What do people think about this one? I feel a bit sorry for Tunney. He only lost one fight in his whole career and that was to Harry Greb. He beat Dempsey twice but is not ranked anywhere near as high as him. The fact of the matter is that Tunney was said to have dominated both of those fights and seemed to clearly be resting during his "long count." Tunney was only two years younger than Dempsey when they fought as well so may not have been in his prime. It seems to me like Dempsey is hugely overrated. He was good against fighters who allowed him to use his power such as Firpo and Willard. However, I think he struggled with smaller fighters who are quick on their feet like Gibbons and later Tunney. Therefore I think 1926 Tunney would have a great chance of beating 1923 Dempsey.
Tunney just had the style to beat Dempsey, Dempsey is the greater fighter though Tunney is hugely underrated.
Tough one. I'd like to point out their styles actually matched very nicely. The rematch was still one-sided but a fitter Demspey made the rounds more competitive. A fight in 1923 would have made a great fight. Slightly favour Dempsey, but he would have needed a quality training camp.
I like Tunney on points again, assuming he's a comfortable size. I don't think Dempsey would ever be a favourite over Tunney for me.
I agree Tunney would win,albeit by a smaller margin than he did in their two real fights. The 'Toledo' Dempsey,who beat Jess Willard in 1919,however would beat Tunney.
Tunney wins prime for prime, if he's primed enough in 23 is another matter. I think he improved throughout the Greb series and would obviously grow stronger gaining lean muscle mass. Still he would be the best pure boxer Dempsey ever faced, better than the Miske who took him to a draw
