Tommy Morrison V Joe Bugner??

White Hopes my ass. 2 world level fighters and Bugner not winning a title was a tragedy.

 

I think Joe Bugner would win on points or maybe even via knockout.
Tommy Morrison was a very good puncher, but Bugner had a better chin and I think he was the better boxer.

 

Bugner survives an early scare and goes onto win a decision.

 

The Bugner of the Frazier fight beats Morrison fairly comfortably on points.
Any other version gets beat by a wide UD while probably stinking the joint out.

 

I went with Joe Bugner. For all his shortcomings he knew how to weather an early storm and linger throughout a fight. For someone like Morrison with questionable stamina and durability this is a problem.

 

I wouldn't probably goas far as tragedy but Bugner was an excellent Heavyweight.

 

The Bugner who went to the wire with Frazier would beat Morrison any way he wants. Joe might even turn tiger and blow Tommy away early like he did Richard Dunn and Jurgen Blin.

 

"Great white hopes"
Gawd thats an overstated saying.

 

Bugner should win quite easily but with Joe who knows what mood he was in.

 

Too often Joe was just glad to be there...

He should win, but as hinted at by some here, he often tried his best to blow it. So I am not putting any money on it!

 

Hmm, this is tough to think about. Bugner went toe to toe with very tough customers like Frazier, Lyle, Cooper, etc, all 3 of whom had good hooks and were even tougher than Morrison. Morrison was pretty 1 dimensional aside from the very rare moments where he learned how to use lateral movement like his WBO winning moment. Bugner had stupendous defense and spoiling tactics when he was hurt and was a very hard man to stop (having not been stopped in his prime except against the murderous punching Shavers and Bugner was slightly past it at 32).

Morrison isn't going to win this with 1 big hail mary, Bugner is way too skilled and durable for that. On the flip side, Bugner was a pretty average puncher despite being a pretty large man at 6'4 and slightly bigger than Morrison. Bugner was not particularly fast or athletic, and had a bad habit of just coasting along to survive or just barely doing enough to win a round. He would have go into his shell and not open up at times and this could cost him decisions.

So it would really boil down to Morrison's conditioning, and he rarely had great stamina. On paper, I would have to slightly favor Bugner since Morrison could blow his load trying to take guys out. Having such an aggressive fast starting approach against a taller, more cautious opponent usually doesn't end well, especially if the taller guy has good stamina and a good chin. I see Bugner winning an ugly decision 6/10. A late round stoppage for Bugner isn't out of the question either honestly.

However, if Morrison scares Bugner with an early flash knockdown and makes Bugner go in his shell, the fight would look the opposite with Morrison winning rounds on aggression while Bugner simply jabs and retreats and holds on to clear the cobwebs whenever hurt to avoid getting KO'd.

 

I pick Morrison. Once Bugner feels that hook he goes into survival mode. He tries to peck and poke his way to a decision, but Morrison breaks him down.