BoxRec

Before fighting Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney faced Harry
Greb, five times; Tommy Gibbons, one time; Georges
Carpentier, one time; Tommy Loughran, one time; and
Jeff Smith, at least one time. Yes, Tunney wasn't as active
as many of his contemporaries, but he earned his shot
legitimately. It may be true that Tunney didn't fight
in the heavyweight division for very long, but he DID
pile up quite record while fighting a number of the very best
p4p fighters of his day.

It wasn't right that Harry Wills or George Godfrey got the
shaft, but think about the place and the time. For one
reason or another, a black man didn't fight in a world
heavyweight championship bout during the period
between 1915 and 1937. That is a hard fact.

- Chuck Johnston

Decagon wrote:Oh, my mistake. It was actually a featherweight bout, but both men were allowed to weigh above the 126-pound limit.

Yeah one guy was 167 the other 181. That makes it a HW fight. IC.

Appology accepted.

Decagon wrote:Let's each just have a martini and forget it. http://www.arsenal4arab.com/forums/imag ... oticon.gif

What's happening - are you turning civilized? (If you would it could be fun to discuss with you).

Godfrey never distinguished himself from the other top contenders of his era. Tunney had no more reason to fight Godfrey than he did some other top contenders in the division. Jack Johnson's avoidance of serious challengers is much more damaging to his legacy.

Cojimar 1945 wrote:Godfrey never distinguished himself from the other top contenders of his era. Tunney had no more reason to fight Godfrey than he did some other top contenders in the division. Jack Johnson's avoidance of serious challengers is much more damaging to his legacy.

Worth repeating.

Louis fought most of the top contenders during his reign and Dempsey fought some top condenders during their reigns and the same is true of Schmelling. Even Jeffries fought some worthy foes while champion.