Prime George Foreman vs Prime Trevor Berbick

Foreman is the percentage call by some way.
Big Trevor was very durable though and could mess Foreman around.
If it's a 10 rounder I could see GF failing to put him away and staggering drunk through the last 3 rounds to a points win.
GF Could well end it earlier but Berbick was more durable than many GF blowout victims.

 

Foreman ain't blowing out Berbick like Tyson did. No way! I see Berbick lasting a while and even befuddling a wild swinging Foreman for quite some rounds. Berbick was tough and he's not using his bravado like he did on Tyson.

Foreman wins but not easily.

 

Foreman KO inside 2 rounds.

 

Why is this even a question?

 

Yeah prime Foreman within 3-4 for me.

 

He wouldn't have a prayer since he would be standing in of Foreman. It's easy target practice for George.

 

Thinking about this...Berbick went a full fifteen rounds against prime Larry Holmes, mostly because he pissed Larry off (and, unlike the Leon fight, it hurt rather than helped LH).

I can't remember if George was as influenced by psych as much as Larry (he sure was in Zaire), but if he was then Berbick might have psyched him as well.

Of course I could be totally wrong, as LH and GF had such different styles. I'm talking temperament here.

 

I still think prime Berbick would have lasted longer against George. Berbick of the Holmes fight didn't have a particularly terrible defense, and he had a good shot when he landed.

I know, I know, Foreman's being a total monster in the 70s is a big factor....

 

Yes, Berbick was very durable. What about Pinklon Thomas or Tim Witherspoon? Do those guys get blown out against Foreman? All three of those guys have almost equal toughness and could box well too.

So everyone is picking Foreman within 4 rounds based on his bouts against tailor made Frazier? China chinned Ken Norton? His back and forth brawl for life against Ron Lyle? Berbck ain't getting overwhelmed here and knows his limitations.

Why didn't comeback Foreman pick on Berbick or any of the 80's retreads in the late 80's? Hmmm, mmmaybe because they were a bit too difficult to look good against, even past prime versions.

Berbick will lose but he's not getting blown out. Not a prime version. No way.

 

Exactly. Berbick came along during that great amateur program America implemented. He hung around for most of the decade and besides a few flub ups (like most 80's heavyweights did) against Gordon and Mercado he basically showed his desire and toughness when on point. He's not standing in front of Foreman like he did against Tyson. Berbck was good when he had to be.

Look what Berbick did when he stepped up: Became the first man to last 15 rounds to break Holmes' 7 bout KO streak; first man to beat Pinklon Thomas; then he ran into a young dynamo in Tyson. This all happened.

 

Trev was a big strong bloke durable and a complete nutter .He was crazy enough to give it a go against George .Fun whist it lasts

 

You make some great points, but be careful , The Foreman Burger Boys will be coming after you to give you a GRILLING ....Lol

 

Yes, you are correct. Every fan base has their hardcore hero and I believe Foreman's fan base is the most outlandish. "He could crush bones with a single jab", or this one, "Tyson ducked him because Don King heard from some unknown hack who overheard Cus telling Mike to avoid Foreman". I've heard it all before. But guess what? Foreman's record against world rated fighters is 7-5. Yep, 7 wins and 5 losses.

 

You better duck pal....they are gonna come at you swingin' LOL
PS, you are correct and are right on point !

 

I used to at least be BFFs with the burger-munching kids...but I've cooled a bit in my ardor for Big George's comeback, all because I've gone back and rewatched those fights.

George really did mostly cherry pick his opponents, and guys like Quawi shouldn't have been even half as hard for him to beat as they were (especially considering Qawi was a blown up light heavyweight). The Qawi fight exposed a lot of flaws, the kind of flaws that a similarly moving-ahead-all-the-time/short-fighter-with-short-arms like Tyson would have take advantage of in a big way.

Now, I know Big George probably didn't get up for Qawi (or Cooper, for that matter) anywhere near as much as he would have for Tyson. My point is, even forgetting Qawi being a kind of second-rate heavyweight, George was way too easy to hit.

BG got up, big time, against Holy and didn't do bad at all. He just plain lost (and I have him behind only three points, no shut out by any means). But it's hard to imagine him beating the Bowe or Tyson of around that time (prison for the latter or no) either. The only big fight I can imagine him winning from the crop would have been against

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Lewis, where I feel he'd knock LL out early (LL's one-armed, much-more-puncher-than-boxer early style wouldn't have been enough to stop George imo...it's a totally different story for LL post-Steward imo).

Keep in mind, George is second only to Larry as my favorite fighter. But I criticize entirely out of love: I wanted George to blow everybody away during his comeback, and at times was willingly blind to certain problems he was having. These days, love or no, I feel that I see things more objectively.

Nothing can take away what George ultimately accomplished in that comeback, winning the (LINEAL!) title again at that age and against the man who solidly beat the man who solidly beat him. But the Moorer kayo was by far the greatest win George had had since the second Frazier fight and that was...WOW, a loooooong time before that.