Foreman seems to be getting overrated here. First off to those who are bringing in the Cus D'mato reference. Cus was talking about 70s Foreman; the one who fought Frazier, Norton and Ali. Cus died before 90s Foreman came back but had Cus still been alive his assessment would have been very different. 90s Foreman wasn't as good as 70s Foreman. His ability to well adjust at his old age impressed people so much that they give him more credit than he deserves. Let me put this in perspective; 70s Foreman would have beaten every fighter than 90s Foreman lost to and that includes Holyfield and Morrison. The same cannot be said in reverse. In fact 90s Foreman may not have beaten Frazier, Norton or Lyle. As for Tyson fighting Foreman; Tyson was not ducking him nor was he afraid of him. He had bigger fish to fry. Foreman had no belt around his waist and Tyson wisely opted for the more credible opponent in Ruddock (who was subsequently avoided by both Bowe and Holyfield). As for the fight: Stylistically, Tyson had the advantage. Tyson was not going to lose to a fighter who is: 1. Unable to beat him to the punch. 2. Unable to land in succession. 3. Unable to keep him from landing via effective use of lateral movement. Douglas, Holyfield and even Lewis beat him to the punch and landed combinations in succession. More importantly they kept Mike from retaliating with the same medicine that they gave him. Tyson's got a stellar chin. One of the most tested among HW Champions. When you consider that he is a come forward fighter who constantly advances, getting caught with punches amplify the effect. He walked into lots of punches from Douglas, Holyfield and Lewis. Most fighters who take a big punch do so on the back foot or stationary, never coming forward yet getting Mike to hit the canvas was a tough task. Foreman has a big punch. Great. But so did Ruddock, Bruno and Smith. Its actually better for Foreman's mystique that he never faced Tyson otherwise he would have been beaten thoroughly.
you keep here this, time and time again about tyson afraid to fight a old fat foreman and it still just dosent add up. a prime foreman is one thing but a fat foreman?
90's foreman didnt have much mystique anyway. he couldnt even beat a glass chinned morrison. his greatest accomplishment was beating micheal moorer, a fight in which he was way behind.
What doesn't add up? Cus and Tyson used to sit and watch Foremans tapes when Tyson was young and impressionable. From what I've read Cus basically told Tyson that Foreman was a monster, the kind not to be screwed with. When Foreman came back who's to say Cus's words wouldn't leave a lasting impression, if all true of course. If true Foreman by late ko, if untrue Tyson UD.
yea, you're right, a prime foreman was a monster. to believe all this then you would have to conceed that tyson was foolish enough to believe that a fat foreman was the same as a 70's foreman. and again, slot of what you're hearing is stories. nothing truly confirmed
See... THIS is whats weird about this whole thing Everyone thinks that Tyson would bat comeback Foreman. To be honest, it makes sense to me that Tyson would win. But how come Tyson never fought Foreman? Why? Tyson is not a level headed guy, but a man who can box at his calibre knows, or at least has a good idea, of how they would fare against other fighters. That is what leads m to believe that Foreman would have whipped Tyson. Because Tysons actions speak louder than anything else. He was doing what people were telling him to do, for all of his life, EXCEPT when they told him to fight Foreman.
What, like Lewis's performance against McCall I and Mercer would have had Bowe shaking in his boots? Of course not, but he was.:yep I don't know what goes on in Tysons head, all I know is it opperates on a level alien to most. If Cus built Foreman up to be a monster it could have stayed with Tyson. 'Wolf in sheeps clothing' was the term Tyson used to describe Foreman, allegedly. Fact is no-one here knows wether the statements are true and Tyson viewed Foreman as the boggieman, or if it's all bull****.:good
There is so much that goes into making a fight. Its not as simple as I want to fight this guy and boom it happens. Different networks, promoters laywers etc. Tyson fought Ruddock instead. That was the better option. Does this mean he was afraid? No. Does it mean he would have lost definitely not. George wasn't a priority to Mike. While financially Mike was a priority to George. Put it this way; Does it mean that Holyfield would have lost to Ruddock? What about Bowe? I mean they chose to fight each other instead fighting Ruddock which is why Razor ended up fighting Lewis. Tyson had nothing to gain by beating Foreman. The same people who discredit Tyson's win over Holmes are the ones who rush and say that Tyson should have fought Foreman, like it would have mattered.
When did this thread change to PRIME Tyson against old Foreman? Unless you think Mike was in his prime during George's entire second career.
When was it not? To be specific the only version of Tyson that old Foreman has a chance against is Tyson from 2001 on.
I didn't know you considered the Tyson who fought Holyfield as still in his prime. Interesting. I'm still going with Big George to win, though, over any version of post prison Tyson!
I dont. I do think Foreman has a better shot than ever against post prison Tyson even though that contradicts what I said. Pre prison no shot.
Foreman would have been crushed and he is very lucky the fight never got made. His entire hamberger eating, jolly smiling persona succeed in part because he is marketed as a feel good sort of guy ... seeing him bloodied and flattened with his bell rolls and man boobs flapping would have destroyed that image. He remains so popular because he allowed many to dream and believe and was beaten but was never seriously defeated. Pummelled and crushed and embarrassed, too many would have rather forgotten how bad he made them by a huge loss. Again, George was very lucky this fight did not happen because Tyson's speed and power would have crushed in in a round or two ...
Foreman would destroy Tyson in just a few rounds. His uppercut would be the key punch and it might kill Tyson, litteraly might kill him. Foreman could take his power and drop him by round 5.