Braddock didn't succeed at light heavy but nabbed the big one against Baer.. Foster was an ATG at light heavy but failed at heavy.. So Foster v Braddock at Heavyweight.. 15 rounds?
It's a bit harsh to dismiss Braddock at Light Heavyweight. He lost on points to Tommy Loughran who seems sort of forgotten these days but was a great Champion. In the footage I've watched, Jimmy was certainly hittable but he held a shot well. It's worth watching his fight with Joe Louis. He was punching back as late as the fifth despite Joe landing flush several times a round from the second. Foster didn't like to exchange punches. He could look very disorganised going backwards. We saw this every time he fought a top line Heavyweight. If only Chris Finnegan had carried real power. Just watch that one again. Bob just stops fighting when he's pushed back. There probably is a Heavyweight Champion Foster could have beaten but it probably isn't Jimmy Braddock. Jimmy was brave, hard working and accurate. I take him on points.
I know that Bob Foster did have an Achilles heel and that was against heavyweights. James J. Braddock pulled off an unlikely title win over then champion Max Baer, That victory was a win by a very impoverished fighter trying to feed his family in the midst of The Great Depression of the 1930's. Bob would have to make use of his long left jab, and good lateral movement to keep Braddock at bay, while lining him up for his big left hook. James would be charging in, being the relentless aggressor. Then in round 5, the left hook by Foster lands and Braddock hits the canvas for the full ten count. A great victory for Big Bob.
Braddock was a durable guy. He was only stopped twice in his career. Once by a peaking Joe Louis and another time from a reopened cut he had sustained from a previous fight a couple weeks earlier. I don’t know if Foster can force a stoppage here. Especially if heavyweight is the battle ground.
