At the best of there abilities for a ten rounder- As much as Bob did not do as expected at HW Curtis was not an ATG do you think Bob could beat his first HW? Curtis mind you was at his best at about 185lbsish though he claims he could have fought at 200lbs+ but for the sake of endurance the naturally very large Sheppard worked his way down.
The one thing that everybody seems to agree about Sheppard, is that he was one of the hardest punching heavyweights on the planet, if not the hardest. His only real peer in that era is Max Baer. Probably not the best heavyweight to match Foster against.
If I wanted to try and move Foster along at heavyweight, with the benefit of hindsight, I would be looking for somebody of about the caliber of Sheppard, but a very different kind of fighter. I would not be going after he Ernie Shavers figure of the era!
If Foster could resist the urge to trade with Sheppard and used his superior mobility and handspeed he probably could decision him, but if Foster starts trading with Sheppard he gets broken in half like he was against Frazier.
