Not sure if said but Mercer has a damn good jab. Enough to fend off Foreman? Probably not and I can envision him abandoning it to get in a reckless slugfest too. Also, Foreman had a solid jab himself. He really didn't pace himself enough to showcase it more when he was young. A jab, durability n ring IQ IMHO r necessities when fighting a young Foreman who had the bloodlust of piranhas in old cartoons. Mercer had the first two but not confident he would play it safe against prime Foreman.
Foreman by TKO. I think the version of Mercer who fought Lewis was the best he ever was. He had developed some boxing skills after the Holmes fight. Ray had a pretty good jab. Mercer started boxing at a late age. He got overrated initially but still a work in progress into the 90s
Sure it is. Guy with diminished reflexes trying to be aggressive but getting timed to death until the tko. I’m pretty sure that Toney could one up what Stewart did.
I’m certain he couldn’t. He couldn’t time to death a slow, limited Samuel Peter in their second fight and got widely outboxed while roided to the gills. I’m pretty sure if Sam Peter (a bankrupt man’s George Foreman) can drop Toney with his jab that GF could one up that and end him.
Not a fair assessment. Toney had a time being sharp at a higher weight from Jirov to Rydell Booker, with the Holyfield fight being the peak. He later beat Ruiz and gave Peter a tough fight despite being faded. I class peak Peter ahead of comeback Foreman. He gave Wlad a rough fight, took Maskaev for a belt, iced Jeremey Williams and got the best of Toney over two fights. Foreman never showed that kind of consistency in his comeback. If you match pre-Vitali Peter against Stewart, Briggs, Moorer, Schultz and Morrison, I’m pretty sure he’d bat over 500 and dispose of one or two of them early.
Foreman wrecks him. Mercer on the attack, while quite effective, proved not to be enough against the best of the 90's like Holyfield. If its not enough to bring them down, it ain't bringing 90's George down which means there is no chance it'd bring down prime Foreman. Prime Foreman was an absolute monster of a unit. There was a good reason why the division was terrified of him in the 70's and 90's.
This. A devastating destruction. Prime Foreman was a h2h monster. I can't think of too many I'd pick to beat him.
In all matters relating to the former two time Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world, George Edward Foreman, the ESB poster known as NoNeck is completely detached from reality. Any comments he puts forth, any opinions he offers, any remarks he makes regarding the aforementioned George Edward Foreman, aka Big George, may be completely disregarded without any loss of merit regarding the issue, and may be taken with a full truck-load of salt.
It comes down to every backwards step being Mercer's, and Ray never demonstrated the movement potential a heavily 'roided Morrison did on old George. Prime Foreman is backing Mercer up and cutting him off to the ropes and corners. No KDs, but Ray is simply not getting past round five. He'd get shoved back and handled like a rag doll the way Frazier and Tommy were.
I actually wonder why a Lewis/Foreman fight didn't happen. Foreman was hugely popular. That would have been a big money fight for both. And Foreman's popularity is why I can't see Mercer possibly not jumping at the chance to fight him. It would be a good purse, and Mercer had every tool necessary to beat old Foreman, as well as the durability to survive if Foreman landed the perfect shot. As to a prime Foreman vs Mercer, well, is this the prime Foreman with stamina issues? I can see a world in which Mercer goes after him like he did Lewis, survives some horrific shots like he did against Lewis, and wears out Foreman, possibly allowing a late stoppage, or at least a win on points. Anyone doubting Mercer's ability to survive in there ought to re-watch his fight with Lewis. Great showing of his ability to deal with a big puncher.