Can Gene Tunney go 53-1 against Joe Louis’ competition up until WW II?

I think he could indeed.

Max Schmeling and Baer would be his toughest fights.

Although Godoy would have been a war!

 

Hell no.

The schedule is just way beyond anything that he would have contemplated!

 

Don't really see it. He looks good on paper against most of them, but they don't fight on paper, and he would drop some.

 

I think In individual match ups he may have a shot but not that number in the same time at heavyweight. He’d certainly have to be the greatest version of Tunney most can envision. The simple wear and tear of so many heavyweight fights might have been too much. Joe was naturally bigger and had that rare power to end many early. Gene would have a tougher road.

 

I don't think Tunney comes anywhere close.

 

Two Ton Toney Galento would rough him up and KO him late.
Carnera would wear him out, win by ud.
Max Baer would ko him 10th round or later.
Schmeling would ko him.
Conn wins a close decision.

He'd most likely get past the rest of the Bum of the Month crew, maybe dropping a decision here and there.

 

He- Grant makes great point Louis’s supreme power made many fights much shorter than they would be for Gene. The wear and tear would add up. Even someone like Retzlaff that had dynamite power - Louis took out in 1 round- that would take Gene several rounds you start factoring that up and he probably loses somewhere along the way.
Shame Sharkey drew with Heeney really would of loved to see Tunney and Sharkey square off I think it would been a hell of fight and one that crystallizes how good either man was

 

Tunney might achieve this mythical feat, but one would ideally need greater evidence of Tunney's efforts against prime heavyweights, over a longer period, in order to support this. Tunney deserves credit for his matches with Dempsey, but they don't support a case for him enjoying any kind of sustained campaign at heavyweight, such as the pre-WWII run of Joe Louis.

 

I think he would have beaten Godoy more convincingly than Louis did first time around, he would just outbox him.
Louis did not have the wheels Tunney did,he relied on his power to stop the Chilean and Godoys ultra low crouch baffled him ,in the rematch he punished Godoy with uppercuts. Schmeling was a methodical counterpuncher even in his winning fight with Louis his eye was closed by the jab,Tunney would circle him, dart in land and get away Max would constantly be re-setting and unable to land that right with any regularity. Baer could never do much with a top boxer barring one of those overhand rights landing, he gets out jabbed all night.imo

 

Great post!

 

Does Tunney get Art Donovan, and MSG judges for most of his matches as Louis did?

Yes, I think he could go 53-1. I'd say 52-2 is more likely and I also think he'd be hit a lot less than Louis was.

Outside of Schemling, and Conn that time line did not have many good boxers. Okay, Pastor was decent.

 

How often was Donovan required to give his verdict? Two fights Farr & Godoy. His scorecard for the Farr fight was out of line with the judges.Against Godoy he gave the Chilean more points than either of the two judges.

 

There is very little fat on Louis' resume. Tunney's at heavyweight mainly boils down to Dempsey. Of the top ten heavyweights either faced, I think Louis faced nine. Of the top 15, he probably faced 13 and maybe 14.

Also Louis started off with good opposition. His first opponent, Jack Kracken, was 28-7-3. That is at 20 years old and a debut fight. Louis' 10th fight was against a man who had beaten Schaaf, Carnera, and Loughran back to back and was bigger than anyone Tunney ever fought. And there are so many bigger men who can box some like Farr and Nova, and so many men who can punch, like Max and Buddy Baer.

In the Marciano thread there was a weak case to be made for Tunney. Here there is almost none. Even Dempsey after all, was 31 and had laid off three years. Why think that Dempsey lasts 10 against a prime Louis?

Styles make fights, and Tunney has the style to handle guys like Galento and Godoy, but it is total shot in the dark how he does with tall 250 lb. fighters (actually, even with tall 210 lb. fighters).

I would expect him to lose at least 10 fights, and probably more, because, as has been pointed out, of the wear and tear of consistently fighting bigger and heavier punching men.

 

good point, but I think one of the judges gave the Godoy fight to Godoy. What is true of that fight is that Donovan's scorecard was consistent with the other judge and the press. The judge who gave the fight to Godoy was the one who was out of the mainstream.