Bob Fosters record against people 200lb and up: 7 wins, all KO or TKO. 5 Losses Losses against: Terrell Frazier Ali Folley Hazelton (His last match) Unless I missed something, why are these losses to class opponents attributed to Foster not having power at HW? Also, doesn't he have 3 worse losses at smaller weights than his HW losses?
Foster's problem was because of his physique he couldn't absorb the punches of big hitting heavies or even average ones like Terrell and Folley.
Yeah, his build didn't work for him at heavyweight. He fought some durable heavyweights, those who beat him, barring Folley who probably had an average chin.
I can definitely see his frame being an issue for durability, good call. Do you think it was a problem he had, agnostic to the size of the opponent, yet slightly exacerbated by fighting heavies? The Terrell KO does signal durability issues, but he also gets stopped by 180 Jones. I've heard people say Foster couldn't punch at HW, but it seems like he took everyone out who wasn't a top contender at the time.
Did you look at the records of the heavyweights he took out? Saying that they (vast majority of them, anyway) weren't top contenders is quite an understatement.
outjabbed ali as well with a stinging jab. I think it was his frailty physically more than his punch power
Well said, it is relative. Is Foreman the only person to drop Frazier? I feel like I should know this.
I think he is. I also think as tough and absolute warrior Joe was I cant picture him coming back from a knockdown. Don't know why
Depends how good they are and how able Foster is to land cleanly on them (I haven't seen the fights so I don't know anything about the actual stoppages). Most if not all of Foster's 200lb+ ko victims had been stopped multiple times before (often by completely undistinguished heavyweights), and/or suffered numerous lopsided decision losses (again to undistinguished heavies). And there's also the one guy who was making his professional debut.
My take on Foster is controversial. He wasn't that great of a fighter, and there were too many road blocks at heavy. He could make 175, and instead of dealing with Frazier, Ali, Foreman, and the like, he could earn a title against a 39 year old 5'8" Dick Tiger. Instead of Jerry Quarry, Mike Quarry. It simply wasn't a golden age of Light Heavyweights, and he could be a Champion there. Why not...That's why I don't rate Foster as high as most.
I think it is more that his chin and style did not translate. I think that his power could have got things done otherwise.
Tommy Hearns had power when he moved up in class, Bob Foster did not. A reason? Foster fought top ranked type of heavyweights, and his reach and power, which were advantages at light heavyweight, were diminished at heavyweight. Foster lacked the chin and body type at heavyweight. If there was a moment when light heavyweights could not compete with the best heavyweights, you could say it came around Bob Foster's time.