When was George Foreman at his best as a fighter?

You think the rumble was fixed? Re-watch it. He spent the entire fight trying to take Ali’s head off. He just couldn’t, got tired, lost confidence, and that was it.

zero fix was in. Ali was just the better man that night.

 

It really wasn’t a close fight, class apart he got fooled by an old trick lol.

 

Inconsistent, but generally around the Norton fight, except he got drunk on his power. A lot of skills and timing he displayed during his comeback career were back there in the younger when he needed them.

 

He is definitely underrated skill-wise.

 

Very much so Rollin and not least for the accuracy of his fully laden shots which is often over sighted.

 

When he was whomping somebody upside the head.

 

George was at his best from Kingston-Kinshasa.

 

Well if you assume he was basically a Barbarian yes, If you think he is a limited fighter with not enough rounds, a one trick pony sort… no…mostly he was just a meteoric hype job in the 70s one who came along at the right time. A better managed Corrie Sanders / Gerry Cooney contender type but credit to him he was more game.

 

Absolutely not. Sanders and Cooney had their respective tools that made them shine (left hook, accuracy and the left hand etc.), but Foreman was a far more complex package for a puncher. Great shot-selection, crafty if not flashy combinations, underrated yet effective defensively, fantastic general, one of the best ever at cutting the ring, all-time great control game, ramrod jab, tricky timing, granite chin, dynamite power that left him only well into his forties, one of the best body punchers at heavyweight, immensely composed.

There is a reason he could do so well during his comeback, even if a lot of his opposition was B-class. There was a reason Foreman with nearly non-existent amateur background took the gold at the Olympics against a much older, infinitely more experienced man including my countryman, the great Lucjan Trela, who was a southpaw and a national champion some years in a row, long-reigning Romania's national champion Ion Alexe, and an over thirty year old puncher in Lithuania's Jonas Čepulis, who stopped each of his previous opponents in the Olympics.

Foreman was a talent. Not perfect, with turbulent career, but clearly a talent. Anyone holding Ali or Young losses, circumstances aside, forgets that there are styles and levels to the game.

 

Yup. A lot of things he used to great effect in the Norton and Frazier fight, he neglected against Ali.

 

"In boxing, I had a lot of fear. Fear was good. But, for the first time, in the bout with Muhammad Ali, I didn't have any fear. I thought, 'This is easy. This is what I've been waiting for'. No fear at all. No nervousness. And I lost."

 

Yep (healthy) fear is an excellent motivation. Without it, Ali himself admits he would've lost to Liston.

Ironically Frazier would've done better against Foreman if he didn't have balls of ****ing steel.

 

Yeah, George literally wanted to kill Ali, per appearances/actions and by his own admission.

Ali pointedly manipulated Foreman into that mindset, much to Ali’s own advantage.

Ali was always a proponent of psychological warfare but I wonder if Ali still took note of how much chatty Jose Roman got under George’s skin - George came out trying to kill Jose also - some wild punches thrown in that one, lol.

Even during the Zaire face off, you could almost see the steam coming out of a snarling Foreman’s ears as Ali dressed him down all the while. Brilliant stuff.

In Ali’s own words “I just let George blast his ass off and prayed he’s keep throwin’”.

Interesting that Foreman came back down to 220 lbs after going into the Norton fight at 224 3/4 lbs. For mine, Foreman did look that much bigger against Kenny.

Due to the cut eye, post postponement etc, I wonder if Foreman overtrained or what not, ultimately arriving at a lighter weight than he perhaps intended?

 

Firstly one of the best ever at cutting the ring displayed in exactly one round against Ali? An old lady could cut the ring against Ken Norton, Frazier came at you… where was it against Peralta and Uncle Jimmy? This is one of the most repeated pieces of bull in boxing history.

 

Top post. Two of the greatest psych jobs I've seen were Ali - Foreman and Duran - Leonard 1. Interestingly, Leonard turned it around in the rematch to the point where Duran did the unthinkable, and quit. That loss to Duran was the final piece of Rays' boxing education. After that he was complete.