I pick Greb over Tua

Beats Tua sure, easily?

 

The quick ATG technical boxer outboxes and outspeeds the much lesser talented slugger.

 

I'm not sure Harry could even hurt Tua...
I see Tua walking through Harry in every single engagement and just mauling him.

No disrespect intended to Greb the fact some consider his victory plausible tells me just how well received he is indeed.

 

It isn't inconceivable that Greb with his speed and manic style manages not to be hit clean for the duration of the fight and out hustle Tua.
You have to think though, even allowing for Greb's durability that at some point Tua would nail Greb, especially downstairs.

 

The shorter the distance the better Grebs chances. The longer the bout more chances he will get nailed.

 

Better chance for what? Greb had a 40% KO rate against middleweights and you think he is going to stop a guy that ate up shots from HUGE punchers like Lennox Lewis , Hasim Rahaman and Ike Ibeabuchi etc. When you say the shorter the distance the better chance Greb has are you seriously implying that Greb can knock out Tua? You can't be serious.

 

No, he implied that it would be easier for Greb to outbox and outwork Tua in short fight while avoiding bombs. I don't understand what is so strange in that way of thinking.

 

Awardedsteak needs a reading comprehension class.

The shorter the distance the less time Tua (or Dempsey) has to score a KO.

Think Johnson vs O’Brien (6 rounds) or Dempsey vs Meehan (4 rounds). Take either of these bouts to 15 rounds and it becomes less likely the smaller opponent can avoid danger.

 

To reference one of my favorite stories from Sparta,

"If."

 

So if they wore head gear and fought a 3 round fight Greb would win. Brilliant!

 

I've been called out on likes before. But fair enough. Likes don't equal endorsements. But that was one of the goofiest posts in the history of this forum, and I was surprised to see that it had any "likes."

 

No. Johnson’s bout with O’Brien and Dempsey’s multiple bouts with Meehan were all “real” fights. No one has mentioned head guards.

The issue is the longer the bout the more time the KO puncher has to land that KO blow. In a short bout Greb could fight full speed to outpoint the KO puncher better avoiding that KO blow.

Boxing 101.

 

Boxing 101 huh? Thanks for educating me.

Ask Michael Moorer and John Ruiz about Tua's power. You guys really think Greb at 160 has any chance of even lasting two or three rounds against a man that out weighs him by nearly 100 pounds? Moorer and Ruiz where much larger men that held world titles and didn't even last thirty seconds each.

I am not questioning the greatness of Greb in his era even though we have no actual fight footage. I'm questioning why some think Greb even stands a chance against big natural heavyweight.

I think some folks tend to overrate some of the sports great legends.

 

First of all - let's say that I don't know if Greb would be able to last many rounds against Tua. He was much smaller and he'd come right at Tua, which wouldn't be easy for him.

On the other hand, Greb fought some big heavyweights - Brennan was 200 lbs and was legit power puncher. Not to mention that Greb actually fought a few fighters bigger than Tua (though none of them was as good as Tua of course).

Tua isn't that huge - he's slightly taller and has shorter reach. He weighed around 220-230 lbs in good shape, so it's definitely not 100 pounds.

Lastly - Ruiz and Moorer lasted 30 seconds, but not all of his opponents finished like that. For example Byrd (quite small HW) didn't have problems to last distance with Tua. Tua respected his punches even though Byrd was very light handed. Greb was very tough to hit cleanly in his prime by quicker and better fighters, so I'm sure that Tua wouldn't just charge on him and find his chin with first punch. Outside of pure luck, I can't see that.

I don't think that Greb would beat Tua. I don't think his style and size suits him well against much bigger and much harder hitting guys like Tua. I also don't think that Tua would KO him in 30 seconds. Byrd made him overthinking, maybe Greb would do the same? Tua never fought someone like Greb, he could frustrate him with his speed and workrate for some time.

I just don't understand why so many people love Tua so much here. He was dangerous power puncher who was very one dimensional. Yet everybody say that very few fighters could last the distance with him and you can't be smaller than him to do so. Byrd is the type of fighter most would pick to lose in 3 in hypothetical matchup here, but he won real fight.

 

Fair enough. You did make some good points in particular about the Byrd fight. I guess I just have questions about a guy like Greb and do feel like people tend to overrate a lot of the old champions and make them out to be mythical beasts. Honestly, I am not that big of a fan of Tua's. He was a limited fighter but the combination of his power and chin make him a tough out for anyone and I do tend to put more stock into modern athletes.