Can George Foreman survive 12 rounds with Oleksandr Usyk

I think Young would have always troubled Foreman. Maybe Foreman wins on another day but I can't see it being easy even if so.

 

I've often said this and it gets dismissed very easily here because Foreman is a fan favourite and people find a way to make excuses for the loss like it was an anamoly.

A few things to point out.

1. Foreman beating Norton, Frazier, have no barring in regards to how Foreman does against Young. Simply because neither Frazier, Norton, can fight on the backfoot in a defensive posture its two different styles completely.

2. People assume Foreman before Zaire would ragdoll Young but Young wasn't the easiest fighter to stop. He was only stopped twice in his career which lasted 21 years.

3. Those 2 losses were to Shavers, Cooney and to add context to these losses Young only had 10 professional fights against Shavers so he was basically thrown into the deep end. And finally the loss to Cooney was on cuts and Young was already past his best by this point.

4. So assuming Foreman who historically never thrived against boxers would suddenly destroy a very durable defensive boxer like Young who was historically not an easy fighter to stop seems a bit of reach honestly.

5. Young was inconsistent throughout his career but he had a red hot streak during 1974-1977 where he did well against pretty much every notable Heavyweight win or lose. And we're talking about names like Shavers rematch, Lyle x2, Foreman, Norton, Ali, etc.

6. Final conclusion the version of Young in his peak years between 1974-1977 would always be a very challenging opponent for Foreman stylistically in my view.

 

No one is more likely to KO Foreman than Usyk. Remember, punchers were not the ones who always KO'd him. It was quick non-punchers that normally bothered him-Young, Ali, etc.

 

Young didn’t ko him

Ali was a better puncher than Usyk and has a far more proven track record of stopping more proven and durable opponents

Usyk couldn’t ko Chisora who was stopped by Haye, Fury and dropped by Parker. Couldn’t stop Joshua who was ko’d by an overweight Ruiz. Did not stop even one highly durable prime cruisetweight .

Usyk has next to chance of stopping Foreman.

 

Actually it does address it.

Usyk does not have better stamina than Ali. In the 70’s, Ali could not dance at that extreme speed for 15 rounds because of how frantic a pace that is. He was also fighting 15 rounders, not 12

Usyk does not have as incredible stamina as you are making it out. Usyk is fighting big heavies that have limited endurance which gives the impression that his stamina is exceptional.

Put Usyk in with smaller heavies who were conditioned to fight 15 rounds like Frazier and Norton, who had great ring cutting ability, and who were great body punchers and let’s see how incredible his stamina looks.

The one time Usyk actually met a guy who was small and had good stamina in Breidis, he had to cover up to survive the 12th. This is what he would be facing in the 70’s, guys who were smaller, better ring cutters, better body punchers etc.

Usyk fights at a slower pace than Ali and is fighting guys who are not as well conditioned so it gives the impression that he has greater stamina. Put him on 15 rounds fights with the likes of Norton and Frazier and let’s see how amazing his stamina is when getting hit with big body shots all night.

Again Dubois got Usyk to the ropes. Fury had him at the ropes and didn’t go for the kill.

Chisora managed to hit him clean. A guy as weak as Mnchhnu was able to land cleanly multiple times. Yet we are to believe that Usyks defense is so remarkable that he will easily avoid getting hit by Foreman.

Usyk does not have far better footwork than Ali. Not far better defense. If anything, Ali is far less susceptible to getting hit with the right hand and right uppercut.

you completely ignored my point of Usyks stance making him more vulnerable to both the right hand and right uppercut than orthodox fighters like Ali

I have no problem with people picking Usyk to win. I have a problem with people who are making it out to be some easy fight where he will simply easily be able to avoid getting hit with big shots when he has been hurt by far lesser fighters. lol. If Usyk is going to win, he will have to go through hell to do it.

 

You keep bringing up Ali fighting 15 rounds as proof he had better stamina, but that doesn’t really prove your point. Ali himself knew he couldn’t maintain constant movement for an entire fight, which is why the rope-a-dope strategy existed in the first place. He had to conserve energy and take rounds off. Usyk’s style is built around maintaining steady movement and output for the full twelve rounds without needing that kind of approach.

The idea that Usyk only looks like he has great stamina because modern heavyweights are poorly conditioned also doesn’t hold up when you look at his cruiserweight run. He fought smaller, faster fighters there and still kept the same pace. The Breidis fight you mentioned actually shows that. He won most of the late round and even after getting hurt late, he still controlled most of the round and won the fight.

Listing examples of Usyk getting hit also doesn’t really prove that Foreman can trap him. Every elite fighter gets hit sometimes. Ali got hit plenty in the 70s as well (even more then Usyk does). The real question isn’t whether Foreman can land a punch it’s whether he can consistently trap Usyk and keep him in position long enough to unload. And historically that’s exactly where Foreman had issues. Fighters who forced him to reset his feet Ali, Jimmy Young, even Peralta for stretches were able to disrupt his offense. Usyk’s entire style revolves around doing exactly that with angles, movement, and conditioning. So how is someone who's unable to overcome Jimmy Young going to be able to deal with Usyk he fights at a might higher level?

So the matchup still comes down to the same question: can Foreman consistently cut the ring off against someone whose entire game is built around preventing it? And based on evidence the answer seems to be no and creating a fantastical version of Foreman doesn't actually prove anything when the evidence is there.

 

Listen, I was GOING to assume you weren't being sarcastic or trolling or anything...but then you went and compared Chisora's chin against non-punchers to George's. That is just not something I am accepting on good faith. Foreman had so little durability against Young's non-punches that he nearly died.

 

dude the only one trolling is you.

 

Give me a break. The better question is: Can Usyk survive the first five rounds with George Foreman. Prime Foreman threw wild, heavy, looping, unorthodox punches with terrifying power. I don’t see how Usyk doesn’t eventually get caught with something early. And if Foreman catches you early, the fight is over. Could Usyk potentially stay away and create problems later in the fight, sure maybe. If he survives the early storm, Foreman might start to struggle down the stretch. But the reality is we have no definitive answer for how Usyk deals with a puncher of Foreman’s nature.

Look at the guys Usyk has fought. Anthony Joshua can punch, and even Tyson Fury got Usyk’s attention with uppercuts. Foreman’s uppercut is unquestionably harder than Fury’s, and Joshua is more of a one-two puncher, not the kind of offensive, explosive force that Foreman was. Personally, I think Foreman blows Usyk out at some point in the first half of the fight. I think he catches him.

I also want to be clear about which Foreman we’re talking about. The Foreman who demolished Joe Frazier and Ken Norton was a completely different animal than the post-Ali Foreman. After the Ali loss, some of that mental edge was gone. If we’re talking about the version that wrecked Frazier and Norton, I don’t think Usyk survives that version, most heavyweights in history don’t either.

 

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Give me a break, Joyce is a bum compared to Foreman.

 

No break given. Joyce is bigger and stronger than Foreman ever was. Usyk beat a prime version.

 

ok dude . Enjoy your day

 

Have you been drinking?No sober person could come to that conclusion

 

Facts over feelings.