You know Gene Tunney gets vastly overrated when....

It´s a 60-40 kind of fight (60 for Liston) in my opinion......I can see Liston winning, by KO or decision......but I can see Tunney winning by decision as well......the opinion that Tunney can´t win this or would be stopped early for sure is what I disagree.....

 

Exactly....That's all what I'm saying....

 

Is it me, or are Liston fans the most pre-occuppied with "inches"?

 

Good point.


I have no doubt Liston was indeed a very good fighter, but to hold him in the esteem that some do is simply unwarranted. He just didnt do that much. Not compared to a lot of others.

 

OK, got it.

 

SQ is the one who keep stressing black men and inches ...

 

Funny.

 

Sonny could balance 14 budgerigars on his tool. This is from a primary source, one of his ex cell mates.

 

This. :deal

 

Off the Ring ratings in the 1920's, the following were highly rated one year or another

Jack Dempsey-champion (2 x W 10)

Tommy Gibbons-#2 (Ko 12)

Charley Weinert-#3 (ND 12, ko 4)

Tom Heeney-#3 (ko 11)

Johnny Risko-#4 (W 12)

Erminio Spalla-#10 (ko 7)

so Tunney was 7-0 with 4 ko's and 1 ND against these top heavyweights.

 

Liston proved and achieved even less in his career than any of those three did. If their adulation is not substantiated, then what does that say about Liston's?

 

Sal, my friend. Where you been? No more lounge post?

 

This raises another good point as well.

Liston, despite having a far greater number of fights at HW, wasn't any more accomplished at the world class level than Tunney was.

They each beat only three leading HWs:
Tunney - Dempsey (twice), Gibbons, Heeney
Liston - Patterson (twice), Machen, Folley

...and none of Liston's victims were as highly regarded in their day as even an aging Dempsey was when Tunney beat him.

You can give Liston credit for beating a future leading contender in Cleveland Williams, but you'd also have to make the same exceptions for Tunney's wins over guys like Risko, Weinert, etc.