't even recognize it until I saw your comment xD
They are demonstrations of particular scenes from the fight each man had, not techniques.
Koos Delarey Your comment contradicts itself. It was a demonstration spar, those laughably sloppy punches are what Corbett uses. From a technical perspective there is so much wrong going on. His foot placement is totally incorrect limiting the power he can generate, hand positioning is completely wrong with a pronated hand position being used instead of supinated for the uppercut. The delivery of the punches are so telegraphed he's always open to being countered. This vid is a showcase of how far boxing has come. You would never see any pro today use such poor technique.
are you South African koos?
it's an unusual, deliberately unorthodox version he is, at age 59, on jittery film, trying to demonstrate. he is also doing it in slow mode so as not to strike opponent while showing how to do it.
I'm sure Jim Corbett was a very tough hombre in his day but here he looks like a kid from the Boys Club could clean his clock.
Tyson fury boxes to imitate him and Tunney so...
@@dantedlane2 Really. I did not know that. Corbett came along at the dawn of the sport of boxing and he looks, like at lot of boxers of that era , very rudimentary. I guess as a consequence of that I should look upon him as more of a pioneer as opposed to a polished, finished boxer like we see today. I'll give him kudos upon your recommendation. Okay ?
@@joej2435 Corbett is extremely past his prime in this film, hadn't fought in decades. Also very clearly out of shape. Plus, he was mainly giving some instruction to Tunney on how to fight and move. Corbett in his heyday was extremely flexible and very tricky. He actually does have a lot in common with Tyson Fury: hands often low, herky-jerk movement, lots of upper body movement. Very light on his feet with a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
@@joej2435 👈👺
Run your comments by ME, pal.
I'll let you know what's 'okay'...
@@TheBatugan77 Oh another fool that wants to challenge me (and lose). What's your beef goofy. Huh ! You got something to say ??
Boxers of yesterday had very little defense skills!
You can never overlook the fact that the old fighters, especially from this era, are the ones that created the basis for the sport of fighting today. Sullivan, Corbett, Johnson, Dempsey, Tunney, Louis, Marciano, etc. - they are the "inventors" of every technique that followed. Before Mike Tyson was great, he studied films of all these fighters, and he learned so much. When Tyson stopped studying, and training accordingly, he became beatable, and a loser.
Gene Tunney had great defensive skills. He was down only once in his entire career. Not sure how you can say that based on this video which was made only for demonstration purposes. Tunney is slipping punches very skillfully.
Corbett and Tunney were defensive specialists. But they emphasized slipping and bobbing ans weaving, not excessive guarding.
RUclips posters like A Millana have very litttle comprehenion of any topic they makes fools of themselves on.
Gene Tunney was a great boxer/champion for his time. James Corbett looks like an 8 y.o. kid just learning to box in the living room. Cannot believe this guy was a champion with such poor technique. At 66 y.0. with no boxing experience I can throw better punches/combinations than this palooka could. So sad. A disgrace to the sport.
Hey Fitzy. How many beers have you had tonight ???? You sound like a drunken moron !!!!
Don't get me wrong, Fitzy, I was not saying that Corbett wasn't a tough guy back in his day. He surely was. His technique as it appears on old films (which is all we have to go by) is very lacking. He didn't appear to have any sense of balance. No timing. Looked very awkward when delivering a punch. Didn't throw combinations. Threw just one punch at a time and telegraphed it before he threw it. He simply looked to have had bad technique all around. I predict that he would have gotten waxed by every legitimate heavyweight champion starting from Jack Johnson up to and including Wladimir Klitschko.
If your boxing technique is as bad as Corbett's was I wouldn't advise starting a conversation by calling someone that you don't know "a prick".Could be hazardous to your health Fitz.
Joe J hazardous to who's health you spastic do something about it 😈
Talk to me about proper technique? Technically what's wald klitchkos main weakness as a fighter? What was Jack Dempseys greatest strength as a fighter and name me all marcianos strengths as a fighter all his strengths? 3 simple questions diaper boy lets see how long you last? I'll teach you A boxing lesson you will never forget. Come on fool don't shy away now easy questions right?
Fitzy your questions are too easy. I can answer them right off the top of my head. No need to look anything up. Klitchkos main weakness is his glass chin. Dempsey had the greatest left hook in the history of the heavyweights (yes that includes Joe Frazier). I actually met and spoke with Mr Dempsey. Marciano's strengths as a fighter were: Number one his superb conditioning (this by his own admission). His crouching defensive stance made him difficult for a taller opponent to land punches on him. His hard punches when he got set to throw them. Great right hand and a good left hook. And probably Marciano's most important strength was his indomitable will, he didn't know the meaning of the word quit.
I get he feeling that you would not allow us to have a rational discussion if we were together in person. That's sad because I enjoy the subject of boxing. Get the feeling that I'd have to shut your fresh mouth with my own repertoire of punches. Wouldn't be hard Fitzy. Guys like you with a big mouths are only good at talking not fighting. I've given many Bozos like you many fat lips and broken noses. Have another beer so you can keep feeling big tough guy..
Why did Joe Frazier have so much success against Ali. We know its the styles but why all the reasons I'm waiting . I'm going to expose you for the fool you are. What other boxers did you meet by the way? Did you meet to president too? You meet jack Dempsey ? Jesus Christ how old are you bro? The man died in 1983 you must be a old man lol!
Corbett looks like a rough tough customer. Wish he came along twenty years after he did. Would have been a respectable challenger to both Sam Langford and/or Jack Johnson.