Gene Tunney vs Max Schmeling

Tunney wins this ,
Max was outboxed by Sharkey and Tunney was superior to Sharkey,imo.

 

Sharkey got the better of Schmeling in the first fight but over the longer second one he did not. Most people think Schmeling actually won that one. And imo Sharkey at his best was better than Tunney.

 

On his best form Sharkey could run Tunney close ,but his best form was very elusive.

Dropping decisions to Weinert twice [kod in4rds by Tunney].
Losing to Risko ,[beaten by Tunney].
Drawing with Heeney,[played with by Tunney].
Being kod by Rojas.
Dropping a dec to Loughran ,[beaten by Tunney].
Imo, Schmeling cannot outbox Tunney, neither is he likely to stop him .
Tunney is a better fighter than Schmeling imo and takes a u dec here.

 

Sharkey looked horrible against Schmeling in the second fight to be honest, he was far from his best form. Schmeling could punch fast in single shots with the right hand but Tunney was more of a combination puncher. I think Schmeling's best chance is to actually stop Tunney or atleast hurt him badly with counter right hands over Tunney's low left (see Dempsey-Tunney II). However he'll find it more difficult to land on Tunney than against the more stationary Joe Louis.

 

I think it´s closer than you think but then I don´t think as highly of Tunney as many on here.

 

Thats a reasonable position to take , as Tunney does not have an extensive track record at heavy. I think he would be too mobile for Max ,who liked to set himself and counter.

 

Yep, Schmeling was a counterpuncher first but he also showed he could pressure his opponent when he had to, like in the second Sharkey fight. Tunney would still have a style advantage, I wrote that in my first post in this thread, but I think Schmeling could wobble him, make him more cautious, make his workrate drop just enough to eek out a decision.

Schmeling would certainly be better than anyone Tunney fought at hw. Tunney is very unproven at hw and I dislike picking unproven fighters over proven ones - Tunney is proven against fighters who weren´t hws but had success there though and you can make an argument this should count for him.

 

Gotta say, what I saw in that second Schmeling-Sharkey fight was Schmeling the aggressor, coming forward the whole time throwing leather - missing and catching crisp, clean counters in return. I had Sharkey shading it. Either way, it was a close and controversial fight, not the daylight robbery it's sometimes made out to be. Given that he was being completely outclassed in the first Sharkey fight that has to place a question mark over his championship credentials.
His win against Louis was a fantastic result, but he found a flaw in Joe's style, caught his man on an off day and still had to walk through hell to bring in the result. People still talk (rightly) about the battering Louis took, but not so much about how Schmeling, bruised and bleeding, with both eyes swollen almost shut, was being checked out by the referee between rounds.

I hope the above is not unduly harsh - Max was a very, very good fighter, and a brave man, but I just don't see him as a great. Tunney, for me, is clearly in that category. I think he outboxes Max to a clear, if competitive, decision.

 

Wish I'd posted that. Max gets evaluated so much on the Louis fight and not the Baer, Hamas, Sharkey and Uzcuden affairs. He was certainly a legit good champ but in my opinion clearly inferior to Tunney H2H. Sharkey too BTW. However his HW resumee is better than Tunney's and that is what the thread starter asked for.
Oh and for the record I think Tunney hit harder than Max but I'll get crucified for that, I suspect.

 

i am a big admirer of Schmeling too bodhi...but come on..Tunney was definitely faster..both with hands and feet than Max. He would have beaten him conclusively as well.

 

I wouldn't go that far. Schmeling had the edge in power...the only edge he would have had.

 

Possibly but Gene Ko'ed the likes of Madden, Heeney and Gibbons, noted for their durability and while without doubt Max could punch, the guys with the better punch resistance a la Uzcuden and Baer took his best shots. I think the point is at least debatable?

 

As a fighter...I'd rank Tunney higher...