The date is June 27 1988 and Tunney arrives from the past confident that he can school the Dempsey wanna be, after all, he schooled the original. Is Tunney unpleasantly surprised?
Tyson stops Tunney. Tyson is faster and a great combination puncher. He's a swarmer like Dempsey but with better head movement and counter-punching.
Tunney would have to put weight on because he was too small for a heavy in the 80`s, the extra weight would makw him far slower than Tyson plus Dempsey was far easier to hit with the jab than Mike.
Yes I think he would be.Tyson is very quick into range with exceptional hand speed,and,in his prime had good head movement. I think he would overwhelm the Marine at some point and it might be early.
Let's remember he schooled a well past it Dempsey. Although relatively young in yrs he was a rusty well past his peak by then just to be clear. Better head movement is a matter of opinion. I would say Tyson had faster head movement in the early rounds but it was predictable as that was the peek a boo style and could be timed. Guys like Frazier and Dempsey had there own rythem which made it harder to time IMO.
If Tyson comes rushing from his corner, destruction on his mind, this could very well be over in the first round.
Tunney by decision. Tyson might knock him down once or twice, but I see Tunney figuring Tyson out by the mid rounds and cruising to a decision, since Tyson tended to lose steam after the 5th round.
https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/gene-tunney-vs-mike-tyson.546378/ Tyson KOs him, just like a prime Dempsey would have.
If James quick Tillis could have Tyson puffing a bit ,then whos to say a tougher ,more skillfull guy like Tunney couldnt test him ? Not sure i see Tunney beatin 88Tyson ,but maybe not a complete blow out ..
That was a learning experience for mike and before he won the title. Id say him winning a UD over Tucker and stopping Biggs is evidence he can make adjustments with an outside fighter. It would still be a tricky matchup but tunney simply doesnt have the size and durability to keep tyson at range for all 12. I just dont see it happening. Whoever wants to play the jab and move game with prime Tyson better have 1) decent enough power that Tyson respects and wont simply walk through and 2) a good enough chin to survive a few bombs. While its true Tunney had a decent ko% and was never KO'd, im not sure he meets either requirement since much of his career was at light heavy. How he'd handle the punches of a guy most consider a top 10 if not top 5 power puncher in modern 210+ heavy terms is a mystery. And Tyson was no slouch in speed, timing, defense, etc. It's actually a pretty bad matchup other than Tunney's superior foot speed and cageyness/trickeyness. Tunney cant win by ko and he probably wont land enough to win on points convincingly. Depending on the judges, Tyson would win most of the swing rounds on aggression and ring generalship since Tunney would mostly be trying to survive after the first 2-3 rounds where he looks good for a bit peppering Tyson with jabs, flurries, and check hooks to maintain his distance. Best case scenario id say he survives and hears the final bell but is floored at least once or twice in a glorified game of tag. More likely scenario tyson stops him in 6-8 rounds after relentlessly chasing him and landing as many body shots he can then going upstairs and clipping Tunney as he attempts to circle around Tyson along the ropes or in the corner.
Much the same as i see it .But if Tunney had the modern day build of a heavy then a diffrent story imo .