Prime Larry Holmes vs. Prime George Foreman.

Ali didn`t keep Foreman on the end of a jab, he used the rope a dope instead, Holmes never used a high guard but had a great chin like Ali, he would try to fight Foreman the same way he fought the lethal punching Shavers.

 

If Shavers could catch Holmes then so could Foreman who was far better than Shavers and Foreman had a better jab than Shavers which would help him vs Holmes jab.

 

Holmes late round TKO or UD in a war in which he may or may not be floored along the way. Weaver gave him a tough fight, Foreman hits at least as hard as Weaver and was an overall better fighter.

 

Holmes TKO 13 Foreman

 

Foreman stops him.
Larry Holmes as great as he was, was no Muhammad Ali.

Big problems with Shavers, Witherspoon... Foreman finishes him off once he hurts him.
Larry has a good chance of winning it though, but I think Foreman would finish him.

 

Love the idea of this fight. Pick Foreman but a tough fight that I wouldn’t be surprised either way

 

Foreman by KO before the 6th rd but if Holmes hangs past the 6th the young Foreman had pace & stamina problems & could find himself on empty but Holmes was not as savvy as Ali & Foreman had Right hand power so I think he stops Holmes

 

Holmes would beat Foreman the same as Jimmy Young did, or like Ali did without taking those body shots on the ropes.

Foreman and Holmes had chances to meet in the 1990's. Foreman always declined.

 

I really like George here. Always have. His pressure will get Larry off his pitchers mound. That's what Holmes loved best---a pitchers mound and face first opponents that could not slip a punch. Holmes is murder on those guys and it's tough to win a round against him playing that game.

Foreman will not cooperate with that. And George's vastly under rated footwork and ring cutting abilities will have Holmes taking 5 steps to Foreman's 2. That and like everyone mentioned above, tons of guys came right over the top of that Holmes jab. So would George. But he has the tools and finishing ability to close the show. tko sometime during the first half of the fight.

 

Young George would always be dangerous and Holmes would know this. I would see Holmes utilizing his boxing skills to not only survive the early rounds when Foreman is most dangerous but to frustrate him and gain points while doing so. Prime Holmes did not like to concede many rounds to an opponent and he would be trying to win rounds against young George. He would be trying to take George into the later rounds where the latter's stamina issues would work against him. I see Holmes winning a decision if scheduled for 12 and possibly a stoppage over an exhausted Foreman if scheduled for 15.

 

Larry is not only a great boxer, but a tough guy, and George would find that out. He could possibly stop Larry, but the most likely scenario is he survives some scary moments early, and drags George late, stopping him in the 14th round.

 

Holmes late

 

That's definitely a plausible. It's either this or Holmes possibly surviving and winning a decision or late tko. What's overlooked is that Ali conserved so much energy sitting on those ropes. Holmes and basically no-one else would be able to pull that off so they would expend far more energy than Ali did trying to survive and would not be as fresh as Ali was mid fight. You capture this perfectly. I'd narrowly lean toward your scenario.

 

Always liked Holmes in this one
Holmes takes the fight into the championship rounds and stops a badly tiring foreman 12th or 13th round