Top 24 Quotes & Sayings by Gene Tunney

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American athlete Gene Tunney.

Last updated on September 18, 2024.

James Joseph Tunney was an American professional boxer who competed from 1915 to 1928. He held the world heavyweight title from 1926 to 1928, and the American light heavyweight title twice between 1922 and 1923. A highly technical boxer, Tunney had a five-fight light heavyweight rivalry with Harry Greb in which he won three, lost once, and drew once, though many ringside reporters believed Greb should have won the decision in their second meeting. Tunney also knocked out Georges Carpentier and defeated Jack Dempsey twice; first in 1926 and again in 1927. Tunney's successful title defense against Dempsey remains one of the most famous bouts in boxing history and is known as The Long Count Fight. He retired undefeated as a heavyweight after his victory over Tom Heeney in 1928, after which Tunney was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine.

American - Athlete | May 25, 1897 - November 7, 1978

Source: Wikipedia

One half-conscious thought was burned in my mind: stay on your feet.

Gene Tunney

Ever since boyhood I've made a religion of keeping in shape by regular, conscientious exercise.

Gene Tunney

A concave chest means that your diaphragm is sagging.

Gene Tunney

A boxer must exercise and develop every part of his body.

Gene Tunney

Normally, I could hit hard enough, as anyone who studied my fights might have known. But the impression was that I was essentially defensive, the very reverse of a killer, the prize fighter who read books, even Shakespeare.

Gene Tunney

Fat is one of the chief enemies of the heart because it has to be plentifully supplied with blood and thus needlessly increases the pumping load that the heart must sustain.

Gene Tunney

If all human lives depended upon their usefulness - as might be judged by certain standards - there would be a sudden and terrific mortality in the world.

Gene Tunney

In youth, we get plenty of exercise through games and running around, but as middle life approaches, we settle down, literally and figuratively.

Gene Tunney

Though I was not a belligerent kid, I do not think I ever passed up a good opportunity to fight.

Gene Tunney

Never eat less than four hours before boxing. Then eat only lightly.

Gene Tunney

The man who has allowed his body to deteriorate cuts a pitiful figure - chest collapsed, stomach protruding.

Gene Tunney

My own ambition in the ring had always been skillful boxing, speed and defense - on the order of Mike Gibbons.

Gene Tunney

Upon awakening in the morning, I wondered if the proceedings of the night before had been a dream. It was hard to believe that I was the world's heavyweight champion.

Gene Tunney

A boxer's diet should be low in fat and high in proteins and sugar. Therefore you should eat plenty of lean meat, milk, leafy vegetables, and fresh fruit and ice cream for sugar.

Gene Tunney

To enjoy the glow of good health, you must exercise.

Gene Tunney

The way to know about championship quality is to learn from champions, and that I did; studying them with professional purpose during my time in the ring and from habitual interest afterward.

Gene Tunney

I did six years of planning to win the championship from Jack Dempsey.

Gene Tunney

Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart.

Gene Tunney

As a West Side kid fooling around with boxing gloves, I had been, for some reason of temperament, more interested in dodging a blow than in striking one.

Gene Tunney

Handball, swimming, running, jumping, basketball, and boxing were as much a part of me as breathing.

Gene Tunney

The greatest fighter I ever saw

Gene Tunney

I've seen Dempsey fight and I was impressed with his lack of knowledge.

Gene Tunney

But I do say that, if you will regularly devote 15 minutes a day, preferably before breakfast, for 60 days to the simple set of exercises that I devised for conditioning men in the navy, I guarantee that you will enjoy increased physical buoyancy and mental vigor.

Gene Tunney

Many complain of a chronic weariness that sleep will not banish. Their trouble is that too little blood is pumped through the body per minute; this sluggishness, permitting poisonous waste matter to accumulate in every cell, clogs the channels of energy.

Gene Tunney

Top 24 Quotes & Sayings by Gene Tunney

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