I don't think that there is much of a basis to compare liquid cooled marine engines to air cooled aircraft engines in terms of cooling. The massive cylinder head of a marine engine has the thermal mass to resist/absorb temperature changes which result from changed operating conditions, so they cannot occur rapidly.
Air cooled engine cylinders are thin and light by comparison, and when operated carelessly, can change temperature hundreds of degrees in a few seconds. Worse, this temperature change will occur in some places in the cylinder, but not so much in others. This caused stresses within the cylinder structure, and is when the damage can occur.