Is Foreman’s “masterful ring cutting ability” a myth?

Pretty much he was a good pressure fighter but he didn’t consistently show the ability to actually cut off the ring against a good mover. Gregorio Peralta went the distance, gave Foreman way more trouble than a fighter on that level should, and lasted 10 the second time around. Muhammad Ali had success moving early before going to the rope-a-dope, probably to preserve energy and because his legs weren’t what they used to be.

The Foreman vs Jimmy Young fight pretty much speaks for itself. 90s Foreman struggled with every mover he fought, and yeah he was old so it’s not 1:1, but it still lines up with the same issue. His best performances were against pressure fighters who weren’t great on the back foot like Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, which doesn’t really prove he could cut off the ring at a high level against a good mover.

 

No Nortons feet were quicker than Foreman.
Ali still had good movement. He knew he didn't have the movement needed to keep away from Foreman

Comeback Foreman being slow handed is myth tho.

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Both Ali and Frazier greatly commended his ring-cutting ability. Most of the time, Foreman thought where he wanted to fight, though some slicksters wanted him there.

 

Foreman struggles with slick fighters and good head movement. If you are just incorporating movement and going side to side Foreman will get you on the ropes by walking forward diagonal. He got Jimmy Young on the ropes numerous times but had trouble tagging him so I wouldn't call it a myth but he struggles with agile fighters in general so he ability to cut off the ring isn't in the same breath as a Chavez

 

An Old George was known to be slow on his feet.

 

The main reason Ali rope-a-doped to begin with was that he coudln't run away from George. if you watch the first round wihch is the main round he attempts this. His pathetic attempts to stick and move didn't work and he ended up having to fight his way out. You see him move to left and the right to try to get away but he can't so George walks forward and Ali fights his way out instead.

The reason why he could not cut off the ring agains't Young is cause his fighting style changed from being a Slugger to basically waht he was in his comeback

 

Also George was not slow. He is just slow when it comes to starting the assault. After the first punch is thrown he suddenly doubles in speed

 

Jimmy young is the only non-great heavy Foreman ever looked like losing to in his prime. The young fight where George was in the wilderness after losing to Ali does not mean that any great heavy who could move beats him.

 

True, and no one besides Ali who had ridiculous durability could do what he did to George. And Ali’s later problems, who knows how much came down to this fight where he took horrendous damage in order to win?
Foreman is at worst a top five heavyweight, but he gets hated on far too much for losing to Jimmy Young.

 

There were better people at cutting off the ring but I think his ability to do it was still pretty good

 

Find a fight where he successfully cut off the ring against a guy that could move. He didn't do it against Peralta. Norton moved like his feet were in buckets of cement- his game was not stick and move. Ali walked him straight to the ropes and beat him at his own game. He couldn't cut off the ring against the renowned master of fast footwork, Tommy Morrison. He couldn't cut the ring against Schulz and he couldn't against Young. In his first career his people knew this so they matched him against punching bags with legs and built the myth of his incredible power.
Cutting off the ring has nothing to do with having 'fast feet', not one freaking thing. It has everything to do with position and angles; if you do it right, you make the guy with fast feet take 4,5 or more steps for every time you shift your feet. George had problems with his "slow feet" because he followed guys around the ring as opposed to cutting them off.
A relevant story. Eddie Futch told a story about his time with Kenny Norton. Norton would speak disparagingly about his opponents and Futch told him to stop: How does it make you look good to beat a guy that sucks? Ali did that when he talked about his fight with Foreman because the story he told reflects better than saying "I walked the big dummy to the ropes and let him think he was winning until the ref counted to 10."

 

I honestly think Larry Beats George. if Earnie failed to do it, I don't see how George could.

But I do think George could have beaten Young