Max Baer V Gene Tunney?

No matter how many rounds this would be scheduled for, Tunney would win by a shutout on all three official's cards, unless one of the officials was related to Max.

 

Tunney is not proven enough against heavyweight punchers. Outside of old Dempsey, he didn't fight anyone notable at that weight. He had right style to beat Baer, but I'm not convinced he would.

 

I'm convinced.

 

I'd pick Tunney. I think he can avoid Max's power for the most part.

 

I like Tunney by decision, Max was very good when he was allowed to train regularly - I think a prime Dempsey was better than Max but not as measured - I think a less rusty Dempsey would edge Tunney and possibly get the stop in the Long Count but Max would be Genes sternest if both were in their primes test but like Gene to outpoint Max

 

Is Baer proven against all time great boxers with first class jabs?
Braddock Loughran,Farr,Nova beat him with that punch.Explain to me why Tunney wouldn't?

 

Because all of them (except Nova who wasn't a boxer) had ATG chins. Farr also lost to Baer, Braddock fight wasn't won by Braddock's jab but Baer's lack of interest and Loughran fought pre-prime Baer.

 

Tunney makes him look like a complete buffoon. He lands rapid fire jabs and combinations upstairs and downstairs leaving small bruises and scrapes all over Baer's upper torso. Tunney never stays ij one spot too long and when he does it is simply to sit down on his punches for a jolting counter or to feint and dart out of the way like a basketball player. Baer realizes too little too late after clowning the first 5 rounds that Tunney is dead serious and putting on a clinic with precise striking, nimble footwork, and responsible defense. He can't put a dent in Baer but he doesn't have to and racks up points round after round with no ambiguity.

Hearing the boos, an annoyed Baer decides he'll at least try to win and swings for the fences. It resembles the Chavez Jr. Vs Martinez fight and Baer finally lands a few clubbing shots in the 13th and 14th rounds as even the seasoned disciplined Tunney is tiring from the pressure of dodging such a frighteningly hard hitting slugger. Tunney is "caught" by a desperate Baer who combos a jab into a nasty backhand that rocks Tunney which leaves him open for that feared sledgehammer right. Tunney rolls with the punch but is off balance and his head is ringing from the foul and he suffers a flash knockdown with 20 seconds left in the 14th. Tunney is up at 4 but visibly damaged despite not taking the hit flush and having major swelling on his left eye. He backs away and can only cover up being pounded on in the corner before the bell.

In the 15th Baer grits his teeth and throws non stop wild bombs from every angle. But halfway through the round he catches Tunney again who is rocked and clinches. Tunney ties up and both men are exhausted and taking a breather leaning. Baer blatantly leg sweeps and they both go down. He winks at Tunney while remarking how the lights look like stars. A confused ref yells at both of them to get up and deduct a point from Baer since he now has 2 flagrant fouls. Baer isn't even disappointed as he knew he wouldn't win the decision at this point and throws a long jab to push tunney back to set up a hail Mary all or nothing right but is countered and rocked hard by Tunney. They exchange furiously but soon gas and lean on each other. Tunney, ever the professional, finishes the round with a few crisp jabs and good blocking. He wins a lopsided UD.

 

I pick Baer because he was 6'3 and Tunney was 5'11, people are seeming to forget this, if Tunney was at least 6'1 I'd be picking him any day of the week, but how can he reach Baer, because his speciality was boxing from the outside, he never and could not fight on the inside, and how can he box from the outside with those extreme height and reach disadvantages? And he could not take it to Baer because that would be suicide and another thing, Max had an underrated jab, so it's not like Tunney could outjab him

 

Tunney was 6’0” and Baer according to his son Max Jr., who I used to see pretty often at the Skirball Musuem when I used attend the cultural lectures talked regularly l about his Father and Uncle all the time. He said at 6’3” he was taller than his father, who was 6’2” and shorter than his uncle Jacob ‘Buddy’, who was 6’5”.

That all aside boxing from the outside is all about timing and has very little to do with reach. I’ve seen plenty of guys with a long reach get outboxed from the outside. If a smaller fighter figures out a big guy’s range and puts himself in the right position they can outbox the big man from the outside all day.

Also, Tunney was well versed in fighting on both the outside and inside. Tunney could fight with Baer on the inside just fine as long as he doesn’t stand directly in front of Baer. This bad habit got Frazier destroyed by Foreman.

 

Good Post.

 

Gene Tunney takes this one over Max Baer Sr by a unanimous decision. Baer's aggressiveness would play into Gene's counter punching, and Tunney hung in there with Jack Dempsey. Also Tunney would have too much movement for Max.

 

It's just a completely different level of skill here. Tunney was truly elite and an extremely intelligent fighter. Not even a lucky punch could win this fight for Baer.