Did the second Foreman REALLY have a better chin than the first Foreman?

I see this asked from time to time. It’s interesting, IMO. I’ve seen educated men involved in the sport tell you chins don’t just magically improve, that Foreman’s relaxed state in his comeback was responsible for this phenomena. He does say in doco The Trail Back (1991) that Boxing was deadly serious to him in his first career, & that now (’91) it’s just a game, no pressure.

 

His chin was no different, but he paced himself better, and had a superior attitude. We still see him get rocked multiple times in his comeback, it's just that he kept himself together.

 

He was more durable & carried more one-punch power IMO, even if he was less adept at actually reaching opponents w/ his power.

That isn't all that unusual - Ali displayed more durability & arguably more power during his "2nd career" as well.

 

No, it is basically impossible.

 

I think his chin was better. The reasons are:

1) He was much heavier. It's harder to shift a man that's 30-40lb heavier.
2) He defended himself better. Not so reckless. The cross arm defence was decent.
3) He paced himself better. Probably the biggie. Young Foreman used to go all out to try stomp guys and blow his wad. A tired fighter is a vulnerable fighter.
4) He also didn't play around with stupid dehydration games which are certainly bad for a fighter, not least because it may have reduced the amount of protective fluid around his brain.

 

All good points. He did mention in that same doco he stopped the dehydration game from his earlier years. I think part of it may be too that a wider man would have a greater center of gravity, so more stability. There it is guys, I solved it - he was too wide to fall.

 

Same chin more or less IMO. Foreman was demonstrating his chin more in his 40s because his fights were lasting longer. Whereas in the 70s his chin and stamina where more ???s because those things rarely came into play.

 

I suspect so.

A bigger core, and in particular bigger neck, assists with absorbing punches to the head, by causing the head to shake less violently than it otherwise would, when hit.

It's basically the same premise as understanding why HWs typically have better punch resistance than, for example, MWs.

 

Both great points.

Young Foreman was down at least 4 times, while the old one was never dropped. I know the KDs by Ali & Young were at least partly attributable to exhaustion, but the 2 vs. Lyle weren't. Old Foreman shook off Cooney's money punch w/o going down, + Holyfield & Moorer hit him w/ everything but the kitchen sink w/o putting him down. It should also be noted that old Foreman was often fighting much larger-sized HWs than the ones that he typically fought in his youth, like Cooney, Briggs, & Savarese, but still w/o going down. Every indication is that he withstood punches better in his old age than in his youth.

 

No but he wa such a more mature, confident man that while his physical skills diminished to a degree he compensated with others based on maturity and it allowed him to relax, loosed up and roll ...

 

Don't think Lyle drops a 1991 Foreman