Tony Tucker v Frankie Swindell

TNT Tucker looked bad in that fight, but maybe he did not train hard??

Tony looked a lot better IMO when he fought WBC beltholder Lennox in 1993 -

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyuwOeASrxI[/ame]


get the other parts of the fight from the same youtube channel

 

Tucker was definitely slowing. Fighting flat footed, getting nailed by hooks and counters. He still had a good jab, but he couldnt really pull the trigger on the follow up too well.

 

Swindell was a tough journeyman, it surprises me that he was able to fight a heavyweight because he was already a stocky guy even at light heavyweight. He rocked Michael Moorer until being stopped on his feet, still protesting.

Tucker I don't think was ever really that great, being big and having some speed and movement to go along with it leads to his ability being rated too highly. He never had a single performance that convinced anyone that he was a threat to be taken seriously. He lacked defense, timing, control of distance, overall skill basically.

 

He boxed well against Douglas and not bad against Tyson. He showed good movement and skills for a big man. I think Tucker was a very skilled fighter, just not great.

 

His win against Douglas was his best effort but for the most part it was a disappointing performance from both men. Douglas took his ball and went home with it. Tucker grinded out a win.

Being outjabbed by Tyson was rather alarming considering the height and reach differences. Not that Tyson had a bad jab, but he shouldn't have consistently timed Tucker like that.

 

He was competitive with Lewis as well. I think Tucker was a solid top 5 contender. Not overated at all.

 

The best punch I saw him throw was in the very first round against Tyson. That was the ideal start for him and it made Tyson more hesitant to rush in. He could not capitalize on the moment though.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEV1SMJvCFU[/ame]

0:25

 

There was nothing to suggest Tucker was overated. He was undefeated through his prime except for Tyson, who he put on a fairly entertaining performance against. Tyson was great, Tucker was not, but certainly a worthy top five fighter through the 80's. He didnt face the most stellar competition, but losing one fight in 12 years is not too bad for an 80's heavy.

 

That punch knocked Tyson more off balance than "hurt" him. I think Frank Bruno hurt Tyson worse than Tucker did, but a nice uppercut nonetheless.

 

Again there is nothing to suggest he was overated because he never fought the guys you mentioned. Unless your suggesting he ducked those fighters, guys like Douglas and Mcall were for the most part on the level of Berbick Smith and even Spoon realistically, who was as inconsistent as they came.
I think as you say, you cant really rank him so highly in his era because he didnt go through all those guys, but I think he would have done well if he face them. He had some good skills.