Did Gene Tunney make a big enough dent in Boxing history to be considered top 5 or 10 Heavys of all time?

Question

I find myself saying No. He was champ for about 2 years, had the Dempsey rivalry, but what else could really be said?

Answer 1

i have him 6th, behind ali, johnson, louis, dempsey & marciano.....he learned from the bad beating he got from greb and came back to beat him 5 times, and training in the same camp as benny leonard taught him a lot as well.

Answer 2

I agree with you I don't think he did enough at heavyweight to be in the top 10 however I would place him in the top 5 light heavyweights of all time as that is where he spent most of his time. Similarly even though Bernard Hopkins beat Antonio Tarver and is having his run at light heavyweight his legacy that he will be remembered at is middleweight. It is just that more impressive that he was able to beat these fighters at higher classes toward the end of his career. In my opinion, you have to have a lengthy reign at heavyweight like Evander Holyfield had to erase yourself as a cruiserweight or light heavyweight. Had Evander Retired after he first lost his heavyweight title to Riddick Bowe he would not go down as one of the greatest heavyweights but it was his ability to avenge that first loss and then beat Ray Mercer, Mike Tyson twice and Michael Moorer that made him a great heavyweight instead of just a good heavyweight.

Answer 3

Gene Tunney was a fantastic heavyweight champion that had a career record of 61-1-1 (45) and of course did beat the great Jack Dempsey twice.  He was one of the first true boxer/ fighters and had tremendous footwork in the ring and great ring saavy too.  Anyone that does not believe this, go to youtube and watch his fights with Dempsey and you'll see just how smart he was in the ring.  What hurts his legacy is that he was only champ for two years and other than Dempsey, fought Tommy Gibbons and Tom Heenan in title fights.  I believe that Tunney was a very skillful fighter and would have been able to beat such fighters as Sharkey, Schmeling, Braddock, Stribling and more of that era.  I guess what I'm saying is that he did make a dent in boxing history most certainly and was a great fighter, but just did not stay around long enough to solidify it.