Send in your come forward slugger type fighter to beat 1974 George Foreman

As I said in another thread Ike Ibeabuchi wouldn't be a bad shout.

He has an iron chin, he's as big as Foreman, and has better stamina/workrate.

 

On paper, Louis has many of the tools that could lead to a win over Foreman. Quick hands, superb technique, good ring IQ, able to counter and set traps, etc.

I don't know if his chin would hold up, and his slow feet are also a potential huge problem as he'd be right in front of Foreman. Louis was also no defensive wizard, so even if he managed to survive a bomb or two, it seems inevitable he'd be suckered into a brawl and he wouldn't last long if that happened.

 

When did his chin hold him back? I’d be more concerned with Foreman’s seeing as Lyle landed one right hand in the opening round of the bout and sent him into a tumbling routine, Foreman’s defence was just too lacking for Louis, Louis’s defence was fine, one of the best at HW and his footwork is textbook perfect.

 

As much as I love "Smokin Joe" as a fighter and as a man--I really don't think even FOTC Frazier could've beaten Foreman back then. It was the worst possible matchup for him!

 

First of all, Foreman said Lyle hit him harder than anyone he faced in either of his careers which is quite the statement.

Second, Louis visited the canvas more times than any other lineal champion aside from Patterson and Carnera if I'm not mistaken, and Foreman was one of the most vicious finishers in history so if he hurt/dropped Louis there's a good chance the fight would end. Louis was also KOd by men significantly smaller than Foreman and again, he was no defensive wizard nor was he great at clinching or using his legs to survive. In some ways, Louis' offense was his defense so he'd need to fight fire with fire to keep Foreman off of him.

Louis' footwork and "perfect" don't belong in the same sentence given that he could neither keep pressure fighters such as Galento or Marciano from crowding him, nor could he cut the ring off against movers such as Conn/Walcott. He had balance issues and slow feet.

 

He’d have a lot to say about Louis afterwards then, Louis had all the tools and would be landing 4-1 compared to Lyle, incredibly fast with every bit as much power from all the blind angles these combos would come from. Louis was KD’d but not often in danger especially not the way Foreman was vs Lyle he also fought for a long time so these things happen imagine if George tried fighting for a decade against contenders lol… According to you Louis isn’t a defensive wizard, I’d need an extensive effort to prove his defence wasn’t any good but people who know there S would say they it was a very good defence especially for a HW as was his footwork. Louis was stopped by Marciano when he was ancient and by Schemling when he was young but not because his chin let him down because he was outsmarted, it was a prolonged beat down. It’d also be Louis who is the better finisher here… Who did Foreman finish? Norton and Frazier? Come forward scrappers? Louis tracked down and stopped every type of fighter, Conn and Walcott are actually great examples of why his footwork was very good same as his finishing ability… what happened to Galento after Louis was very briefly KD’d? He wanted Two Ton to come to him, same as most guys because of what you saw after he was KD’d… and against Marciano he was shot I don’t know who would hold that bout against him when Marciano was GREAT at cutting the ring anyway and he was old on top of it lol - which HW had better footwork then Louie exactly? Is it Ali? Please tell me it’s Ali LOL.

 

Re: "Send in your come forward slugger type fighter to beat 1974 George Foreman"


Here is your guy: ..............................

Wait for it ..............................

Never mind.

 

Louis wasn't even the biggest puncher of his own era, Baer and Marciano were rated higher by some common opponents. It was his speed and combinations that got people. I highly, highly doubt he hit as hard as Lyle given Frazier's hooks just bounced off Foreman's head but Lyle had him stumbling everywhere. Foreman was also very rusty and lost confidence due to his loss prior to Lyle.

Foreman had over 70 professional bouts against large men 210+ across 2 eras. His chin was tested pretty well. But I guess maybe he should've fought more guys like Braddock or Johnny Paycheck to prove he was as tough as Louis...?

Marciano was not particularly great at cutting off the ring, Old man Louis had no trouble at all circling around him. Lastarza used his legs quite effectively all night, as did Walcott before his old legs gave up on him and he got caught.

 

If it has to be a messy fighter I’d like to see Bonavena when they proposed it happened, that would be an interesting fight - so do you believe Lyle got as close as was possible for anybody and nobody could go the extra 10% it’d take to secure the win?

 

I like how you A choose to not read it properly (I mention why Louis would hit harder for one example) and B choose to ignore direct questions or acknowledge most of the post. I’m going to ask you to politely reread and repost as all of it was relevant or we can agree to disagree and move on. Louis > Foreman.

 

In 1974, pre-Muhammad Ali, I do not see anybody with that come forward style doing the trick.

 

Joe Louis and easily

 

I agree that Joe Louis would beat that version of George Foreman, but there was a lot more to Joe Louis's style than simply come forward and slug.

 

Lot more to Frazier style then that, Lyles and Nortons too - who are examples of guys that even do that? Not even Bonavena lol - Marciano isn’t that one layered either, neither is a vast majority of guys we might label as “sluggers” Guys who can come forward though… Louis, Tyson and Holyfield smoke GF like a cheap cig.

 

I agree with you that there is more to any boxer than his primary style. But George Foreman's primary style was Slugger, and I think he was the best ever at that style. Joe Louis was primarily a Boxer-Puncher, which is much different than George Foreman's style of fighting. Joe was much better at adapting than George was, but that is not to say that Foreman could never adapt at all.