In George Foreman's comeback, did he ever fight a boxer who hit harder than he did?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by mark ant, May 7, 2021.



  1. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    Was Tommy a natural southpaw?
     
  2. White Bomber

    White Bomber Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I don't know. I guess it's possible, but from what I know there are cases of boxers who are not natural southpaws, but fight that way cause they reckon it gives them an edge over their competitors.
    I've always been a huge fan of Hagler, and he could fight from either a southpaw or an orthodox stance
     
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  3. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member Full Member

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    True.
     
  4. Man_Machine

    Man_Machine Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Lyle's reaction to that Shavers left tells the story.
     
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  5. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member Full Member

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    Absolutely!
     
  6. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    I think Hagler was a natural orthodox boxer which is why his right hook was so crisp and his jab so hard.
     
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  7. Glass City Cobra

    Glass City Cobra H2H Burger King Full Member

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    I touched on this in another thread, but Shavers living and dying by the knockout philosophy is part of what made him hit so hard. He was both extremely confident in his power and absolutely committed to going for the knockout--putting everything he had into a punch. That makes anyone hit harder in general, so if you are already a naturally good puncher that sort of mentality increases the power 10-fold.

    As for the origin of Shavers power, it is both an issue of natural ability and his life style. He did lots of farm work lifting bales of hay and did factory work moving heavy products and equipment. That's the life style factor. Constant reppetitive motions moving large objects builds up functional power. As for the natural aspect, he had long arms, big fists, and a stocky build with a strong lower body and large buttocks (no homo). Pushing off the ground with a strong lower body can deliver lots of power and having long limbs speaks for itself (not quite as long as Liston's reach, but he had similarly long arms for a guy about 6 ft).
     
  8. Boxed Ears

    Boxed Ears this my daddy's account (RIP daddy) Full Member

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  9. RulesMakeItInteresting

    RulesMakeItInteresting Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Earnie stepped into his punches like no other. On one hand, it was to his detriment, for instance if he'd missed with that right he decked Holmes with he would have eaten a nasty uppercut and due to the overreaching fallen down himself. But...just watch that punch, plus the one that knocked Tillis cross-eyed (still can't over either of them getting back up from those shots). He really put the whole side of his body into his most devastating punches.
     
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  10. he grant

    he grant Historian/Film Maker Full Member

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    Morrison and Briggs did ..
     
  11. Entaowed

    Entaowed Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    Good commentary & observations, but no need to add no homo lol!
    Shavers is one of those guys-Liston another-that even considering they were not especially tall, & that they were not very low body fat & a bog bone structure...They really seemed like they had enough muscle to weigh more than they did.
    Foreman too, but in his case that was largely that Saddler foolishly had him come in dehydrated.

    My quibble is that the mentality you suggested can only add a certain percentage-if it is say 15%, that is a lot!
    If it was 10X, everything they ever hit would break-even 2X would be beyond what is possible above a normal hard hitting heavryweight.

    But like anothe measure that is not notable & can vary only within a certain percentage, height, a relatively small difference between a hard hitting HW & ATG power makes a big difference in inmpact & effect.
     
  12. greynotsoold

    greynotsoold Boxing Addict Full Member

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    The mentality is everything. It shapes your approach to everything you do. It changes how a fighter approaches training, sparring, everything.
    That is why, as a teacher, you do everything possible to avoid a fighter falling in love with punching power. The only thing that will ruin a fighter faster is a busybody father. You are better off with a guy that can't punch then teaching him that he can.
     
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  13. clark

    clark Well-Known Member Full Member

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    In George Foreman's comeback, did he ever fight a boxer who hit harder than he did?
    No.
     
  14. Entaowed

    Entaowed Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    I have no problem with all that. I am also grey & not so old, but not young...
    I was just saying that mentality cannot really increase a physical capacity more than a limited percentage, not nearly 100%, let alone "10 X".
    Otherwise many people would be superheros. Tiny people could hit harder than the best SHWs.
    Someone who could run 10 X faster than Bolt could do 100 meters well under a single second, or run a marathon in around 12 minutes.

    I am being pedantic here, but the only thing that might come close is the exceedingly rare instances when ddue to an adrenaline rush an ordinary person actually could do something like lift a car off a family member.
     
  15. Glass City Cobra

    Glass City Cobra H2H Burger King Full Member

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    Well mentality can completely alter the course of a fight. There's the expression "if you believe you'll fail, you will".

    Compare Holyfield to Spinks.

    Holyfield was brutally dropped by Bowe in their first fight. He could not hide how badly hurt he was and looked like he could have gone down from a gust of wind, but his expression was basically "I am NOT getting knocked here" and jumped right back into the fire when the sensible thing would have been to try and hold or back off. That mental toughness likely was the only thing keeping him up.

    Similarly, Spinks' mindset is likely what led to such a brutal 1 sided loss to Tyson. He was a beaten men before he got in the ring. Perhaps he would have lost anyway at some point, but I doubt he would have gotten steam rolled so easily and in the 1st round if he was brimming with confidence and mental fortitude.

    So I think it's somewhat similar to punching power in that mentality makes s difference in how hard you can hit. Obviously I don't mean increasing your power 5x or that someone like Chris Byrd could hit like Tyson simply by believing in himself but it does make a significant difference to an extent. I would like it to someone trying to karate chop a stack of boards, if they hesitate or are unsure of themselves they could end up breaking their hand.
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2021