Sanders vs 91 Foreman

Sanders was a nothing. He gets crushed.

 

Sanders was very dangerous early. Lightning quick hands, dynamite in his left, and a southpaw to boot. He bombed out a lot of guys in the first few rounds. But those that weathered the storm like Vitali and Rahman beat him, due to his god-awful conditioning.

Foreman could do the same. His chin was basically inpenetrable. Sanders batters him early on but eventually he fades and Foreman comes back to KTFO him.

Sanders was actually a prospective opponent for Foreman in the mid 90s. Too bad that the fight never happened.

 

Depends which Sanders. I would without hesitation pick a young, mobile Sanders to win on points. He fed off the plodders. Way too fast.

Older Sanders was more KO-happy, but in the case of Foreman I think he's got a mountain to climb if he thinks he can KO that tank.

 

Probably similar to the ****ey fight. Sanders could hurt Foreman bad, but I don't see him finishing the job. Sanders would have to blitz Foreman, too dangerous. Foreman by KO within 7

 

He did do a good job of outpointing Ross Purity when Ross was a decent fringe contender.

 

I have a similar position as hookfromhell. Sanders can hurt Foreman but I just don't see him finishing, Old Foreman was very good at smothering his opponents when he was hurt. All of that extra weight laying on a guy in the clinch would wear any version of Sanders out and stop him around round 4-5. I don't see it going past round 6 in any situation.

Sanders hit Foreman clean, sees a slight stagger and starts pouring it on while Foreman calmy crabs up and his big paws start reaching for Sanders tying him up constantly and wasting massive amounts of Sanders energy trying to push him off to create room. Foreman survives a 2nd round blitz from Sanders, going into the 3rd Foreman is still shaking off the effects of the punish, walks Sanders down to close the gap for Sanders punching room, still tying him up and pushing Sanders around.
In round 4 Foreman starts to fight his fight, jabbing, throwing hooks and uppercuts in between Sanders occasional burts of energy not getting phased by Sanders power anymore. End of Round 4 Sanders visibly discouraged and taking deep breaths.
Round 5 Foreman continues to walks Sanders down, landing some awkward hooks and uppercuts to the head and body that don't look special but are having devastating effects on Sanders face and is hunching over to protect his body. Near the end of the round Foreman traps Sander on the ropes, tees off to the head and body, Sanders takes a knee for an 8 count. Exhausted and busted up he barely gets to the corner and never comes out for round 6 due to corner stoppage.

See Sanders v V Klitschko
Foreman v Quawi
Foreman v ****ey
Foreman v Moorer but earlier

For a taste of what would happen. Also note Im not saying old Foreman was better than Vitali but he would apply his pressure and gameplan and execute much quicker than Vitali did with an old Sanders and Foremans power and durability would be evident.

 

It's a shame that some have reduced Corrie Sanders to being a " one punch - one trick pony. " He was actually a very good boxer in his early days with good movement and skills. I also don't see what a prime sanders had in common with a three year retired Gerry C00ney who didn't even fight the same style anyway.

 

Ross Puritty was NEVER more than a journeyman. He was never ranked in the top 10. (Probably not ever in the top 20) Had almost no wins over anyone of note before shocking and stopping Wlad. Definitely had no wins of any significance after exposing Wlad's primary flaw. Puritty was a strong, hardworking ex-football player with no amateur experience and very limited skill boxing wise. Outpointing him was no Herculean task. (Admittedly, stopping the granite-chinned Puritty was extremely hard)

 

I've watched every Sanders fight I could get my hands on and this is certainly true.

Most people seem to have watched his Wlad, Vitali and maybe Rahman fights when he was over the hill or on the slide vs Rahman.

There's a reason why people were touting him as the latest hot prospect coming up. The Sanders that you see vs Wlad is not nearly as fast or mobile as his younger versions. Maybe harder hitting and more focused, but that's it.

 

I would say that Puritty was still more mobile than old Foreman

Pierre Coetzer was roughing Foreman up (admittedly to little effect given George's exceptional chin) until he got carried away and got caught in an exchange. Young Sanders was far faster and more elusive than Coetzer, with a bigger wingspan especially given that he was a straight puncher. He didn't mind jabbing his way to a wide points win.

 

I disagree. In the three years leading up to the Sanders bout, Purity had won 15 of 17 fights, which included knockouts over Joe Hipp, Jorge Gonzalez and a draw in a fight where he decked Morrison twice.. A year after losing to Sanders he beats a young Wlad. The only fights he was losing during this time were decisions to other rising contenders in their primes.. The above components are enough to qualify as "fringe" or at least during that particular time frame in Purity's career. At other points I'd concur that he was at journeyman level, but not at the time of the Sanders bout. In fact I think its possible that THIS version of purity might have won more of his other fights. As for ratings, I don't think Ring magazine ever had him ranked. But it wouldn't surprise me if some of the governing organizations might have if even only briefly... And even being just outside the top 10 could still qualify someone as fringe.

 

The only way I can see Sanders taking this one is by overwhelming George with volume early and a ref- worried about George's age- steps in.

Otherwise, I see George outlasting Corrie.

 

hookfromhell already nailed it: like the ****ey fight. Corrie would win the first round or two, but then George would still be there, walking him down. George could take it and Sanders couldn't, and I see Foreman having his arm raised within five.

 

Since the early 90s there have been too many belts to count. Never being ranked in the top 10 of any governing body speaks volumes to Puritty's actual status as a prize fighter. Tough guy, below average boxer. Wins over a washed up Joe Hipp and Gonzalez speak more to where they were at that stage of their careers than showing actual improvement as a fighter with Puritty. If Ross had truly improved as a fighter, surely he would have had at least one significant win after Wlad.... But, he didn't. Not a single win over a top 30 fighter after Wlad.