I don't know. I have a book about the heavyweight champions- Liston was the last one covered, to give you an idea of when it was written. The author was of the opinion that Liston had the best heavyweight jab since Tunney.
Tunney because he would make them miss with his feet and and fire his jab and it would frustrate them more, Charles was more flat footed, he wasn't flat footed, but more than Tunney, Charles was a better combination puncher, Tunney had a low left and would fire it from that angle and then he would be out of range, Charles used it to set up other punches, he didn't really try and just outjab opponents
I might give Tunney slight advantage, I think his jab was a bit more versatile with combination of his movement.
Tunney was a greater fighter all around and at ANY weight, I would pick him to defeat Charles. Every time.
He would have picked Charles if Charles had been alive a little longer to campaign for Reagan. Anyway, we need to see more footage of Tunney in top fights before making a reliable decision between him and Charles. Charles outjabbed an ATG jabber in Joe Louis and also outboxed Walcott. Tunney only looks more high-paced from what I've seen; his jabs don't necessarily look more effective just because he throws more of them.
King of Bull****! This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
I have ABSOLUTELY no idea who this poster is (or was), but I love another opponent. Let's get down!!!!!!!!
I go back and forth with these two .. Tunney seemed faster, tougher and had a better defense , likely stronger as well and took a better punch .. better conditioned as well ..both about even on power .. I like the way Charles threw his right better .. sometimes Tunney threw that nasty looking, cartoonish overhand right .. either way two of the all time greatest light heavyweights for sure ..
I went with no discernible advantage here. I think Charles' jab gets underrated, I don't know why. It's very fast and snake like when he flicks out, and he builds his shots off it much better than Tunney did. Both could throw it quickly while moving, and both could clearly control an opponent with it. It's hard to assess speed with the quality footage from Tunney's era, but Charles looks quicker to me although I take it with a grain of salt. I really like how Charles tee'd up Louis with his jab before snapping it out, after using his mummy guard to get Louis' hands out of place. It's technical acumen and set up which I've never seen from Tunney on film. Tunney appears to rely on his jab more, which is his edge IMO. It stands out more. It's got more of an X-factor. It's also almost as good (or equal; or better) at all of things Charles' was good at. It's quick, controlled, authoritative and commanding. Its also just as well thrown and has more of an element of surprise as it comes from the hip. I also like the positioning of his feet to set it up, and how Tunney parries off it on the return. In short, I think both are great (second tier ever in the LHW division) but Charles' is slightly better but doesn't use it as much whereas Tunney uses his more but is slightly worse. So I went with it even.
