Foreman wouldn't have beaten Tyson in his comeback

The same fight I have told a few people to watch as to why I think Tyson wouldve taken old George.

 

I mean, George improved a hell of a lot after Qawi.

I am not saying George would have won on any night, but I don't think it is as simple as all that. Between Frank Bruno and his first jail stint, Tyson was self-destructing fast. He had abandoned the peek-a-boo, and to a lesser degree, the combinations; and was heavily on drugs and booze. I think there is every case to be made that had George got him on the right night, it would have been, "down goes Tyson! Down goes Tyson!"

But yeah, it would have had to have been the right night.

 

I agree with this, essentially. Tyson on paper certainly wins, even from around the time of the Ruddock fight where he was dropping off. But the psychology of the two men gives me serious pause. If Tyson didn’t know who Foreman was, I’d pick Tyson easy. But I can’t shake the feeling Foreman had a clear psychological edge, & Tyson is fragile in this area.

Still, even if Foreman hurt him, I question whether he can deliver the necessary punch output & energy for a KO, because he won’t win on points. He would have to hit Tyson something very serious & rely on Tyson more quitting than being beaten into submission.

I’d pick Tyson but it should be easier to pick him than it is.

 

I agree that Foreman did improve a lot after that fight - Qawi being just Foreman’s 8th comeback opponent after a near 10 year hiatus.

Qawi’s aggression, speed and style did seem to take George by surprise a bit. I can’t see Foreman underestimating Tyson in similar fashion.

Foreman also seemed a bit huffy puffy by the time the fight was stopped - so he might not have yet firmed up on his optimal comeback stamina: some further tweaks to his pacing, output and relaxedness still required.

5’6” Qawi had to be the shortest guy Foreman ever faced in his career which, in its own way, might’ve been hard for Foreman to adjust to.

Finally, a svelte looking George came in at his lightest weight during his comeback - 235 lbs.

So, it seems light wasn’t right for George (which he did tell us later, lol) , and Big George did appear that much more comfortable at the higher heights, including the 250 lbs + he weighed for the likes of Cooney and Holyfield.

 

It wouldn't have been the wisest move on George part, to take on Tyson.

 

George himself said, he came back to fight Mike Tyson, and the story was Tyson was never going to fight him.

 

Fast forward a few years, for example the Holyfield fight.

Yes, I think George could have beaten him. Mike was getting hit a lot more post-80s, he just didn't have the sensational body movement he had of old. I remember watching both Ruddock fights and being astonished at how much he got hit.

I find Teddy Atlas overwhelmingly irritating, but I agreed with him when told Michael Moorer "you just don't stand in front of George Foreman". Much less move forward against him. It's not that Foreman is some jeez-to-yee-haw super dude, he simply had ridiculous (though admittedly ponderous) power in both hands, as opposed to the left-heavy Ruddock.

He was also quite happy to have fighters come to him, it made it easier for him. Ali, Young, Morrison...none of those fighters fought him in an aggressively-moving-forward way. Lyle tried and, knockdowns and all, he ended up losing bad anyway.

1991 Foreman in 3.

 

Pre-prison Tyson stops Foreman, and it would have been sad. Post-prison Tyson...now that's a fight. Tyson had been out of the ring for 4 years, while Foreman fought once or twice a year during that time. George was at his best against shorter guys who came right to him. So the diminished version of Tyson vs. that version of Foreman, yeah it could go either way. That version of Tyson still was fast and hard punching, faster than Foreman, but his pace had slowed, he got tired faster, the combinations were gone, few jabs, head movement and defense diminished, and his legs weren't the same. Foreman still had that pulverizing jab and very heavy blows, and he had a pretty darn good jaw.

 

Sure, when you look at it on paper there is every reason to believe this would been Stewart vs Foreman 2.0. The problem with Mike was his lack of self-confidence against Foreman. It was debilitating enough that he refused to fight him at all costs even though he would've likely beaten him had they fought.

 

Probably not. But I think Foreman could have posed some problems for Tyson in the early 90s. I’m not part of the camp who says Tyson would have slaughtered him with ease.

 

There is a significant difference in style, strategy, defense, pacing, etc between Foreman of the Qawi fight and the Foreman who fought Cooney/Holy/Moore. Against Qawi, Foreman was still very rusty, sloppy, was wide open, and had poor accuracy. From the Holyfield fight onwards, Foreman's jab connected at a remarkable rate, sometimes as high as 50%. He was a lot more cagey and more of a boxer puncher than a slugger.

If it's post prison Tyson from the Bruno/Holy fights vs Qawi Foreman then I agree, Tyson should win. However, the best version of 90's Foreman is a much more competitive opponent and has some stylistic and size issues that could frustrate Tyson. For one, I really don't think Tyson can pull a Morrison moving around the ring to win with hit and run tactics. Tyson also certainly isn't going to be able to just press the issue aggressively on the front foot because the heavy jab, shoving, mauling, and uppercuts will knock him senseless.

 

Always found it odd that George seemed to be more comfortable at the higher weight. Can you be weight drained at 235lbs...

 

Part of it might’ve been due to George being forcibly weight drained in his first career.

Hunger can make you angry, but angry isn’t always good in boxing.

Second career Foreman seemed far more comfortable and relaxed in the ring - because he was able to duly feed himself.

 

No doubt.