Fury couldn't stop Foreman. If Wilder can land on you twice, Foreman will probably get a lot more opportunities than that. Fury has been put down, but he's gotten back up. Have to assume this fight goes the distance. Young Foreman would not have been gunshy like Wlad or other HWs have been in the face of Tyson's defense. Have to assume a prime Foreman is somewhere in the hiatus. So maybe still young enough to be brash but crafty enough to catch forearms and stand shorter guys up with shoves and what not. More conservative with a bigger gas tank. I see a decision in which Fury takes over later after gassing Foreman by leaning on him a lot. Size matters. Foreman was used to being the big man. Fury is simply a new breed in that regard. Foreman does a lot of damage early though.
The truth is I didn't believe in him till he schooled Wlad. I expected Haye to KO him and Wlad to stop him with a right hand. I mean it's hard to look at Fury back in them days and forsee what an animal he could become. His offense was weak despite schooling Chisora. His feet were still pretty slow. He could be quite susceptible to overhand rights & dropped. He's fixed all of these traits in his game in a very short period of time & every time he fights he seems to show something new, he's unbelievably special. Watching him dance around Wlad in 2015 gave me an erection I still haven't got rid of. I have been a die hard for the past 5 years. Fury is life I will never get off this train. Nobody thought he could dance around like that but he did, totally destroyed Wlad & obviously Haye jacked it twice. I picked him to beat everyone put in front of him ever since. I believe he would make a comeback when everyone laughed at him when he was down trodden. I picked him to school Wilder and 100% he will take AJ apart.
What is prime Foreman? The one who lost to Jimmy Young? The one who went toe to toe with Ron Lyle? The one who blasted Joe Frazier twice? I personally think the younger version of Foreman struggles more with a prime Tyson than the older version who was more composed. Also, I think styles make fights and Tyson was significantly better than Joe Frazier. The two fighters are not even comparable. Whichever version of Foreman shows up, against a peak Tyson it would be a war; like the Ruddock fights. I pick Tyson UD maybe 8-4.
Nay, say I. But I respect that you've shown the capacity to change your mind and get on board instead of disparaging him long after he'd shook up the world and proven his doubters wrong like some other embittered souls. It hurts some men to see a guy whom they unfairly swore was useless and a scumbag exceed their estimations of him. One of my nicknames for Fury back in his pre-Klitschko days was Half an Ali and Half a Bowe. I was scoffed at, as you might guess. Who's laughing now?
Honestly, if Fury stinks up the joint and wants to win on points he could beat Foreman and a lot of other guys. He has the mentality and the ability to just potshot and move around all night. I'm not saying he has no chance unless he fights extremely negatively, I'm saying I could definitely see him winning if he does.
6'3 218lbs Foreman would not be considered a 'monster' today. That is small. He wasn't fast either. Joshua and Fury would both dominate him physically. Not only are they bigger, they also have faster hands.
The 218lb Foreman of the 70s didnt have a great chin either, he was knocked out by 216lb Ali and knocked down several times by 220lb Lyle.
The Ali KD was mostly exhaustion and Lyle is known as a great puncher. Ruiz is not. I'm having a hard time getting the Ruiz defeat out of my mind. Prime Foreman would smoke Ruiz before the fifth round.
Foreman's too basic and not explosive enough for me to favor him in this matchup. I have a hard time favoring any straight line guy over Fury when he's got the cheat code combination of a size advantage and better movement & angles. But hey, there's been tons of much crazier wins out there & anything can happen in the ring in reality. No point defending fantasy fights to the death.
