Ali and Foreman today. Could they be as effective weighting 15-20 pounds more?

Let me try to visualize it.

Here is the picture of 217lb Foreman.

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Let's add 30lb of muscle:

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Its not farfetched considering Lewis, Wlad and Vittles added considerable size during their careers.

 

I can see Foreman being more effective with increased muscle mass, though it very much depends on how he adds the weight. Pumping himself full of steroids and turning into Shannon Briggs isn't really going to help him any, and would badly affect his stamina. Compounds and core bodyweight exercises that add useful muscle mass to his whole body I can see being beneficial to his punching power and perhaps even his durability (thicker neck, traps etc) without detrimentally affecting his style to a large degree.

Ali may or may not be more effective with increased muscle mass, depending on what you consider "effective" to mean. It'd affect him much more, that's for certain.

 

Foreman-Vitali would be a war, and while Vitali would have a chance, I too believe Foreman could win. If Sanders could hurt Vitali, Big George certainly could have

 

I posted this in another thread.

If he was in this era I don't think he would bulk up to say 230 - 240lbs. I think he'd work to his strengths (his speed and fleet of foot) and therefore remain light.

He wouldn't expect to out-strength the bigger heavyweight whether he was bulked up or not. His best game-plan against likes of Bowe, Lewis and the Klitschko's would be to hit, move and outwork/outbox them.

 

Professional bodybuilders weigh a lot more than 247lbs. And most of them are round about five feet eight. And Foreman has never displayed that kind of footwork in his career. Poor comparison.

A 247lbs muscled Foreman (which is way too heavy TBH) would look more like Lewis circa Tua and Rahman II fights, ie not drastically different from the above pic, providing the mass is evenly distributed.

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That's a simpleton's logic. Aside from both being hard punchers with unorthodox style, what other similarities did they possess? Corrie hurt Vitali with a sharp quick counter left from a southpaw stance. How exactly is Foreman supposed to emulate that?

I'm not saying Big George couldn't hurt Vittles, but he's not going to do it the same way Corrie did, that's for sure.

 

I think the added weight would not benefit either man really.

Ali was a speed demon with lightning reflexes who made you miss. In today's environment he'd be heavier sure, but I'm not sure he'd be any better off for it. He may have needed to get a little stronger but that's it.

Foreman at 240 would be even more slow and plodding than at 218-225. His stamina, never great, would be adversely affected by the added weight.
He was big and powerful enough to chop down anyone in history, if he got the chance. I just don't see how added weight would really benefit him.

 

I think Foreman certainly had the frame to add ten to fifteen pounds of useful muscle mass to his overall body without too much trouble. The advantages as I see them would be increased punching power and possibly a bit more durability. The disadvantages would be perhaps a slight loss of speed and a shade less stamina. However, considering prime Foreman's all or nothing mentality, I'd consider that a reasonable payoff. Providing he doesn't go overboard, and adapts his cardio regime to account for the added weight, I can't see it making that big of a difference IMO.

It's backwards logic, though, to think a fighter should just add weight for the hell of it, and I for one am not advocating that. There should always be a reason behind it, and a weighing of pro and cons. In Foreman's case I think the pros outweigh the cons, at least within the 10-15lb bracket.

Ali, not so much.

 

I agree. And if you ask me, there are too many fighters who do just that - adding weight for the sake of it.
If any weight is to be added, in my opinion it should really be a byproduct of increased strength, in the form of muscle mass.

 

Exactly. It's one thing where heavyweights should really have it best, since they can train to be at the most effective weight for their own bodies, without worrying about having to cut to make weight. Unfortunately it also means you get apathetic lumps of lard who can't be bothered to do any form of hard training. Nonetheless, even in shape heavies like Seth Mitchell are way too heavy for my liking nowadays. 240 seems to have become the defacto in-shape weight if you're a six foot two-ish heavy, and that's just too much to box well at IMO.

 

Sure, if its 10-15 lbs of muscle.

Their punches would be more powerful,stronger in the clinch and their punch resistence would be better.

Ali would be 6'2 and 225-230, he'd still be lean and fit.I dont see how he'd lose any speed at that weight,if it was put on properly

Same goes for Foreman.

 

:smoke I see ROSE COLORED glasses are all the rage once again .atsch

 

Its funny . The same people wuop critisise todays fighters and claim their size does"t give them an advantage are now claiming their heros would be much better then they where if they did the same thing . lol Good old ESB :yep

 

247 pound Foreman would look like Lewis? Well, maybe it is 247 pound Foreman in the pic above and not Lewis.