Tweet
Eddie Machen's performance says otherwise.
I would not be especially surprised by any outcome regarding Liston & Tunney. Tunney has as big an advantage tactically as Liston does physically (with his sizeable edges in power, range, & strength). He has the style & the ring intelligence to hang with Liston.
Tunney was a rock-jawed, thinking man's fighter --- much the superior of Machen --- with much quicker hands & faster feet than Liston. He was not vulnerable, or prone to self-doubt, ala Patterson, & his defense perfectly complimented his whiskers to make him a very tough proposition for a KO.
With all that said, I think more often than not Liston would have crushed Machen in the early-to-mid rounds, & I would not be surprised if he did likewise on his best night with Tunney, but I don't see it as a foregone conclusion.
IMO, Tunney would be quite the live underdog against Liston & Foreman both (remembering the latter's problems with both Peralta & Young, albeit not during his prime years), but the risk of him being blown out would doubtless be very real.
Frazier, not so much. Tunney would not be disgraced, & could probably win something like a 10-rounder, but Frazier's work-rate & clear style advantage would be too much over fifteen.
I would not be especially surprised by any outcome regarding Liston & Tunney. Tunney has as big an advantage tactically as Liston does physically (with his sizeable edges in power, range, & strength). He has the style & the ring intelligence to hang with Liston.
Tunney was a rock-jawed, thinking man's fighter --- much the superior of Machen --- with much quicker hands & faster feet than Liston. He was not vulnerable, or prone to self-doubt, ala Patterson, & his defense perfectly complimented his whiskers to make him a very tough proposition for a KO.
With all that said, I think more often than not Liston would have crushed Machen in the early-to-mid rounds, & I would not be surprised if he did likewise on his best night with Tunney, but I don't see it as a foregone conclusion.
IMO, Tunney would be quite the live underdog against Liston & Foreman both (remembering the latter's problems with both Peralta & Young, albeit not during his prime years), but the risk of him being blown out would doubtless be very real.
Frazier, not so much. Tunney would not be disgraced, & could probably win something like a 10-rounder, but Frazier's work-rate & clear style advantage would be too much over fifteen.
Comment