1973 Foreman vs 1992 Bowe

Foreman would have to finish Bowe off early because I have doubts about him being effective in the later rounds. Especially against a man who would have the advantage in height, weight, and possibly even strength. And frankly I don't know if I can envision Bowe getting taken out early, given that he was never stopped period.

 

Foreman was 217 lbs in 1973 first off, however in the end I think his power would prove to be too much for Bowe who had a penchant for brawling it out with his opponents. This would be an interesting fight however in seeing how Foreman combats Bowe's combinations and inside game.

 

bowe was sweet pea as far as defense when you compare him to foreman.
bowe could roll,slip,dip,block...foreman basically blocked punches with his face,he would just overpower his opponents cause he was that stronger.

bowe is taller,heavier,had a longer reach,better jab,faster hands,his punches are more precise...

as i said,bowe would land first cause of his superior technique and speed.

 

When I talked to Eddie Futch he was convinced that Bowe would handle Norton/Frazier similar to Foreman.

Foreman was the "big" guy in the 70's........he would be average today but Bowe would still be a "big" fighter today.

Bowe was far more skilled (when he wanted to) than Foreman, that is not even up to discussion and also his defense (when he wanted to) was light years ahead of Foreman.

Foreman overpowered opponents, if that did not work he was in for a long night, either getting stopped, outboxed/outpointed or had to get off the canvas to win.

You could not over power Bowe, you had to out box him to give him trouble, Holyfield with the help of the fan man had a razor thin success and Golata needed to foul out despite ahead because he could not keep Bowe off him.

Foreman's shoving his opponents into positioning would not work with Bowe, Bowe was way too strong, Foreman would have to pay a price to get in and once inside he would have to deal with nasty combinations up close.

Defense ? Foreman is way worse, he almost got mad when you did not hit him plus Bowe has a significant speed advantage.

In his comeback Foreman ran his mouth quite a bit in calling out fighters for big money fights or belts...........he never ever said a peep about Bowe and if Bowe would have beaten Douglas in Vegas instead of Holyfield he would have steered clear and would have waited for a fragile fighter like Moorer to come along to get a title shot.

Foreman's only chance is to get the job done in the first 3 or 4 rounds, after that its game over, Bowe would never let him breath after that and force him to fight at a frantic pace, Bowe fought T H R E E minutes a round, barely clinched, even washed up never ran out of gas and could put on the heat in the 12th or first.

I take Bowe in a very entertaining thriller.

 

i agree with you,but make no mistake,foreman was a natural 225-230 lbs,with no weight training or peds!he could have easily be around 240lbs if he was today with peds and weight training...the man was a physical specimen

so was bowe,plus he was better schooled than foreman!

 

This is a great matchup. It depends on whether Bowe can take George's power. There is a huge difference between prime Foreman's punching power and 1992 Holyfield. Bowe has good height and reach, but rarely "fought tall." I don't think George would have trouble finding his chin. George wasn't a great inside fighter, so he needs to keep Bowe on the outside and try to get him with an accumulation of power shots. Also, prime George had his most trouble with slick boxers. I think the only way Bowe can win this is if he gets inside and tires George out, or if he goes against his habit of slugging, and tries to box and use a bit of movement. My gut tells me Rid**** gets suckered into a shootout and gets stopped, probably in the middle rounds.

 

Bowe was never stopped, even looking like a mummy and totally washed up you could not keep him down......Foreman aint stopping Bowe.

 

He had a lot of heart. He took hellacious punishment from Golota and lasted long enough for Golota to self destruct mentally. He didn't have to look to get Golota DQ'd. Golota brought it on himself by getting frustrated he couldn't finish the job.

 

Who did Bowe fight that had anything close to prime Foreman's punching power?

 

He may not have been officially stopped in his career, but the beatings he took against Golota did way more damage than most ko losses. But, that was Bowe at the end of the line and doesn't mean anything prime v. prime.

 

Foreman claim to fame is a glass chinned Norton and a mediocre chinned undersized Frazier.....journeyman Lyle took Foreman's shots just fine until gassing......there is a saying power is the last thing a fighter looses, well, in his comeback, Foreman could not stop Stewart, Saverese, Morrison etc etc....none of the above are noted for there chins, on the contrary , there chins are below par. Moorer was another glass chinned light heavy.

Foreman punches way to wide to surprise Bowe, it is always the punches you dont see coming that hurt you the most, in this case Bowe would see it coming from a mile away.

Bowe has significantly more speed , the question is does Foreman take Bowe 's combinations, nasty uppercuts and looping right hand...and for how long because Bowe could not miss even if he tried.

BTW, what big hitters did Foreman face, please dont say midget Frazier.

 

Unless someone is banking on George doing a Ken Norton to Bowe, I can't see why he'd be favored. In fact I'd actually give a 90's rendition of George a better chance against Big Daddy on the basis of stylistic changes alone. 70's George had no defense, no pacing strategy, no stamina and wouldn't enjoy the size advantage over Bowe that he did over so many of his foes.

 

Is it to be a fight or a fastfood eating contest. In both I take Foreman by stoppage.

 

If average punchers like Biggs, Holyfield and Golota can hurt and even drop Bowe, Foreman had more than enough power to over power him and lets be clear Bowe is definitely getting hit and hit hard, he's too easy to hit and too willing to stand and trade.

Bowe will make it entertaining and won't capitulate easily but I see Foreman stopping him in the middle rounds.

 

Bowe was bigger and technically better than Foreman. Foreman had probably equal strength and better conditioning. But I'd go with Bowe here.