When would you say the old Foreman was in his peak form? Was it a Cooney fight? A war with Holyfield? Winning the title from Moorer? Or was it his last fight with Briggs? If you have any other moments, please share.
He looked good against Cooney but Cooney hadn't had a meaningful fight in years. You can't get off your couch after 5 years and face a power puncher so I would vote for Holyfield, where Old George put up a spirited effort, won a few rounds and even rocked the champion once.
That Foreman was more lethargic and slow than I've ever seen him. Foreman was just a caveman Juggernaut at that point and that kind of style will always pose problems for certain people
His 2nd round stoppage over Bert Cooper in 1989 is when he started to peak in his older age IMO. I'd say between 1989-1991 was Old Foreman’s peak.
I agree too about the 1989-1991 period. Had his best performances during that time (Cooper/Cooney/Rodriguez/Holyfield) and was less slow than he would be in his later years.
1. Holyfield allowed himself to get hit and still won. 2. Cooney was trash. 3. Moorer allowed himself to get hit, but didn’t have a chin. 4. Briggs won despite lacking cardio and confidence (first time doing 12). 5. Cooper was a mess. I’m unaware of Coetzer actually beating anyone good, so I won’t pick that. I’ll go with Adilson Rodrigues because Foreman handled business against a guy who had some stjill and logged a few decent wins, even though Rodrigues was small and had recently passed his audition against Holyfield.
He rewon The Lineal Heavyweight Championship from Michael Moorer, so I HAVE to go with that fight. But I agree that his effort against Holyfield is a very high point for his comeback.
He beat Cooney, which wasn't that great an achievement to say that it was the first fight in year's. He did really good against Holyfield, going the distance. The peak for me, was the night he actually beat the lineal heavyweight champion of the world.. November the fifth 1994.