Its close IMO .Foster probably more well known at the weight for been a dominant champ. Having that great KO power. Tunney ,great boxing smarts , solid Chin , just the one loss to Greb .Putting all that together I gotta go Tunney .He puts on a great performance ,out boxing Foster , gritting his teeth when he's caught by cracking punches from his opponent. But at the end of 15 its Gene with his arms raised.
There have been fighters more athletically gifted perhaps, but none exceeded Gene Tunney in boxing brains...and he would have used those brains...and that celebrated ring IQ and discipline to not only survive Foster, but beat him on points IMO.
Its a possible result for any 175pounder facing Foster.However taking into account the 14 rds Finnegan went, the two times Fourie went the distance ,the 15 rds Ray Anderson went .I think Tunney goes the distance and takes the points.
i have no problem with anyone picking tunney here because he was also an all time great and a very clever fighter.but i go with my man foster and his power
Great comments on this one, a true 50/50 fight. with a gun to my head I'd say Tunney ,but Greb thrashing Tunney is food for thought
I've always thought that Foster's jab, timing, range control and sneaky punching would've been a good foil for someone like Tunney even without taking his power into account. He showed against Finnegan that he could play the slow game and break an opponent down with patience if said opponent didn't go away right off the bat, although Chris was no Tunney ib terms of legacy or approach. Fourie was a very skilled pure boxer and it was post-Ali for Foster when he was on the wane imo - he was still able to track him down twice over 15. Only one side of the coin, of course. Tunney was a great fighter, though a tad underwhelming to me on film tbh.
Great post. I think Fosters jab is at times the most underrated aspect of his game - it is one of the finest in history at any weight. I lean toward a Foster decision based on your opening sentence.
Gene Tunney 6'0", 76 inch reach. Bob Foster 6' 3", 79 inch reach. Tunney defeated some good fighters in the "Lthvy" weight area..Greb, Gibbons, Carpentier, and others, plus drew with Tommy Loughran. But the Opponents listed above were Tunney's size or smaller, and similar or less reach. (Even Jack Dempsey, who was 6'1", fought out of crouch, only had a 77" reach, when Dempsey & Tunney fought 2 times both weighing around 190 lbs). So Tunney will be fighting a bigger opponent, with a longer reach, great jab and left hook, and good right hand, plus Bob can throw very powerful left hooks in close (Tiger & MQuarry fights). Going with Foster, trailing on points, TKO's Tunney in the 14th rd (at 175 lbs).