Prime Hrgovic vs. 70s Foreman

Yeah I think he might. AJ once took bombs off of Wlad and hung in there. His chin wasn't always cardboard. He's significantly bigger than Foreman, he looks technically better and he might well hit harder too. Foreman was a natural fighter and that means a lot, but he was doing that dumb dehydration **** in the 70s which in my opinion made him worse. Moreover I can't erase from my mind Foreman's big, slow looping shots and AJ's faster straight ones. It could be that they slug it out and we discover that AJ never had that dog in him. But I think that at one time he did and that Foreman would be wishing he'd been dropped by Ron "Little" Lyle instead.

 

He looked terrible against Peralta and Chuvalo isn't in Hrgovic's league. You're talking about a guy who would fight at light heavy today and another who would fight at cruiser.

 

I think AJ ALWAYS had that junk yard dog in him, those that label him a quitter are way off the mark in my opinion.

 

Hrgovic is far more tested against huge punchers than someone like Chuvalo though.

Zhang, Itauma, and Dubois are all massive punchers and he beat two and withstood numerous bombs from Dubois before getting stopped on cuts.

Chuvalo didn't fight any big hitters outside Foreman and neither did Frazier

 

AJ was always far too hittable. He was hurt by Whyte for christs sakes- who was always slow as a turtle. He survived Wlad and while Wlad did land some big shots, Wlad was always more cautious than Foreman due to being stopped multiple times.

I don't see AJ surviving Foreman. Maybe he can drop Foreman but he is always bound to lose. AJ being hurt by Whyte and stopped by Ruiz is more than enough evidence that he struggles in this context.

 

AJ was more mobile than Foreman and more capable of doing 12. Also a size or two bigger.

 

Even if it was the only example of Chuvalo facing a big hitter (and it’s not), his ability to remain upright against Foreman after absorbing a stream of hellacious punches is high recommendation of his chin in its own.

Chuvalo also faced a puncher in Mike DeJohn who Chuvalo in fact said hit him with the hardest punch he ever felt.

Frazier might not have been your exact monster puncher but he still hit very hard and consistently so.

He broke Chuvalo’s orbital bone which, as George described it, left his eye partially hanging out.

Frazier also dropped terrifically well chinned guys like Ali and Bugner with single left hooks.

IIRC, it was also a single left hook that badly dipped Ali’s knees in round 11 of the FOTC and saw Ali skittering this way and that for a good period thereafter during that same round.

Even in Jamaica, against Foreman, Joe managed to land at least one left hook bell ringer on George which moved him and immediately gave Foreman cause to shove Frazier away.

 

There's no evidence for DeJohn being a big hitter beyond Chuvalo claiming he hit hard. That's not very compelling evidence. And Chuvalo appeared well on his way to being kayoed early by Foreman which is why the referee stopped the fight.

What does Frazier's power or lack thereof have to do with Hrgovic being far more proven against big hitters? I'm banking on Hrgovics durability being a big problem for Foreman rather than his power.