J.J.Walcott had good nights and better nights...The Walcott that won the title from Charles, Fought Louis and Marciano( 1st fight) IMO would outbox Foreman and have a good chance of stopping him, J.J.W. had more power in both than Ali and Young was just as crafty and tricky as young and had great footwork and hand speed....If Walcott has a plan to be carefull early and pot shot and move I think he had the perfect style to Upset Big George
I'd pick Walcott to outbox Foreman by a fairly wide decision. George didn't have great stamina and the best shot of stopping Walcott would be late which is unlikely in this case, a bad style for Foreman.
No, because Walcott couldn't stand up under Foreman's thunder. This is a mismatch. Walcott was from a unique period in history. He translates very poorly out of his era.
We all know YOUR opinions on Walcott. --- Basically, if you look at the blueprint Young showed of how to match Foreman, and then picked a short-list of the top 5 boxers to pull it off, Walcott would HAVE to be there. Everything Young did to beat Foreman, Walcott did better.
Walcott was not technically better than Young and Walcott was smaller and less naturally well equipped to take a punch. Walcott is where people enter the theater of the absurd. Young was 6'2" 210 lbs and in his prime was beating fighters like Ron Lyle and George Foreman, and giving Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton hell. Walcott doesn't stand a chance in the ring with fighters of this size and calibre. He was toasted by Louis and Marciano... and Abe Simon, for Pete's sake. Yeah, it's an opinion, Kurgan, just like everybody else here has an opinion. Mine has the virtue of resting on obvious facts. I don't pretend like Walcott was something he wasn't. Foreman would have killed him inside of two rounds. If you genuinely think he has a chance, it's your opinion that's in trouble, not mine. Pretending like Walcott was a master boxer or something. Please, man, get serious.
Walcott's superiority to Young was marked in every single department that matters for this fight, from sneaky counters, to mobility, to re-dicrection, to slipping. You're listing Young's weight like it makes a difference! Walcott was the harder puncher. Walcott was certainly a master boxer.
Toasted by Louis? Walcott more or less BEAT louis in the first fight, and was well ahead on the cards in the 2nd fight before louis caught him. it still took the greatest puncher this earth has ever seen 23 rounds to finally catch walcott. It took the Rock at his best 13 rounds of pure hell to finally catch walcott so the chances of foreman catching the ever so tricky walcott in the first 5 rounds and "toasting" him is unlikely IMO. Abe Simon defintley did not "Toast" Walcott. Walcott was easily outboxing abe simon for 6 rounds before walcott gassed and fell over from exhaustion and malnutrition, simon hardly had much to do with it. Walcott was a part time fighter in 1940, he had no training and he took the abe simon fight on 24 hr notice without hardly any food in his body in the last 48 hours. During this period walcott said "for ten straight years i went to bed hungry every night. I didn't know what it felt like to have a good meal in my stomach. In one fight, i got hit in the stomach and it hurt so bad from being so hungry, i went down and stayed there." I should say anything that happen to walcotts career prior to felix bocchichios arrival in 1945 should be dissmissed. You saved me a long post!
Walcott had better skills for sure, but I still pick Foreman to get him out of there before fatigue becomes too much of a problem. Jersey could have troubled the hell out of him, even beaten him on the right night. But that's just the thing though - ON THE RIGHT NIGHT. Walcott had plenty of off nights ( though not his fault ), and was beaten on a few occasions by lesser fighters. Joe Louis was past his prime, while Rocky Marciano was the smaller of the two, yet both managed to score knockout wins over Jersey. Foreman's problem was not necessarily being outboxed, but rather being outlasted by men who didn't fade late - an advantage that a man who didn't reach his peak until later in life wouldn't likely have...
Foreman is an all-time great,yet in certain matchups,Ali, Young and Peralta you see how you should fight young George.Walcott also had some bad fights.I think Walcott has a chance to beat young Foreman,if he is patient and lets George punch himself out.Against old George Foreman no way,Wlacott will wear himself just trying to push the 250 lb 40 plus year old Foreman away from him.Foreman would plod his way to a knockout victory.
"No way" against a guy that was outboxed by Tommy friggin Morrison? That's a bit rich. Walcott didn't have Morrison's power or Holyfields chin, but he was superior to both (especially Morrison) as a technician and defensive slickster.