It would be a technical masterpiece. I have to think about this one a bit more. Very good call,KuRuPT :good
Joe had the better power and that may make the difference but Gene was experienced and a mover....may be a very technical fight and go to the cards...tough close fight
I fancy Tunney with his mobility would dictate when and where the exchanges take place and for what duration, quick flurries would i think be the order of the day, for sure Jersey Joe would have Gene missing with some flurries, but if Gene keeps them short and not protracted then it would be hard for Joe to Time and Counter him, perhaps Ezzard took another win over Jersey Joe for granted (?) and you can not afford to do that with such an experienced campaigner, i dont think Gene makes that mistake, it might be more often the case that Gene looks like a target, like a fistic mirage, Joe reaches for the Oasis, and finds its not there...and gets countered. in Skills and Wills there might not be much in it but whilst Jersey Joe cruises on the Main Highway Gene has that all terrain mobility, and i think that is the clincher, it stops him getting into trouble...and if he does...it gets him out of trouble... I think the convertible beats the station wagon Gene on Points for me.
And after much thought I reckon he would. Gene's marginally superior speed is neutralised by Joe's ring generalship and edge on power. Very close one though. Maybe 8 - 7 or 8 - 6 - 1 in rounds.
Gene would be the one coming forward behind his multiple jabs. [Think of the later rounds against Tommy Gibbons.] Tunney wasn't the sort of offensive fighter who fell into the kinds of baited traps Joe set. Being a pure boxer, I'd expect Gene to avoid the sort of full on commitment Walcott feasted on countering. Joe would be feinting, deking, shifting and switching to fake Gene into costly mistakes. Tunney would rarely fall for these [having seen plenty of it during his era]. When Gene did get caught, he'd quickly recover to resume his favored pattern of offensive stabbing. This would be a tedious and deliberate match of wits, strategy and tactics. At the end of the day, I believe Tunney's sheer volume of jab initiated aggression takes him to a 15 round UD. Boxing defensively wouldn't work against him, and he competed far more frequently on the front foot than JJW. [We really only see Walcott do this consistently against Ten Hoff.]
I really want to pick Walcott but my gut tells me Tunney by decision. Walcott punched harder and was a slick fighter at times but he also took more chances. Tunney wasn't a big puncher but he was strong and had enough power to earn the respect of his opponent. Tunney could handle Walcott's power and his quickness IMO. Tunney by close decision.
You dont' see Tunney coming at JJW playing right into his hands? Isn't that when he was at his best in your opinion? Thing is, I actually see JJW coming forward thinking he's the bigger stronger fighter and pressing the action. Not sure if that is his best strat but I can see how doing that thinking Tunney isn't big enough for him and he can overpower him and get him out of there. Question then is, if JJW is pressing the action... how does tunney fair in that scenerio?
Here's the thing, I don't think this would be a "technical master-class" at all. I think there would be loads of baiting and feinting but i think exchanges, chances to hit, would be messy, flashy, "get over" type punches, i don't think they would be technically correct at all. The faster fighter would win i think, narrowly.
A very bad fight for JJW...Tunney was fast, had an iron chin...didn't fall for cute ****..and would have stuck to the script and battered Joe with jabs and straight rights...not of the knockout variety, but it would have been a consistantly punishing, unremitting sort of attack. Yes Walcott could hit harder, but what would have been the use? Tunney wouldn't have let himself get caught.
Close close contest, Walcott's slipping and countering with his lateral movement takes Tunney's jab away somewhat. Tunney looks to lead with the jab and may get countered a fair bit with those pinpoint powerful counters. If the traps and counter punching worked against Charles, Louis and Marciano, they'd work against Tunney. Tunney didn't do quite as well against the better defensive skilled boxers in Loughran and Greb. I think the defense and counter punching sees Tunney's output drop. Walcott stylistically is a counter puncher, I don't see him looking to walk Tunney down, he didn't do that against Charles.
No, not when Tunney's jab would be his primary offensive weapon. Oh, that was absolutely the case, probably more so for him than any other HW champion, but the speed of Gene's multiple jabs would present a different kind of offensive problem for Joe. Walcott was certainly a bigger stronger fighter than Charles, and that question would necessitate a review of Jersey-Ezzard footage to see how Walcott actually did deal with that situation. [Tunney was slightly larger than Ezz, for whatever that's worth. I always consider the 192 pound Gene of the Heeney swan song in these matches.] If Joe did press, Gene was certainly more than comfortable in those circumstances, more than JJW likely would have been in coming forward. [We saw Tunney apply his reverse gear in the opening stages of Tommy Gibbons, and in most other extant footage.] Good thread. Good discussion. A rational case can be thoughtfully made in either man's favor. For me, Gene's high speed combined with low risk execution makes the difference. He's just not going to commit to fight changing mistakes enough for Joe to capitalize as needed to win.
