Is Francesco Daminia underrated enough to trouble Comeback George?

Damiani would have given him a lot of trouble.

 

I'd favor Foreman, but Damiani could box, Foreman lost to Morrison and Briggs, so I can see the possibility of Damiani getting a decision over George.

 

I became a bit of fan of Damiani back in the day. On the one hand, there was the aura of a 'bruiser' archetype about him – on the other, he really was quite the hybrid bag of tricks. He had a mixture of styles which he blended very nicely and looked good in pretty much most of his fights (even in his loss to Mercer).

He also had a fairly broad armory and spatial awareness which meant he could put together quite the array of punches at varying angles and distances. He was also a fairly tough customer.

However, he wasn't particularly geared to moving with any kind of fluidity or speed and, while he could get up on his toes in very short bursts, he was to all intents and purposes flat footed. Another thing is that his stance tended to be a little square on.

So, after a short while, holding a pattern on the outside, he would then spend a majority of his time as a boxer-puncher – typically in the pocket (mid-to-close range) – and then he'd collapse the distance to that of a close-range brawler, before resetting.
During this time, he tended to ship some leather. He did have some head movement and he could lean back in defense, but he was predictable in coming forward and I think he relied on being pretty much an old-fashioned hard man.


Here's the thing: Damiani would have been, in the respects I have outlined above, tailor made for Foreman '90 – the more methodical version of Foreman (no longer the out-and-out hunter-killer, although in '89/'90 he could still track and trap his prey).

Damiani would start well, during the out-boxer holding pattern phase. But, after a short time, he would almost certainly find he needed to shorten the distance as he invariably did, along with predictable forward motion and head movement. That said, he might even look good for a brief spell, while fighting Foreman from inside the pocket.

But, not for long. The one thing Foreman had in addition to the power he carried in both hands, even in his more mature phase, was a great sense of timing. And Foreman wouldn't even need half of that timing to catch Damiani on the regular.

I think Damiani poses some difficulties for a while - ostensibly, at least. But Foreman's power quite quickly takes the steam out of Damiani to the extent that an imminent TKO appears on the horizon during the mid-point.


Foreman W TKO 6

 

Daminia sounds like the name of some stock trading app.

 

outstanding post. Post of the month for me. Damiani will give old George fits but at some point, he stands in front of him and gets caught with a big uppercut.

 

He probably makes it to the final bell, but loses on points.

 

Damiani may have oupointed George to be honest. He was in his prime in 89-91.
He was a good boxer and could move a bit.

 

He’d trouble him for a few rounds, but that chin isn’t holding up to Foreman’s best punches.

 

He’d win.

 

I think Damiani would do pretty well against Old Foreman. He was a good all rounder and could do a bit of everything. A complete boxer. I know he got stopped by Mercer in 1 punch but that was really a bit of a freak shot, destroying that proud Roman nose into the bargain. Up till then he'd basically whitewashed Ray. I'm not so confident that I'd put money on Damiani winning against Foreman, but I'd go so far as to make him the favourite. He was a tough guy and had about the same size as Foreman with a large speed edge.

 

If he made it to the final bell he'd win on points. He was much busier than Old Foreman. Foreman would have to stop him, which he might. 60% Damiani on points, 40% Foreman by stoppage is my guess.

 

I also consider a scenario where Foreman drops him a couple of times like he did Stewart and wins the decision that way.

 

possible