First of, I know James Buster would still have been a teenager in 77..it's of course the best version of him , up against Foreman of the Young fight. Could he have gone one better and actually stopped George.?
My view on Douglas is that the best version of him existed for one fight only and he was never seen before or after that fight. Based on that view, he doesn't beat anyone else of a similar level to Tyson. A unique set of circumstances set that victory in motion and one of the key parameters was Tyson himself. Take Mike out of the picture and Douglas can't fight the way he did in Tokyo in 1990. Or to give the short answer...no.
Yes. There would be some other hungry moving jabbers to pull off the Jimmy Young trick. This Buster is imho one of them. Others to win a decision against this version of Foreman might be Byrd, Witherspoon (Holmes), Williams (Holmes), Thomas, Tubbs, and maybe some others too. That was not Foremans night imho.
The punches Buster caught Tyson with wouldn`t have KO`d George and Foreman`s jab would have bothered Buster and his glove control and ability to cut off the ring.
No chance. Everything fell into place for Buster Douglas on that one night in Toyko. That's all it was.
I was talking about winning a decision like Young did, dunno about a stoppage. Foreman did not get stopped in 77.
I think he was always Buster. If a good fighter hit him hard he could and would drop and look at this gloves and give up someway. He was a little more motivated fighting Tyson in 1990 probably, but he was always Buster. Styles make fights. He was fighting Mike and for the title and this was his second chance after quitting against Tucker, so he would give it his all but he was bigger than Mike and if he was not hit clean he would hit Mike at will and he did. But he almost quit against Mike. He fell and did that looking at his gloves thing he did against Evander. He was so close to losing. I think Foreman would have stopped him with a few solid punches.
He certainly had more power than Jimmy Young who had Foreman exhausted and hurt.. so in simple terms, yes... that said he also wasn’t as durable as young nor as elusive, there bye rendering him just as vulnerable to being KO’d
Buster would have beat him by UD. No stoppage...only Ali did that...Douglas even in Tokyo wasn't a 1974 Ali.
Correct imo, he'd have troubled Foreman who's head was mashed at that time. George always had trouble with guys that could move and use the Jab, hed really struggle against Buster. There's always a chance that George tags him, like Tyson did and drops him of course, but chances are its a decision loss for him here imo.
He'd last like Dino Dennis did. Might look good for a round or two, but George will cut the ring off and force exchanges. And Buster will not do as well as a Dennis even, at the exchange game. Foreman will walk through him and once Buster starts to wilt it'd be over quick.
