73 Foreman vs 92 Bowe

No.

Bowe gets over rated. Bowe was a PERFECT foil for Holyfield in that he was tall, had a good jab, good chin, toughness, and was able to get Holyfield to trade with him. Bowes defense was too poor for me to make him the favorite over any elite level puncher. Bowe was great when he was on the outside jabbing but he only did that in spots.

Foreman KO4 when Bowe decides to go toe to toe.

 

Big George vs Big Daddy

My heart wants George Foreman, and he well may have taken this match, but I really do think That Bowe has an excellent chance here. For all his shortcummings, Riddick Bowe is one of the few fighters that I can think of who truly had a complete package. He was a decent boxer who could utilize the jab, put together combinations, and tie fighters up on the inside. He was fairly strong and could hit hard in both hands. It also helped that he was 6'5", and around 230-235 Lbs when at his best. My only criticism is that he had a weak defense, but he had a fairly solid chin to compensate for it, and it was mainly the strait jab that cought him and not the kind of looping shots that a 1973 Foreman would have been throwing.

Bowe could be hurt, but so could Foreman, and frankly I think Bowe would likely be the largest, strongest and one of the most all around athletic men that George ever fought. We should also consider that he was never stopped and truly lost only once to a man he beat twice. We could talk about the Golata affairs, but frankly I don't think Golata had much in common with a 1970's Foreman, and Bowe was declining when they fought anyway. Another point of interest is that Foreman had the tendency to tire late in a fight, wheras Riddick could still be competitive as shown in his grueling battles with Evander Holyfield. Foreman could not afford to get tagged repeatedly while walking in, like he did against Ron Lyle or show up in lack luster fashion, such as the case against jimmy Young. If Foreman is going to take this one, he needs to get Riddick out of there inside of 5 rounds, and truthfully, I'm quite skeptical as to weather there was ever a man who could do such a thing to Big Daddy.

 

Hell no.

George TKO12.

 

The foreman of 73 had poor stamina, and he always looked to destroy his opponents early. When he failed to do this, He always grew more and more exhausted as the bout went on. Bowe matches up favourably with foreman physically and had formidable skills, even though he was lacking defensively.

Who won this fight would depend on how bowe fought. If he fought from long range, used his jab and resisted the temptation to slug, he could take the fight into the mid-rounds where foreman tank would start to empty. Then his chances of winning would be good.

However, if chose to brawl with foreman, the fight would end early. Bowe didn't have the punch to match foreman, and it was suicide to stand and trade with foreman.

 

Hmmmmmm..... Foreman really couldn't fight or box like a solid pro ought to in 1973. As were as Bowe was polished an in-shape with focus in 1992...... In '92, Bowe had better skills and was bigger than the '73 Foreman.... I'd guess that version of Bowe would beat Foreman.....

MR.BILL

 

Is that you next to big george? :think

 

I don't know if Foreman really had poor stamina or just poor pacing. A lot of fighters would have tired early if they fought at the pace of a younger Foreman.

 

In his heyday, George didn't need stamina.

Nor pacing.

Before the rumble, Foreman, inside 4.

 

Foreman by KO for the reasons MuchMoore stated.

 

YEP.

MR.BILL:yikes

 

Well, George Foreman was NOT well coached / schooled by Dick and Sandy Sadler in the early 70s... All the Sadler's saw in George was a decent jab and wicked power and strength..... Skills were NOT taught to a young George Foreman.... G.F. didn't start using or applying some boxing skills and good technique until Gil Clancy came along in '75.... Foreman fired the Sadler's after his loss to Ali in '74..... And Foreman's skills and technique improved later in life with Charlie Shipes and Angelo Dundee..... Archie Moore was in and out of the Foreman camp throughout the years, but Moore was not always in a position to teach or coach; merely to advise..... Peace...

MR.BILL

 

Foreman KO4

 

There's no way the '73 Foreman is still going to have any gas left to pull out a TKO victory in the 12th round against an opponent who won't stay away from him.

I agree with most of this.


How well can Bowe take a shot? We've never really seen him against a big puncher; Hide, probably the best puncher he faced, had him out on his feet but was a cruiserweight and outsized as well as outclassed. Then again, he did have a shitty defence and shipped a lot of shots from genuine big men.. more so than Foreman. Incidentally, Foreman himself (the 70's version) is not that proven either. The only good puncher that landed on him was Lyle, and he nearly knocked him out.

Both of these come forward and look to trade hard punches. I'd say Foreman is the heavier handed of the two, but might also be less durable. Bowe has a big edge in stamina. Neither play much defence. If it comes an in-fight, the Brooklyn fighter has the edge; Foreman seemed to be most effective at medium range, while Bowe can fight at medium and short range.

Some will say that he was good from a distance as well, due to his size, but i disagree; the smaller Holyfield consistently outjabbed him and made him miss his overhand rights when he was dedicated to the jab.. also have a look on how Tubbs neutralised him by often staying at long range.



Going back to Bowe's durability.... he always took a lot of punches, even in his easy victories, most of his mediocre opponents still had 50+% connect rates... these were all 220lbs, big men. Something is gotta go, and that combined with his food addiction lead to a quick deterioration of his body. It is possible that his punch resistance also suffered a bit in that aspect. He had no trouble taking Holyfield's best shot over and over and over in '92 and 94, but late '95 he was nearly knocked out by the left hook he'd taken so well in the past.... and then Golota knocks him down twice and stuns him another 5 times or so. Golota is a good hitter, but not a devastating puncher.




So all together, i'm going with Bowe by 7th round TKO when Foreman is exhausted and not able to defend himself anymore.

 

I think Magoo and ChrisP both make good points. But I feel that Foreman's jab is somewhat forgotten in the equation. He had a very good, Liston-like jab when he felt like using it. If he used this to get Bowe off balance before unleashing at midrange I feel he has a good chance to get Bowe out of there.

Of course, Bowe's jab was far from ****-poor, so it would be interesting to see whose jab prevails. I think that might be the key to the battle.