Prime George Foreman vs Prime Larry Holmes

I see Holmes sticking and moving cleanly as Foreman tries to come forward. Big George likely gasses out in the later rounds en route to a knockout.

 

I never said that Foreman was bad at cornering people, but Holmes was a master at working around aggression and placing his shots well. I rate Foreman extremely high, but I believe that Holmes is all wrong for him, as either Foreman will have to try and jab with him, or walk through him, which his hard with a man who stands is ground like Holmes.

 

I hear you.

You're the man, SL.

 

You gave away in your last line here why I favour Foreman by a margin of 51-49%. Holmes at some point will drop the dance routine & stand & fight. I pick Foreman to knock him out then & there (I am not nearly as convinced of Holmes’ durability as others), but you are spot on that the style clash favours Holmes.

Is he elusive & disciplined enough to stay away, long enough? Would be a close-run thing.

 

I understand what you're saying, and Holmes definitely has a bad habit of getting caught with hard right hands.

 

I have to take Holmes on consistency and boxing brain, but let's also not forget that Holmes had been KD and hurt by lesser punchers than Foreman. If GF won it should not shock anybody.

 

From the book

Larry Holmes vs. George Foreman

A true clash of styles with the silky-smooth skills and movement of Holmes going up against the rough and hard-hitting Foreman. This fight could have happened in the seventies and nineties, but sadly never came to fruition.

Both fighters are virtually the same size. Foreman hits harder and has the stronger chin, while Holmes is the better and faster boxer with superior stamina and ring IQ.

The fight starts with Holmes fully aware of Big George’s power and early rushing attacks. Holmes whips his incredible jab and tries to control the pace, aiming to manoeuvre the predatory Foreman into positions where he can’t land his power punches. Adopting the rope a dope wouldn’t be a smart idea as Holmes doesn’t have the endurance or chin that Ali did, and it would be a very risky strategy.

After a few rounds Holmes is up on the cards, but Foreman isn’t too worried as he is landing some glancing blows and isn’t working to such a pace as he did in the Rumble in the Jungle when Ali constantly taunted him.

Holmes also doesn’t hit hard enough to really hurt or worry his foe and also had a tendency to carry his hands low and trade with punches unnecessarily, like against Shavers and Norton. A pretty bad idea against an all-time great puncher and finisher like Big George.

By Seven Holmes switches off and Foreman lands a devastating left hook on his chin. Holmes is down. The Easton Assassin gets to his feet but an on-rushing Foreman starts teeing off with some clubbing shots and the ref jumps in, ending the contest.

Verdict: TKO win to Foreman in Round Seven.

To read more fights just click here https://bookgoodies.com/a/1068623705

 

The problem I have with this is how young, prime George wouldn't have the gas on tap a young Holmes did. Foreman typically knocked people out early, for him to knock someone out in the middle rounds was rare. If Holmes is frustrating the hell out of him early, not just surviving those rounds but winning, Foreman would be doing his zombie act right around the seventh round. He would have ended up like Liston in the first Ali fight, frustrated and very tired from landing very little.

On the other hand, sure Larry took breaks in the middle rounds, but if he sees Foreman's weariness he will work to finish things up (see Scott Ledoux, Leroy Jones, for just 2 examples).

They are my favorite fighters both, but an exhausted Foreman gets stopped in 9 at the very latest.

 

Holmes stops Foreman late as he gasses out around 13th round after outboxing him for the whole fight. He may be knocked down once or twice tho.

 

The further fight goes the better it becomes for Holmes I see Holmes weathering some rocky moments to stop Foreman late on if it's a 15 round fight.

I think stylistically Holmes is a slight favourite here anytime Foreman went up against a boxer he struggled Peralta, Young, Holyfield, Schulz, and even Morrison when he fought defensively.

 

I think that Foreman is one of the only guys that would've been able to beat actual "prime" Holmes. Holmes had the better jab but George was so good with that hit, push off, hit you again tactic. That's one of the things that used to keep his opponents un-set and not in position to fire back/counter him. Foreman was also far stronger on the inside and Holmes despite being an elite outboxer did get clipped sometimes by things he shouldn't have gotten clipped by.

If I had to pull the trigger I'd pick Foreman