Bonecrusher Smith vs George Foreman, Zaire, 1974

So your brilliant plan is to NOT use Smith's superb clinching (one of the only things he has going for him) neglect his defense and to just go right at Foreman in a straight line? There is no way you're a real coach. this idiotic plan gets Smith stopped in 5 rounds.

 

The people suggesting Smith can get away with constantly spamming clinches to tire Foreman out:

-obviously do not know how basic physics work. If you have two guys of similar height, weight, and reach this is extremely difficult to do.

-obviously do not realize Smith will be getting tired too. Foremans just as strong if not stronger and won't hesitate to wrestle back or mercilessly attack the body. And as you said, he would quickly grow tired of the clinches and would start shoving Smith back.

-obviously do not realize Smith would need to set up the clinches. He can't just extend both arms and grab Foreman over and over without getting nailed eventually. Foremans jab is straight, powerful, and leagues better than Smith so I fail to see how Smith is going to be able to initiate clinched with regularity.

-have obviously never boxer before, certainly never against someone their own size.

 

Again, avoiding facts and I write this liking Foreman but the facts are the facts .. he fought next to no one ... a plodding , old Chuvalo, Frazier and Norton ( made to order ) Ali, Young (losses ) and Lyle , a possibly slightly faster Smith with less stamina and a weaker chin ..

 

Really?

Sure, next to no one.

I respect your opinion in general, so forgive me if I think you're joking...? I honestly mean no offense.

 

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Then they need to fire him and give me his job. I literally only took one physics class and got an A and I seem to have a better understanding of basic physics than him.

But it doesn't work on a guy your own size who has tremendous arm strength and loves to shove people, frame them, and will wrestle you right back. Especially if that guy is unquestionably the better boxer with better reflexes.

We've been over this. Ali's counter punching, slippery head movement, and usage of the ropes (not an easy thing to do, it's not a matter of simply laying on them) all contributed to Foremans fatigue. The only thing slippery about Smith is his sweat, and the only thing he knows about counters is the place where he puts his food.

I believe I also addressed how I'm not impressed with a guy's stamina if the primary reason he goes the distance is because he refused to open up. There are fights where Smith gasses early and his pace slows down such as against Ruddock.

The biggest difference is that Foreman is faster, more accurate, and hits harder. That means he will be landing more shots more frequently, which means Smith could actually get tired first even in a slug fest. Especially if he keeps trying to initiate clinches and Foreman beats him to the punch.

You don't even have to go to a gym or spar. Just ask one of your buddies or family members who are of a similar height and weight to try to spam cliches over and over without setting them up with a jab, feint, etc. A complete amateur with zero experience will realize that it's not very easy to do and may start to neutralize and stop the clinches within minutes.

 

So you say all these names are worse than Bonecrusher Smith? I'd say that Smith is closer to someone like LeDoux than Frazier. Remember, we're talking about the guy who lost 1/4th of his fights in his prime (excluding late 1990s fights completely).

Funny enough, you wouldn't pick someone like Nino Valdes over Foreman and he was better fighter than Smith. You wouldn't even put Max Baer over George...

 

Just adding to your very strong work. Jimmy Young did stand toe to toe with Foreman multiple times even stunning him.

 

I respect your attempt to create a good discussion but this thread is just grasping at straws. Theres just a Huge gulf in Class between these two guys for the fight to be competitive.

People can talk **** about George Being unproven or whatever, but at the end he crushed Foreman and Norton, won a competitive war with Lyle after coming back from a lay off and loss. Crushed Chuvalo, LeDoux, Dennis, beat Peralta, the second time without much trouble. If Foreman was as one dimensional or limited as People think, one of these guys wouldve exposed him. Thats the difference between true Greats and one hit Wonders who lack consistency or are reliant on a certain aspect of their style.

And his losses to Ali and Young were very competitive and circumstantial. Its interesting how both Times Foreman failed to "Pace" himself he fought in the ****ing desert.

Foreman gets too much **** for his losses which arent even that bad compared to some other "ATGS" that Got knocked out by one Punch in their primes, Got stopped by journeymen in their primes or Got badly dominated by and lost to a 42-1 underdog

 

Thanks for mentioning me.
Louis is poor compared to modern boxers, I've always stated that.
Morrison obliterates him.

 

There are around 70 fights indeed, but the vast majority are against men that were smaller than him, that won't be the case this time.

 

This is all about a specific match up .. Smith was much bigger, much stronger, hit harder and took a better shot than Valdez and took a better shot ... I am not measuring him as a fighter against a multitude of opponents , just against Foreman .. Ledoux was game , courageous but had no punch. I'm being very specific here based on skill sets and match ups. Get the concept , it's a specific match up. A very big, very strong man Wirth some boxing ability , a cast iron chin in his prime, monster power and better stamina than Foreman.

 

Someone gets it....bravo!

 

That''s all you have .. weak.