real deal vs young foreman

Foreman would dwarf Evander and is immeasurably stronger. Foreman is probably the physically strongest heavyweight champion of all time. He wasn't winning fights on quickness.

He trained down to the 220's where Evander beefed up to 210. Big difference.

 

George Foreman was 6'3", 217 lbs for Joe Frazier. Evander Holyfield was 6'2" 210 for his fight with Douglas. Say what you want about a mere inch and 7 lbs, but that can hardly be considered as " dwarfing".

You have absolutely know way of knowing this for sure, and if you're basing this assesment on his punching power, then you should know that strength and punching power have nothing to do with one another.

Possibly, but again we don't know that, and frankly I think Holyfield's strength was well proven against super heavy's who matched or exceded Foreman in size and athleticism.

Not so sure about that. Foreman was never a glutant for hard core training, particulary the kind that dealt with weight management. I think that ranging from 217-225, was probably natural for him when he was in his 20's... In either case, Holyfield succeded in rising to the occasion when matched against men who's physical attrubutes outweighed his own.. When did Foreman ever do this?

 

This statement can work both ways. Do you consider Ron Lyle a fighter that is on par with Evander Holyfield?

 

Foremans troubles with Lyle can be largely explained by the fact he was coming off of a very, very long layoff and a devastating KO loss to boot. Watch him fight Young and tell me it's the same guy that bulldozed Norton, Frazier, etc etc. Losing to the greatest HW of all time is no giant tarnish on his legacy.

 

Put the guys in the ring and it'll be the case. Holyfield's waist is sooo thin, he just doesn't have a big frame, it has more to do with height. Foremans weight is mis represented in this as well because his trainers forced him to dehydrate before fights which put him as a lot lighter than would normally be the case.

There's a lot more evidence of Foreman being stronger than Holyfield than the other way around. Ken Norton is an adonis who is just as well built as Holyfield and with a bigger frame, he was utterly overwhelmed.

Holyfield is decently strong

Foreman dehydrated himself to make 220. Compare this to Holyfield.
With regards to Holyfield rising to the occassion, how about Foreman fighting till he was nearly 50 years old against bombers like Shannon Briggs? Anyway, you just conceded the fact that Holyfield fought against guys whose physical attributes outweighed his own. I would argue this never happened with Foreman (outside of Ali but a lot of that was mental). Foreman is the far more imposing specimen at HW and I think would overwhelm him for that very fact.

 

If that were indeed the case, then being dehydrated would not bode well for him in a match that is bound to require a long term effort and proof of endurance. Make no mistake about it.. Foreman is not just going to go out there, land a right cross to the head an uppercut to the chin and put Holy on ***** street.. Isn't going to happen, and certainly not within the time frame that George would need to get the job.

This is an apple to oranges comparison... You're comparing one of the sturdiest heavy weight chins of all time to one of the weakest. Foreman did not overwhelm Norton with shear strength... He had the right style and level of punching power to dispatch a fragile chinned opponent early.. It wasn't like they were wrestling in the clinches for 10 rounds, because if they had been, Foreman may very well have gotten the worst of it.

He is immensely strong. He stood toe to toe with the likes of men like Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Michael Dokes and Nikolay Valeuv for many rounds, despite being past his prime ( in some of those fights, not Dokes. )

And what was Holyfield doing against Valuev, and how old was he?

Far more imposing yes.. No argument there. But in order for this to be of any use to him, he needed to be facing an opponent who would fold under his pressure, and frankly Holyfield does not fit that bill.

 

I dont regard Lyle as Foremans prime

I regard Cooper as slap bang in the middle of Holyfields

 

Last time I checked Frazier didn't have a long history of folding under pressure, and what happened there?

 

A better question would be, how many punchers had Frazier faced? Ask the same of Evander Holyfield, and the answer would be, many..

 

Foreman was definitely prime.. The only thing I'll agree to was that he was off for 15 months, which can certainly have an effect, but then we can also say that Holyfield took on cooper with maybe 3 weeks notice, and given that he had been expecting Mike Tyson, was likely complacent. In either case, he was decked only once, while Foreman was decked twice and very nearly KO'd.

 

Honestly any version of Holyfield gets sparked out by a young foreman.

For some reason i keep seeing visions of Foreman sending Frazier all over the place....

 

Yes but he wasnt decked twice and very nearly KO'd when an older much slower version of himself actually did fight a prime Holyfield 15 years later.

if Holy was hit with what Forman hit Lyle with I have no doubt he would of been KOd

 

Sure. He also wasn't swinging wildly, with no defense to speak of and following his opponent around the ring with no respect.. A 90's Foreman was better suited to take a peak Evander the distance than prime one, while neither rendering was well suited for beating him..

George Foreman's power is always going to be a force to be reckoned with, and as one of his bigger fans, I'll never change my mind on that .... But as much as I respect big George's ability crack, my admiration for Holyfield's heart, conditioning and chin will probably take prescendence.