[Luf]

Who would win this fantasy fight between the two men on their best night?

I had always previously believed Dempsey would get the job done but my recent admiration of tunney leads me to now think otherwise. I currently have Tunney 15th in my HW list with Demspey one slot behind him.

I don't think Dempsey ever faced anyone as good as Tunney (although Gibbons isn't far off) and of course the version of Dempsey that Tunney beat was slightly removed from his peak.

I'm picking Tunney to keep Dempsey away with his jab and matching him on the inside for the few occasions when Dempsey works his way inside. I pick Tunney UD 15.

thoughts?

 

[DonBoxer]

Tunney UD.

 

[Luf]

Tunney UD.

agreed mate :good

 

[DonBoxer]

agreed mate :good

So many people talk as if Tunney needs to stay away to win because Demspey is stronger, i would say over the two fights Tunney came off better in more of the clinches and tussles than Dempsey did. I just cant see any way in which Dempsey takes this one.

 

[Boogle McDougal]

Didn't Tunney spend his career building to the inevitable moment when he would fight Dempsey? When he finally got that moment it was against a faded version. He still came close to getting knocked out. A prime Dempsey very well could have got to him sooner and finished the job. On the other hand, it's hard to argue against a guy who outboxed Jack in almost every round of their two fights...

 

[DonBoxer]

Didn't Tunney spend his career building to the inevitable moment when he would fight Dempsey? When he finally got that moment it was against a faded version. He still came close to getting knocked out. A prime Dempsey very well could have got to him sooner and finished the job. On the other hand, it's hard to argue against a guy who outboxed Jack in almost every round of their two fights...

Not just out boxed, but outfought, there is nothing for Dempsey to do.

 

[Boogle McDougal]

Not just out boxed, but outfought, there is nothing for Dempsey to do.

Suppose he punched him in the face more, and with greater vigor?

 

[Luf]

I think Tunney is just on another skill level to jack.

Jack has a puncher's chance but that's about it.

 

[Yiddle]

a prime dempsey would of been quicker on his feet than the dempsey that tunney actually mixed it with . I am not saying it is anything other than quite possibly the hardest fight of dempey's career but i think dempsey would win

 

[Teeto]

DonBoxer us right on Tunney, he is one of the most rugged light heavies of all time, very rugged, watch his smashing the shit out of past prime Carpentier. On this fight, I'm giving my nod to Tunney too, the fights weren't close, so I'm not going to apply the 'the fight was close so I reckon if the fighter that lost was in his prime he would win' logic

 

[Vano-irons]

DonBoxer us right on Tunney, he is one of the most rugged light heavies of all time, very rugged, watch his smashing the shit out of past prime Carpentier. On this fight, I'm giving my nod to Tunney too, the fights weren't close, so I'm not going to apply the 'the fight was close so I reckon if the fighter that lost was in his prime he would win' logic

I agree with this. Tunney pretty much dominated 19 of the 20 rounds between the two. A prime Dempsey would obviously have been quicker which would have posed Gene more problems. But that would only make the fight closer rather than turning it on its head.

Tunney UD. Again

 

[Teeto]

I agree with this. Tunney pretty much dominated 19 of the 20 rounds between the two. A prime Dempsey would obviously have been quicker which would have posed Gene more problems. But that would only make the fight closer rather than turning it on its head.

Tunney UD. Again

:good

 

[Luf]

With Tunney I get the sense he was just on a different skill level to Jack. like @Teeto says, the fights weren't really close enough to imply a better version of jack would have won.

 

[Yiddle]

not to sure about that, a Willard fight version of Dempsey would of been a sufficiently different proposition to the Dempsey coming off a three year lay-off. Dempsey would certainly of closed distance faster on tunney .

 

[Luf]

not to sure about that, a Willard fight version of Dempsey would of been a sufficiently different proposition to the Dempsey coming off a three year lay-off. Dempsey would certainly of closed distance faster on tunney .

yeah he'd have been more competitive, but I see nothing to suggest Dempsey would have beaten Tunney within their two careers.

 

[Yiddle]

i guess i am in the minority but i would bet heavy on Dempsey

 

[DonBoxer]

not to sure about that, a Willard fight version of Dempsey would of been a sufficiently different proposition to the Dempsey coming off a three year lay-off. Dempsey would certainly of closed distance faster on tunney .

Greb struggled to close distance on Tunney in all of their fights, i dont see why Dempsey would succeed.

 

[Yiddle]

i think tunney's management got benny leonard to talk to tunney to persuade him to wait a little longer than he really wanted to. before rematching greb as they felt the longer the better for tunney. i will check this out

 

[rockyssplitnose]

The prime 1918 or 1919 version of Dempsey was the guy who inspired the first half century of his legend as a man-killer and the best fighter - not just the best heavyweight (!) of all time - hands down - that whirlwind was a COMPLETELY different fighter than the one who 9 years later (3 of which were spent effectively in retirement creaked after Tunney for 10 rounds - the comparison is like night and day?? Basing anything on the Dempsey that faced Tunney is like comparing the Ali who lost to Leon Spinks with the real Ali who danced like Fred Astaire. Against Cleveland Williams!!?? Totally TOTALLY different - Dempsey the real Dempsey was on a different level to Tunney - I' d hazard a guess that a young Georges Carpentier would push Gene to the wire - Dempsey would finish Tunney - Gene got lucky facing that version of Dempsey the young tiger who obliterated Levinsky/GunboatFulton/Morris/Willard etc etc would've decimated Tunney like he did everyone else

 

[Burt Brooks]

The prime 1918 or 1919 version of Dempsey was the guy who inspired the first half century of his legend as a man-killer and the best fighter - not just the best heavyweight (!) of all time - hands down - that whirlwind was a COMPLETELY different fighter than the one who 9 years later (3 of which were spent effectively in retirement creaked after Tunney for 10 rounds - the comparison is like night and day?? Basing anything on the Dempsey that faced Tunney is like comparing the Ali who lost to Leon Spinks with the real Ali who danced like Fred Astaire. Against Cleveland Williams!!?? Totally TOTALLY different - Dempsey the real Dempsey was on a different level to Tunney - I' d hazard a guess that a young Georges Carpentier would push Gene to the wire - Dempsey would finish Tunney - Gene got lucky facing that version of Dempsey the young tiger who obliterated Levinsky/GunboatFulton/Morris/Willard etc etc would've decimated Tunney like he did everyone else

Welcome aboard rocky...
I agree with you 100%...I always have felt that how 2 fighters should be rated decades later, should be based on what their contemporaries
thought of their respective abilities...After all the boxing fraternity SAW them at their bests...In this regard the vast boxing writers, trainers and boxers of the prime Dempsey era[ 1918-23 era ] felt that Dempsey before his 3 year layoff would have caught up to Tunney, and most likely kod
Gene...Yes Tommy gibbons lasted 15 rounds with Jack Dempsey in 1923, but Gibbons was easily in the same league with Gene tunney in his boxing
ability...And Dempsey won by a huge margin over the defensive minded Gibbons...
The Jack Dempsey of the Tunney fights, was just a slow shell of himself...As we know Dempsey foolishly took the Tunney bout in 1926, after not fighting for THREE YEARS, without ONE tune-up bout, without his mentor Jack Kearns, and depressed about his close brother Bernie, who
just murdered his wife and then commited suicide...Dempsey at this stage was described as a "defanged tiger", compared to his
prime days...And yet he still probably kod Tunney in 1927 with a seven punch barrage in the 7th round, when tunney had the benefit of a
15-17 second "long count", whilst Dempsey was directed to a neutral corner before referee Barry started , the one count...
So , factoring all this, i agree with the boxing people of those days that Dempsey with his great speed beats Gene Tunney, both in their primes...