Just how good was Michael Moorer?

I would say that he is neither underrated nor overrated. In most people's eyes he sits right where he should be - a formidable foe with reasonable career accomplishments but not an all time great.

I remember watching him for the first time in either 1988 or 1989 against fellow light heavyweight prospect Frankie Swindell and being impressed with his south paw stance and power. Swindell was no slouch at that time, and Moorer took him apart. My confidence in Moorer was shaken later against Former WBA champion Leslie Steward who had him outboxed for the better part of 8 rounds before MM caught up and knocked him out.. Other light heavys fights that I viewed were against former kronk stable mate Jeff Thompson and hard hitting Mario Melo. Michael made short work of them.. In 1990, Emanual steward began grooming him to be a heavyweight, partially due to the fact that keeping him at 175 was getting increasingly difficult. There were great fights to be made at light heavy with Virgil Hill, Prince Charles and Jeff harding, but none ever materialized either with Moorer or even each other.. The cruiser weight class was void of spectator interest, and Steward already had a light heavy Champ in the stable ( dennis Andries.) It was time to move up.

Moorer's fights with Bert Cooper and Alex stewart were entertaining.. But the cooper fight and even his match with everett Bigfoot exposed some of his flaws. He was frequently decked and had defensive issues especially to counter attacks.. He stayed unbeaten through 35 fights and prior to winning the title, appeared frequently on USA and other networks, along with HBO. Had he not gotten careless against Foreman, I was certain that he was going to win that fight, as I watched it live with friends. I left the room for two minute to have a cigarette, when I heard the commotion that he had gone down. I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw him laying there with a bloody mouth.. The Evander rematch only confirmed Holyfield's poor state in the first fight.

All in all, he had a good career. He finished the 90's with a record of 39-2 with heavyweight wins over Botha, Holyfield, Stewart, Moorer, Cooper and Schultz, and light heavy wins over L. Stewart, Swindell, Sedillo and a few other less notables.. He was a multiple time titlist. Again, A very good fighter, but just a cut below greatness.

 

At light heavy Moorer could be argued top 15-20 h2h all time...but oobviously you can't put him anywhere near that high in reality (anything other than a strictly h2h list)

 

He was very, very good and like Floyd Patterson fighting outside of his natural weight class.

His fights with Alex Stewart and Bert Cooper showed all you needed to know. He had heart, he could fight as well as anyone. He outboxed Holyfeild too. Moorer looked extra special as a lightheavyweight but he moved outside of his comfort zone and no matter how heavy he "grew" deep down when he got hit at heavyweight the reaction was what you would expect from a 230 pounder hitting a 176 guy.

I liked the way he put punches together. Very sharp. A pinpoint combination puncher out of the southpaw stance and very exciting initially when be first moved up but slowly he got heavier and more cautious. The work rate went down and he was not best utilising what he had. Maybe it was being wary of getting caught up in dog fights. Maybe it was not being able to ration his workrate with carrying so much artificial weight. I gon't know if doubt set in but this concentration would wane too. One thing is for sure Teddy Atlas had to plead with him to maintain conviction in fights he was winning.

But the main thing is he was a good fighter. A craftsman who was taught well enough to prove himself as a great box fighter who on his night did everything well in the ring.

 

Underrated Heavyweight; overrated Light Heavyweight...

 

Another member of the 90's heavyweight club, along Foreman, Bowe, Ruddock, Tyson, Holyfield, Goloata, Morrison, etc..
Moorer wasn't on the level OF Lewis, I'd say he's on the same level as Morrison a damn good fighter for his time but NOT an ATG...
Holyfield knocked the **** out of him in the rematch..

 

I don't think he has anything to be upset about honestly he moved up to become heavyweight champ he beat the man who beat the man so to speak ..

 

Moorer was a great fighter. To me when at his best he was the closest resemblance of Marvin Hagler in his style with his excellent lead right, very good tight crisp powerful punches, and consistent workrate. Hagler`s intangibles are what made him become a greater fighter then Moorer but Moorer was as skilled as just about anyone. As a light heavyweight he may have been something special, theres only a few light heavyweights I can think of who I could invision being able to handle him. Its a shame he never had a big fight as a light heavyweight because I think he would have solidified how good he was at that weight. As a heavyweight he was excellent as well. I think he was in the same league as Bowe, Holyfield, Tyson and Lewis just a notch below. I feel he was the Ken Norton of the 90`s in that he was one of the better fighters of the time but certainly not the best and could potentially give any of the best a run for there money also like Ken Norton he could be hurt or knocked out especially against the better punchers of the division. Later on especially after the Foreman fight he seemed to lose motivation and though he still put on some good performances he never seemed to be as well conditioned and sharp as he was prior to the knock out by Foreman.

 

Hagler? Really? Styles are different for me.

 

To much cash made him lazy and he lost motivation - he was´nt "in the zone" when he took Foremans right hand punch.
But he was a great lightheavyweight champion, very exciting to watch. He never really carried the extra weight at heavyweight very well.
But overall, he had a great career.

 

Yeah I see a resemblance especially in his light heavyweight bouts. As I said like Hagler he was more powerful with his lead hand but still had a good left and like Hagler he threw with pin point short combos with excellent technique.

 

My impression was that he was a good HW but not great. Solid power, good jab, good combinations, but never could protect himself very well. The Holyfield win was fool's gold, but he was in the mix for most of the decade, knocking out o rscraping by alot of the noteworthy fringe contenders of the 90s before getting brutalized by Evander in the rematch.

Exciting fighter, outside of the Cooper knockdown fest, his surprising war with Botha on the undercard of Tyson/Holyfield was a real treat.

 

Moorer was good enough to rate in my top 50. His biggest problem outside of his chin was he was stuck in an era full of talent in the 1990's and early 2000's.

 

I have to disagree, because he didn't really face that talent outside of Holyfield and Old Foreman.

I think he had a golden opportunity to make a name for himself but in his first title defense he was on the wrong end of a historical upset, so he had to settle for the mid 90s IBF brigade of Bean, Botha, and Schulz. While Lewis and Evander got the more marquee match ups.

Moorer never mixed it up with Bowe, Lewis, Tyson, Morrison, Mercer, Ruddock, Golota, Byrd, Bruno, Rahman..etc. It would have been fun to see if he did and how he came out looking.

After Holyfield II he retired for three years, came back and got fed to Tua.

 

Really, this could have ended with magoo's summary, which is just about perfect.

Most of what can be said about the career he did have in reality, has been said.

The really "juicy" Moorer talk is putting him in LHW fantasy match-ups, because they are such a what-if. He looked amazing down there for as long as he stayed, but, you know...