What made Foreman so good?

Foreman lost to every boxer with better than average defensive skills.

 

Being able to cut off the ring and his power.
Jab

 

Well he only lost 5 times in 81 fights so I'd say you have no point.

Beat Norton and Frazier. Was robbed of the Briggs fight.

 

but him and Ali were basically the same size,he wasnt huge at all,just strong

 

so the 70's was a weak era?

 

:huh

 

Ali was also bigger than most of the heavyweights in his era.


Foreman did dodge some other big punchers in his career.
Jeff Merritt for example, he had the best left hook in the division.

 

Better than Frazier? You're crazy pal! And **** Jeff Merrit. Who's he? Not a champ or belt holder obviously.

 

March 1972

'CANDY SLIM' - JEFF MERRITT CHALLENGES GEORGE FOREMAN'

Top 10 ranked Heavyweight - Jeff 'Candy Slim' Merritt of Miami, Florida has challenged
undefeated George Foreman to a bout, with the winner to get a bout with Champion
Joe Frazier.

Chris Dundee, the fight promoter in Miami has offered George Foreman $50,000 to
come to Southern Florida, and face the 6' 5" hard-hitting Merritt. The 24 year-old
'Candy Slim' claims to have a record of 29-1-0 (24 KO's), and has been fighting since
1964 when he was only Age 16. Many regard the 6' 5" Florida fighter as having the
hardest left-hook in the Heavyweight Division.

Chris Dundee, 'Foreman has been saying that nobody wants to fight him, and he
can't find anybody to put up decent money for a bout. Well, here it is $50,000
guaranteed for a bout in April, and in Miami. It could be billed as the 'Right Hook
Meets the Left Hook'. Foreman has the best right hook in the business, and my guy
has the best hook. It could be a blockbuster fighter.

He was known enough to appear in the news.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=f7slAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OfMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3063,4226450&dq
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dZBYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OfgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5474,1448142&dq
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2LwlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dPMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3348,3721944&dq=


He was ranked nr5 in 1974

Scroll up for photo
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_4khAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RpgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6031,1594304&dq

Shavers also knocked Ali down in training

 

Jeff Merrit was Ko'd in one round by a guy called Henry Clark who had a 20% KO percentage! Yeah Foreman was shaking in his boots!

Just because some fighter challenges another fighter, doesn't mean anyone ducked.

Foreman KO2 Merrit

 

Jeff was a top 10 hw and offered more money than most of the other bums Foreman fought

Foreman not fighting Jeff was the same as if Pulev declined a 110thousand dollar deal with Deontay Wilders...
(The 110 thousand dollars is 50 thousand adjusted for inflation)

Not saying he was overrated, but he could have fought better fighters on the way to the heavyweight crown.

And yes, Jeff might have been KOd by a 20% KO bum, but George was also fighting men who didn't even had a 10% KO ratio.
And Terry Sorrell barely had a 10% ko ratio (his last fight before Frazier)

 

Foreman was called a giant in an era in which fighters were smaller and lighter; apart from pure strenght advantage ha only had his big heart;
but he wasn't so skilled, he used a style that allowed him to keep the opponent under pressure, if the opponent was weaker; his typical action was to push away the opponents whenever they came closer, imagine if nowadays he would have tryed to push away someone bigger than him....
The amazing thing is that in his era he was considered a giant, a freak, a monster, while actually his height is just the average for an HW, and you can be competitive with his size only if you move around like a runner... if you base your style on the Foreman's one, actually, you are lost.

His comeback is always considered his bigger thing, but if you watch the list of opponents he fought, you will be surprised, there are no names that deserves consideration, apart Holyfield of course... Holyfield was really iron chinned, and very skilled, but he lacked power, and some stamina, and still he managed to badly hurt the Foreman;

That being said, Foreman's story is epic, legendary, truly fascinating, and he is a relly nice man, with an enormous heart and a friendly attitude to many peoples; a testament to boxing, no doubt about it.

 

Ali was big for his era, he used to outreach/outweight his opponents

 

Intimidation, natural power both hands and massive physique, understanding of boxing, cutting off the ring- footwork, near unbreakable chin. Endurance strong willed mind

 

Many overlook his jab. Even as an old man, his jab was a potent weapon. It was like a polearm, and it landed as hard as some other fightter's right hands. He never neglected the jab, and it set up everything coming behind it.

As others have said, his accuracy was also very underrated and he had the heart of a warrior. He was very good at cutting off the ring. And of course, that power.
It all contributed to a very formidable package overall, but one that also always had trouble with movers, because George was always one-dimensional and unable to adapt.

It's no secret that the way to beat George was to give him angles and lateral movement.
It's one reason I always picked Larry Holmes to beat him.