Who the hell would consider this competitive? Someone please make an argument for Tunney otherwise this is another one of these "I like X let's put them up against X just to expand their "H2H resume"" Let me put George Foreman against Floyd make a point for Floyd's strong points just to hear people say how George would win because of X reasons just no.
No, it wouldn't be a beatdown. I don't think Tunney could take a lot of right hands from Lewis. I know Tyson did, be he was much heavier than Tunney plus Lennox boxed him catiously knowing that even shot Tyson had game-changing power. Tunney might be able to avoid Lewis' right hand in the first 2-3 rounds, but once he gets hit with it the fight would be over very soon.
I think Tunney might well make it to the end. That's not to say he'd win, because he's got everything stacked against him. But I think he's a good enough boxer to give a much better account of himself than people think. This content is protected Notice how he turns his opponents; its like hes trying to throw from the side, something which the Ukrainians have only just really brought back in a big way. How he darts in and out. How he slips. How fast his hands are, and how freely he throws in combination. See how accurate he is. His punches seem radar-guided. Notice how he fights off the back foot against Dempsey. He leads him on, keeping just enough room to make Dempsey ineffective, darts in to land a few and then backs off again. This is an exceptional fighter, make no mistake. Is that enough to overcome Lewis? No, not unless we're talking about a stinky version of Lewis. Is it enough to give Lewis a good fight? I'd say, yes, probably a better fight than people will imagine.
I definitely think Ali and Holmes would win against Lewis. Tunney would make things interesting but not win in my opinion.
I'm trying to remember who Tunney beat at heavyweight but an old, semi-retired equivalent to modern cruiser over a couple 10 rounders. Maybe someone can help me.