Yeah, the only way a smaller guy could last against Tyson was if he had the chin of a bigger guy. Smaller men that use lots of movement may last longer with Fraizer and that's only because they're staying out of his way, but he also eventually mows them down.
I have never bought into the logic that says "Tyson went through Spinks in 91 seconds, so he goes through every other former light heavyweight in 91 seconds." I would expect some to do significantly better, even if they were just delaying the inevitable. So is Tunney the man to do it? My answer is possibly. Dempsey clearly did not intimidate him, in the same way that Tyson intimidated Spinks, and that at least puts him in the fight. If we assume that he adopted the same tactics as he used against Dempsey (a reasonable assumption despite the fact that they were alien to him), then he would probably have some success in frustrating Tyson. Looking at the way that a declining Dempsey took him to the edge of disaster, I have to think that a prime Tyson would catch up with him eventually. My guess is that Tunney looses, but he does not embarrass himself.
Prime Iron Mike Tyson destroys prime boxing legend Gene Tunney by KO 2. Gene tries to box Mike, but soon finds out that he does not have the punch to make Tyson respect him and gets mauled like a Pit Bull finding a large steak. Although Gene is a master boxer, Mike does have incredible hand speed and would get Tunney before he can get set.
Tunney is an interesting fighter...but the only HW fights I’ve watched of him were the Dempsey figths and they were extremely grainy. Wish I could have seen more from him. I don’t think he beats a prime Dempsey let alone a prime Tyson
For a guy who successfully navigated around black fighters for 66 fights, Mike Tyson would be a helluva place to start.
