Prime Foreman vs Holyfield

Foreman at age 26 was lean at 224 pounds with bulging muscle, but also flawed in his wide punching attack / approach.......

Holy is the sharper puncher with the faster paws......... Holy is also a warrior......

Hmmmm.... I see Holy doing very well early on against Foreman, but then Foreman catches him with his strength and power and scores a middle round TKO over Holy.......

Foreman gets my vote.......

The actual fight of 1991 proved a lot of points.......... Foreman was aged, slow and too heavy at 257 pounds, while Holy was peaked, fast, accurate with a solid beard in return........

MR.BILL

 

Holyfield could be hit. A young Foreman was lethal against a boxer as deficient in defense as Holyfield. Not that Holyfield was terrible defensively, just not good enough to stay away from Foreman for long.

Foreman put on a good showing when they actually did meet.

 

I think Holyfield mentally approached fights differently. You saw him fight like an idiot against Cooper because he was in his hometown, against Bowe in the first fight because he used to beat on him in sparring, against old Foreman because he was slow.
In contrast and even though older and wiser he approached fights with Tyson and Lewis somewhat methodically, more out of respect for their power. I just cant see Holyfield going to war with such a punching threat, and there was no questions about how good Foreman was in his prime. Maybe Im wrong, but I think Holy would be boxing and moving and thinking far more than he was in his fight with old George, who he felt was of no risk to him at that time. I think Holyfield allowed George to do certain things more than George actually doing them to Holyfield. Besides a good jab here and there, it was only when Holyfield got brave and went for the KO that George started landing cleanly.

 

Again, the first four rounds would be the key rounds in this matchup. Holy tended to slug it out at times which would be desasterous in early rounds. Foreman slowing down in mid rounds, and Holy gettin it on, plus his third fist (=forehead), would end in a SD for Commander Vander.

 

I do know that 42 year old Holyfield wouldn't last against a prime George Foreman.

 

What exactly does that contribution mean regarding the question 'who wins between the Young George vs A prime Holyfield?'

Do you mean Holyfield had his prime in his 40's? :think

 

It does contribute more than 99% of your posts.

What it means is that reversing the circumstances of the actual Holyfield-Foreman fight in Foreman's favour, Holyfield would have likely been squashed.

Now this doesn't necessarily mean that a prime Foreman would beat a prime Holyfield but it does put into perspective what Foreman was able to accomplish even in losing against Holyfield.

 

I highly doubt that. Plus, you lacked to explain how a loss of 42 year old Holyfield brings any light into the result of a Prime Holyfield vs Prime Foreman matchup.

 

That hardly means much considering Holyfield was always at a disadvantage physically. He used speed, boxing ability, and tremendous will. His attributes faded a lot quicker than Foremans, who always remained a threat because of his punching power and physical size.

 

The Evander Holyfield that went to war with Bert Cooper, and Riddick Bowe, was to eager to out will his opponent. There is no going punch for punch, and out willing George Foreman. Holyfield would suffer a fate somewhere in between Norton and Lyle.

Now the Holyfield that learned his lesson after the first Bowe fight would be a different story. Holyfield was great at following a game plan against aggressor's, and that is exactly what Foreman would be. That Holyfield has a chance at surviving the early storm and pulling out a decision, if not a late round stoppage.

 

Age effects a boxer who relies on speed and reflexes much more so than a big dude who plods about the ring looking to land a bomb / bombs......

Foreman looked great at age 41 when he clobbered both "Cooney & Adilson Rodrigues" in 1990....... Foreman also looked good in kayoing Pierre Coetzer in '93 at age 44.....

Holy started looking shot or faded by age 37 / 38 when he was fighting Vaughn Bean and Lewis..........

Age hurts the boxer quicker than the slugger.......

MR.BILL

 

Except for maybe Larry Holmes. He carried his boxing ability well into his old age better than most Ive ever seen, but definitely agree with you.

 

I got "Holmes-Smith 2" rolling right now...... I just did a review here in the classic section....... Check it out, man.....
:bbb:deal

MR.BILL

 

Outside of Big George, I can't really name any sluggers that were successful past the age of 40. It's usually the technicians that do well at a late age. Bernard Hopkins, Archie Moore, Larry Holmes and so on.

 

What about Oliver McCall and Ray Mercer?