Fine, he's entitled to his opinion, but in the same interview he said Foreman would knock him out in two rounds. If he was so wrong how much credence should we give his opinion? I' ll give more credence to Joe Frazier's opinion. He said whatever you think he's going to do he's probably going to do something else.
Ali would either beat him cleanly on points or stop him on accumulation late. Gene was a great fighter - Ali was faster, bigger and hit considerably harder. Hate to be the guy - do we even know that Gene would sign the papers to fight him?
The dude was like 75 when Ali fought Foreman, I don’t think it reflects how we should view every opinion he’s had throughout his life. He seemed far more intellectually refined in the sweet science in his younger years.
My opinion: This would have been a funny fight to watch. Muhammad Ali could have had a ball clowning around with Gene Tunney and yet still would have won nearly every round. Like my Grandfather before me, I do not think much of Gene Tunney.
The man is entitled to his opinion. Personally, I don't think he'd beat Ali, but he sure as hell has more chance of doing that than beating huge punchers like Liston and Foreman.
Gene also claimed that John L. Sullivan was the greatest heavyweight of all time. So.....consider the source.
I watched Frank Bruno talk about how he was gonna knock out Mike Tyson. I watched Ricky Hatton talk about beating Floyd. I'm sure that Liston said a thing or two about how he was gonna destroy Ali before he fought him. Boxing is full of greats telling you about how much better they are than today's fighter. I don't foresee Tunney having the same effect with one punch as Ali did against Bonavena, Lyle and even some of the shots against Foreman and Frazier. If he sees it in himself, good on him but meh ...
Here's the links for posters following the thread: This content is protected https://ringobserver.com/gene-tunney-underestimated-muhammad-ali/#:~:text=How about a fellow named,' Jack Demsey's wife was more gracious: Funny Memory: “We met Muhammad Ali in San Juan, Puerto Rico after he beat Jean-Pierre Coopman in 1976. He was young and handsome and vital and so full of life. After the fight, as he was coming down the steps from the ring, Ali spotted Jack and he said, ‘Mr. Dempsey, can I call you Jack?’ Jack said, ‘Everybody calls me Jack.’ Then Muhammad said, Oh Jack, you were the greatest!’ And Jack said, ‘But Muhammad, I thought you always said YOU were the greatest?’ Ali said, ‘Jack. When I say I’m the greatest, it’s all bull****!’” Biofile: Jack Dempsey Interview – Mr BioFile
How good a fighter was head to head in their prime, and how reliable they are as a source past their prime, are two separate questions. In Tunney's case you are looking at an exceptional head to head fighter in his prime, how you shouldn't trust as far as you can throw him as a source. If you want the opinion of a fighter from that era on subsequent events, then Jack Dempsey or Max Schmeling is a much better choice.
So, for his first Black opponent he would pick the Black opponent who was also the guy hardest to beat in the history of the sport? Good luck with that.
