How would Tunney have done against Schmeling and Sharkey if he didn't retire after beating Heeney? Separate bouts, ofc.
I believe Tunney beats them both by unanimous decision. A Tunney-Sharkey was a real possibility and likely would have happened had Sharkey been victorious over Dempsey in their elimination bout. Sharkey lost another opportunity when he drew with Heeney and lost to Risko, then Heeney got the title shot and Tunney subsequently retired. Nat Fleischer was among those who regretted that a Tunney-Sharkey fight never happened. Tunney would most likely be a solid favorite to win, but it could be a very interesting and competitive fight, depending on which Sharkey shows up on fight night. On a good night, Sharkey could be a handful for anyone and capable of pulling an upset. On an off-night he could appear quite mediocre. Tunney always made a thorough study of his opponents and developed his strategy accordingly. Being a more consistent performer, I believe he would gain and maintain the upper hand over a peak Sharkey in an interesting, fast-paced contest. Tunney-Schmeling would be a fistic chess match. Schmeling was a smart boxer with that deadly right cross. Had a couple breaks gone Max's way I believe he could have been the dominant heavyweight in the period between Tunney and Louis. I believe Tunney's footwork and all-around boxing skills would give him the upper hand. I don't believe Schmeling would observe any flaws in Tunney that he could effectively exploit as he did in his first bout with Joe Louis. Gene would recognize Max as a most worthy and capable opponent. And at the time they would have met, Tunney would have the edge in experience and be at the peak of his skills. Had Gene Tunney met and defeated both Sharkey and Schmeling his legacy gains considerably. One criticism of Tunney is that his resume as a heavyweight is thin. While it is true that he did not face that many quality heavyweights before retiring, he did win the title and would have been a solid favorite over any contender after having defeated Dempsey twice. In my opinion, I believe he was the real deal and if he had continued his boxing career and maintained his conditioning and focus could have held the title until Joe Louis.
I agree with all of this. Tunney was a very skilled fighter. A fight with Schmelling before he retired would have enhanced his already good standing in the all time great list of heavyweights.
Damn good thread topic OP. Both bouts could go down as missed opportunities. Sharkey and Schmeling were some hungry young bucks hell bent on winning zee title. Johnson-Langford II Dempsey-Wills Tunney-Sharkey & Tunney-Schmeling
I Like Tunney by decision over both but the Schmeling fight would be his hardest heavyweight match. Imo.
Schmeling in the second Sharkey fight was a master boxer. He as the legend goes was robbed. I’ve watched the whole fight. The only knock on Schmeling was his really bad performance vs Baer. Baer had club fighter level skills. As big and powerful as he might be If Schmeling was really good he should have been able to out box him like Braddock did. I think Tunney was really good with who he beat but as a heavyweight how good? Dempsey was a little overrated especially at that time in his career. Both at their best maybe Tunney edges it out vs Max by narrowest of margins.
Some very close fights there. I would favor Tunney over sharkey. Schmeling would be a big hard and more complicated
I like Sharkey and his fighting style. He's my favorite heavyweight from this era, so i'll be a contrarian and go with him. I don't think I'd put any money on it however.
Sharkey had two opportunities to fight Gene. Defeat Dempsey and Defeat Heeney. He failed both times and Gene made mostly easy work of both them. Triangle theories don't work in boxing but at the very least Gene showed he was more consistent and fighting at a higher level against those common opponents. I think Gene would win cleanly in a very fun and eye catching type of fight. Schmeling is tough. He had legit hurting power in his right hand. I think Gene could outbox him with movement for stretches, but I wonder how Gene's upright chin would hold up in exchanges with Max who was deadly accurate.
People look at footage of Tunney armpunching a bunch of late stagers and white dopes and think he's some sort of revelation. Put him in against quality fast twitch (which prime Dempsey and Gibbons would have been) and all that supposed technical brilliance would have dissolved. Put him in against an even Tut Jackson level athlete and it would have looked like last night. Schmeling would crush him. Sharkey is 50/50 just because he was Sharkey.
