Bob Foster at SMW today- GOAT 49-0

Why did you say "Ward was more of a SMW" when we are talking about Foster? SMWs today are as big as LHWs from yesterday.

 

I disagree. We have to at least entertain the idea that making 168 could weaken him because he was already cutting weight to make 175; it's not at all the same as McClellan coming down from 190, even if that particular rumor were true.

To answer the OP, I think Foster could hold the belts for a very long time, but I doubt very much he goes undefeated.

 

You're playing a little too fast and loose with your assumptions for my liking. There is no proof that Foster, himself, was not coming down from 20 pounds above light heavyweight, especially in his 30's when he was champion. Modern techniques might have facilitated an easier cut, but everyone reacts differently to making weight.

We mustn't merely suppose that earlier eras automatically make for smaller fighters. Bob Foster probably could make super middleweight today, but it wouldn't put him in the same size category as Andre Ward, for example. The first two years of Ward's career was at 160 with his fight night weight being no higher than 170 (look up Kolle and Molina).

 

Same argument as saying would be bigger today on PEDs or w/e bull****. He was what he was and his ass would be a 168/175.

 

But he didn't.

 

If you want to prove that weigh in rules were the only issue, go figure out if fighters were dropping down one or two weightclasses when the rules changed. I don't think you'll like the answer.

 

So you're saying you don't have the evidence?

 

Foster coming in at 188 means he cut less weight, not none. I'm not sure whether you're implying he gained more muscle mass for his camp for Frazier, but he certainly would not have bulked up, as you put it, as he was light heavyweight champion at that time. And I believe he already had a scheduled defense going in because he was under pressure to defend within a period of a few months.

There's no secret to weight cutting, by the way. Yes, great strides have been made that allow for more weight to be cut in less time, but that's not the point. The point is that fighters' weights, in any era, more often than not, represent the lowest their bodies can function in a fight. There's no telling what kind of strain draining additional weight will have on Bob Foster.