Gene Tunney

Gene Tunney is one of the most underrated boxers of all time. He was a master of the opponent playing his game. He dictated the fight at all times. He kept the right distance at all times and saw when the opponent was winding up and struck right before him. He was undefeated except one fight by Henry Greb which was a truly bloody massacre in which no one could fathom how Tunney lasted the whole fight. He then went on to beat Greb the next four times! In his two fights with Dempsey, Dempsey couldn't lay a finger on him except when the famous long count happened. That was not a controversial thing because Tunney's eyes were focused long before the ref counted ten. He just used every spare second the ref gave him. Tunney was the smartest heavyweight boxer ever with good speed and underrated power.

Jack Dempsey was an impossible act to follow-which is really the only possible reason Tunney wasn't even more popular than he was. I don't know if Tunney would've beaten a peak Dempsey,but in their two fights,the longcount knockdown in their second fight,in which Dempsey was slow to move to a neutral corner-and Tunney was down for at least 14 seconds-was Dempsey's only moment.In terms of style and ability, I'd rate Tunney, boxing's first really modern heavyweight(or cruiserweight)