Standing toe to toe with George Foreman and trading blows .....

...... is there any heavyweight in history you would expect to prevail ?

 

Well Lyle nearly did so its not as impossible as people think. ALi arguably went toe-toe and traded and won

People who dont box also dont realise, going toe-toe doesnt mean hand speed/defense become irrelevant. If you get your shots off first the other man cant get his off, and if you hurt him and back him up he cant punch very hard on his back foot. For that reason Tyson/Lewis might well do a number on him

 

Liston too, maybe.

 

I phrased it "going toe to toe .......... and trading blows" meaning they take a fair few of his shots back and put themselves in a fairly static position where raw strength is a factor too.
Most of the greats did this at times, including Lennox and Tyson.

Interestingly, despite his earned reputation for being cautious and even "dull", Lewis is one of the "worst culprits" when it comes to acts of "foolish bravado" when he's just been tagged. Against Tucker, Briggs AND Tua he drops his hands after being tagged by a heavy shot, in a show of defiance and psychology. It worked, or at least he got away with it.

Yes, Ron Lyle nearly prevailed in a pier-six brawl with Foreman. "Nearly" being the most important word there. I daresay Lyle would have won the world title against some of the greats had they played into his hands and brawled with him, but ironically against Foreman it was Lyle's mistake to be drawn into a brawl.

Ali held a lot when he fought Foreman.

 

This is how would expect Bowe to beat him.

 

:huh

You think Bowe beats him ?

 

That's absurd.

 

Yeah. Bowe was technically much more accomplished than Foreman on mid-range and especially close range. His chin was about equal and his power wasn't much lesser. And, if it would be a factor, his stamina was pretty far superior. Defensively they were both crap.

 

Not many. A well placed and timed shot could hurt anyone.
That was evidenced by the Lyle to the temple shot on George.
George, however, would probably prevail by just overpowering
his opponent.

 

I dont think he had the brute strength and heavy hands of Foreman though.
Brave as they come, was Bowe. But I dont think he'd be able to outslug Foreman.

 

I think Bowe would have been KO'd by George.

 

Judging from the fact that Holyfield could stand his ground for round after round against Bowe before he wilted, yet wouldn't risk more than 15 or 20 seconds of unloading a heavy barrage against Foreman without some disciplined lateral movement, suggests Foreman's raw strength and heavy-handedness were in another league to Bowe's.

 

But on the other hand, Holyfield got beat up when using that reckless tactic against Bowe.

 

Depends on what you puy in "outslug". I'm referring to staying in the pocket, not throwing all caution to the wind. I just see Bowe's superior precision making the difference. If Lyle came within an inch, I don't see why Bowe couldn't succeed even against a better version of Foreman.

 

i say liston and shavers could, shavers punching power was equal to foremans IMO. i dont think he had the better chin though.