The Colour Line & Gene Tunney

stop talking nonsense and ditto to SuzieQ

 

One can make a good case that he perhaps should have defended against Godfrey in 1928. Godfrey did blow a fight to Risko, though, giving Tunney an out. As a practical matter to the champion, if Godfrey always wore the cuffs for his big fights, why should the champion fight him anyway? He was still officially losing.

Wills and Godfrey were super-heavyweights, Tunney a lightheavy most of his career. I would really score him more for not fighting Norfolk somewhere along the line, especially in 1923 or 1924.

 

Ive read and heard personally that gene was a racist elitist snob.

 

I dont see how he blew the fight to risko. he was ordered to carry risko which he did, and still most thought godfrey won the fight. he most likely could have knocked risko out had he tried his best.

 

He lost the fight.

If he didn't try his best, he didn't try his best. That is a tragedy for Godfrey, but I really have to think a while whether I would use this as a stick to beat Tunney with.

 

This is one way of judging a boxer, I guess.

 

I some -how get the feeling Gene Tunney hasn't got you as President of his fan club.

 

1) I don't think that matters when regarding his boxing abilities. he was one of the greats of the 1920s. Tyson was a ****** but it has nothing to do with him as a fighter.

2) I think you'd be surprised at just how mnany people were racist back then. It was basically the norm to be prejudiced.

Esseentially though I was pulling your leg.

 

I dont hold it against him as a fighter at all. I just was responding to your comment about him being a "great man".

Godfrey badly wanted a shot at tunney. he knew with the title on the line, he would most likely be allowed to try his best, and without the cuffs he had a good shot at beating gene, whether or not he would have.....godfrey just wanted the chance to fight for the biggest prize in sports with 100% effort. godfreys camp challenged gene with tunney to take the entire purse.

 

I find it confusing that Godfrey could have tried his best in a championship fight with Tunney, but he was not allowed to try his best against Risko.

Just seems very odd to me, just like the two losses to Renault being fixes, but the third fight suddenly on the level so Godfrey can win.

 

Tunney never fought a fighter near godfreys size. he never fought a fighter godfreys size with power speed like godfrey had. Godfrey was # 2 rated heavyweight contender in 1928, and a consistent top 10 rated contender in the mid 1920s by Ring Magazine. George Godfrey is also a hall of famer. That is two hall of famers in there primes(sharkey godfrey) tunney missed out on fighting. Tom heeney as your last title defense instead of a young dangerous future hall of famer?

 

Hey bud, Back it up. I typed it...I meant it...The plain facts are Tunney never did fight a Black man in the ring! Doing it and having your management talking about it are two very different things.

 

Tunney also had at least 11 fights against Hall-of-Famers, not a total to sneeze at, especially as he fought a relatively short career.

Tunney went, I think, 7-1 against Hall-of-Famers in official decisions, won his last fight in a newspaper decision with Greb, and certainly many newspapers had him at least even with Greb in their fourth fight and also even or better than Loughran in their fight. Actually, all this is pretty impressive.

Like Godfrey, Sharkey lost a key fight in 1928 and had been ko'd by Dempsey. That he was much better than Heeney might be a bit of Monday morning quarterbacking. Anyway, Tunney is not considered a truly great heavyweight by most critics. He is considered a great lightheavyweight and a great p4p fighter.

 

If you think tunney ducked Godfrey, do you also think that Marciano ducked Valdez?