We are talking old Foreman here. Was there really much difference between the Foreman of 1991 and the guy Axcel Schulz and Grimsby fought? Hello Crawford Grimsby and all those guys he got decisions over... I recon most cruiserweight champions beat the guy Grimsby went 12 rounds with..
Hats off to old George. His comeback was ridiculed and yet he somehow he wound up (by very selective navigation) to wind up champ. Lennox Lewis had already shown where Tommy Morrison stood among the elite of that time yet Tommy beat George and from the back of that loss Foreman leap frogged good contenders to land a fight with Moorer. An unlikely champion himself who had benefited from meeting Holyfeild on the strangest of performances he ever produced. The letter of the situation meant George had to be called champion but champions are supposed to be the best active boxer of the division. Not only was Foreman not regarded this at that time, but neither was moorer or Tommy Morrison. And to prove it Foreman took his claim to the title on tour against unworthy guys he could not beat convincingly on points.. And before this time "comeback Foreman" had been only a side show in real terms. He picked up the kinds of wins anyone half decent could replicate. Not only could nobody forecast he could beat even Moorer, but certainly nobody was rating Foremans chances (in that form) against ATG champions. Before he beat Moorer I doubt that version of old George would have been given much chance to beat any past champion much better than Leon Spinks. Even that would have been considered 50-50
I love the story of old George, but he didn't ever look good. Great achievement and he showcased all of the heart and stamina which people doubted he had. Marciano by decision.
Marciano was susceptible to cuts but he wasn't no bleeder. ps Foreman was KNOCKED OUT by a 32 year old with no legs who wasn't a puncher. Marciano was knocked down for a NO COUNT against the guy with the most knockouts in history and another guy who knocked Louis down multiple times and knocked Charles clean out. But I guess I missed where a no count knock down against atg punchers is equal to a full on knockout against a past prime heavyweight who WASN'T a puncher and had bad legs.
Marciano was cut against. Walcott Moore Charles x2 Louis Simmons Shkor So he was cut in7 fights ,but he didn't bleed? Marciano was knocked down by a 40 years old lhvyweight and, by his own admission blacked out momentarily. How many of Moore's kos were over decent heavyweights? How many were even over heavyweights? About 28, half of them were palookas, a couple were debutees, 2 of them were wrestlers.Half had losing records and were journeymen.Neither Walcott or Moore were ATG punchers at heavyweight.
Yes, yes, we know all of that. But how many people thought that version of old comeback George was good enough to beat any former champion better than Leon Spinks before he landed that undeserved crack at a Glass chinned champion? Didn't that version of comeback George end up with a face pounded to look like a sore pumpkin against Alex Stewart? Are you saying Marciano cannot survive where Stewart did? In a comeback of very few competitive fights George's face swelled up alarmingly a few times. I think Foreman, the older version, has greater risk of facial damage against any ATG champion, not just Rocky. And while I'm about it, these "palookas" you accuse Archie Moore fighting at heavyweight is a very shallow point indeed in a George Foreman topic.
According to Title Fight Boxing - My Computer Simulation Game - Which means absolutely nothing - 1st round - Big first round for Rocky, including giving Foreman a cut about his left eye 2nd round - A slow second round, where George did nothing and Rocky did a little more. 3rd round - Big Round for Foreman, landing a right hand that staggers Rocky 4th Round - Very close round where both fighters were staggered. Might be tied after 4 or Rocky up 3 to 1 5th Round - Foreman Down! Later in the round the ref stops it, Marciano wins My opinion - I think Marciano wins a decision fairly comfortably.
Pretty stupid concept. The shortest heavyweight champ with the shortest reach who didnt know how to fight backing up, was willing to trade and charge forward, against one of the biggest heaviest, and certainly strongest heavyweights ever. I have yet to hear someone logically explain to me how Rocky wins this fight. He isnt knocking him out. Holyfield, Morrison, Cooney, and Stewart threw bombs that would have felled most heavies and Foreman didnt go down once as a fat 40 year old man who ate burgers all day. Wtf is a 5'10 190 pound fighter gonna do? How is he going to REACH Foremans bald head? Could the similarly sized Cooper, Qawi, or Frazier (greatest smarmer of all time) manage to get inside and land their besr shots? Rockys going to do better than all of them and not get shoved back? Hes going to avoid those brutal uppercuts as he charges in like a bull head first? Hell have to reset every time, and he isnt going to be able to dictate any sort of pace or win clinching on the inside. If you think rocky would win outmuscling and outworking foreman on the inside, delete your account and dont ever discuss boxing again. So ill ask a simple question: how the hell does rocky win? If hes not going to knock George out and he cant outbox him, then how? Outside of Foreman gassing out and the ref stopping it or cuts, its just not feasable. And old georfe had surprising endurance. Then theres the elephant in the room, foremans jab. One of the heaviest and most powerful in the division. He threw it hard and frequently and rocky had a huge reach disadvantage. Frankly id be shocked if it went past the 6th round, rocky would be pouring sweat and blood.
How does a prime Rocky beat Bald Foreman? If Rocky gets to hit George on the jaw as often and easily as Dwight Qawi did then the fights over. And at 5'7" Qawi reached his chin easy enough. That is as simple and straight forward an answer but I can go more in depth. Bottom line, Bald George never beat anyone great. Once Bald he never beat a big puncher either. Cooper Qawi and Morrison were not the same level punchers. That version of George was an ordinary fighter really. As champion He could not beat average guys on points.
I hate to say it, but I'd lean towards foreman stoppage before a Rocky decision. I think it's bordering on silly to expect Rocky to stop Foreman.
I suppose Rocky could pound out a Decision win but the way Holyfeild had Bald George tottering around makes me think Rocky would improve on that. Don't forget, The jury was still out on Holyfeild as a heavyweight even at that point. And Evander couldn't finish off Cooper when he was at his mercy so all this talk about Foremans great chin in his comeback is not really based on elite punching opponents. Believe me, George never would pick Rocky as an opponent. He was very selective indeed. How is Bald George knocking out Rocky when he didn't knock out Morrison or Stewart, Grimsby or Schulz? Moorer he did knockout but how highly regarded was Moorer at that time? Several other heavyweights were classed as better. So where is this ATG punching form for Bald George? He's not outpointing Rocky any more than he couldn't outpoint Morrison or decisively outpoint the likes of Schulz, Stewart and others. Again, the bottom line here is Bald George not beating any great fighters. Apart from one punch, in a fight he was losing, against not the best heavyweight in the world at that time, Bald George never made the grade.
Do you understand the meaning of bleeder? If your definition of a bleeder is merely bleeding in a fight then every fighter is a bleeder. So let me get this straight, Moore is an at devastating puncher at light heavyweight but he puts on 10 lbs coming in at a more comfortable weight and he's harmless? That's how you're portraying it. Moore was a great puncher at light heavy and he was a great puncher when he fought Marciano, case closed. Walcott was a fantastic puncher. No real argument can be made against that.
What? You honestly have to question whether or not Marciano can touch Foreman's chin? This content is protected Foreman is like 0.5 inches taller than Ali. Are you seriously concerned that Marciano's arms are too short to reach eye level?