GREEN: I probably should get one. But it won't be because of this comment. Some people have overrated Foreman so much that they forgot that Moorer was backing him up. Watch that fight again. If Moorer had a better chin he wins by a clear decision in impressive fashion. Foreman isn't this unstoppable monster; it was clear in his choices for opponents, he only chose Heavyweights he found to be vulnerable or chinny. He fancied his chances more with Holyfield (Former Cruiserweight), Morrison (Appeared to be chinny) and Moorer (Former Light Heavyweight) because there was a belt on the line and it appeared to be worth the risk. If I was his handler I would have taken the same path. He used Tyson's name to put himself in the limelight but he didn't actually intend to get in the ring with Tyson, Ruddock, Bowe or Lewis because he knew it could derail him unless there was a lot of money involved AND a title was on the line. RED: Agreed.
Foremans selection of opponents has always been A) whoever had the belt B) whoever generated a lot of money or C) both. Holyfield had all 3 and there was nothing to suggest he was chinny. He was never KO'd or even down up to that point and he was the man who beat the man. Similarly nothing suggested moore was chinny. An undefeated prime southpaw who had 2 belts and this is a cherry pick to you? 6'4 230+ pound heavy hitting shannon briggs is a cherry pick when he was almost 50 years old and no one would shame him for milking the title fighting bums? 6'3 90% ko ratio alex stewart is him avoiding guys who can hit? You really do need a comedy special because what you write and what happened in reality do not coincide. Tyson fans are the kings of making it seem everyone was scared of him and crying victim. They love spinning these little narratives and they love the word "if" to avoid their favorite fighters flaws. No I dont think foreman was some unstoppable monster but 90's tyson couldn't make a shopworn holyfield take a step back. Him, Smith, and douglas had no trouble at all tying him up or pushing him around and you think a post prison 90's tyson will push back a guy who was essentially a lineman/sumo wrestler in physical strength and manhandled guys half his age with ease? Foreman took what wad it, 12 flush shots in a row from holyfield and didnt blink or budge? Cooper, Cooney, and morrison all had lethal left hooks and foreman absorbed the shots like a sponge. Briggs couldn't put a dent in a 50 year old Foreman. I could see 80's tyson possibly getting a late round tko if he doesnt gas out but 90's tyson doing what all these other sluggers and punchers couldn't do is HBO comedy special material.
Foreman hated Don King and had a seeming endless reservoir of distrust for him. To me that tells the tale far more than ephemeral "he's scared of him" stories. Follow the money...George didn't want to deal with Don King. At all, if possible. Therefore, an IM fight was out of the question and would remain so. For proof of how adamant certain fighters were against Don, look at what Witherspoon (says he) did to get out of his contract.
Well considering the fact that prime Tyson ducked 1990's Foreman I don't see why Tyson would of fought a late 80's Foreman. Actually Foreman did get down to 235 against Qawi.
Are we sure on this? Asking respectfully. Whatever Foreman weighted, it didn't help him too much against Qawi. I realize I base my opinion too much on that fight, but that Foreman couldn't have taken the same punches Qawi landed if Mike threw them. That said, I think it's generally accepted here that Tyson had less heart than George, so if George scores a kd Mike would probably be done. The Qawi fight raises a big no from me in general when I'm asked about 80s Foreman beating Mike. Now, as we go into the 90s....Foreman didn't do at all terribly against total-prime Holy (almost had him knocked out more than once), while Mike got his ass badly kicked (twice) by a Holyfield who got knocked all over the ring against Bowe and looked REAL bad against Moorer.
And you can find plenty of evidence of george saying the opposite. That tweet is about as meaningful as george claiming he was terrified of norton when all evidence suggests the opposite (including his press conference where he said he'd run over norton like a runaway train). Or him overly praising quarry and saying he'd lose to him. Foreman loves using revisionist history on himself to be more appealing. He'd make a great politician.
This fight matches two very hard hitters, the Foreman from 1973 had speed and punch as we saw against Smokin Joe in Jamaica. Bot the returning Big George from 1987 was alot slower, but had a ko punch. He was trailing against Moorer, until he landed the big one, Tyson was quick and had very hard punches as well as defense. George to an enormous amount of punishment against Stewart, before winning the decision.. The blueprint to defeat Tyson is to stick and move, make him fight at a fast pace. Buster Douglas demonstrated this in 1990. George will last because of his endurance and size. Also Foreman has a good chin, but Tyson would stop George like Mike stopped Larry Holmes. The 1973 Foreman would have stopped Tyson like he stopped Frazier.
