Did Bugner Have The Chin, To Go The Distance With Foreman?

Nobody had the chin to fight foreman .However I expect Joe to box on the retreat and go the full route

 

The much smaller Gregorio Peralta went the full 10 in the 1st fight and lasted into the tenth in the rematch. Bugner was durable and cagey enough to survive the distance.

 

If Bugner wasn't stopped early by 70s Foreman he should win. JB wasn't an offensive machine but against a fatigued man he'd probably have enough offense to get a TKO or KO sometime after the 7th or 8th round. GF is the favorite for 3-4 rounds, then it becomes a toss up for 2-3 rounds, after 6-7 rounds, JB should be the favorite.

 

Joe definitely had the whiskers to go the distance with Big George.

 

The only problem with this scenario is that George wouldn’t have been trying to kill Bugner just to shut him up like he was with Ali, which was part of the reason he punched himself out IMO, and Bugner didn’t have the talent and resilience to avoid getting hurt while hanging on and didn’t have the ring smarts to come up with something like the rope a dope on the fly and then execute it. That being said I think it’s better than even that he could go the distance, but he’d be a mess at the end.

 

Joe Bugner did have a good chin, he was however decked by Joe Frazier's left hook on July 2 1973 in a losing effort, a unanimous decision loss in London.

 

Bugner was a chicken$hit fighter who liked to talk a lot of trash. Once Foreman hit him he'd go into survivaL But he doesn't make it to the final bell. Foreman stops him in 5 in a one sided fight.

 

If Bugner could avoid being KO’d then the question really becomes - can George see out 15 rounds in respect of his own stamina?

 

True, It had been said if a fighter could go past the fifth round against prime George Foreman, his chances to win increase as Foreman like Earnie Shavers lacked the stamina to finish a bout. Look at the 15th and final round against Muhammad Ali on Sept 29 1977, Shavers gas tank was riding on fumes to barely finish the bout.

 

Foreman did stop the iron chinned Chuvalo. Stopping Bugner isn't out of the question.

 

Very possible but unless George completely punches himself out I don't see him winning ... Joe was very big, took a terrific shot and could move ...

 

I don’t think George could lay the leather on Bugner as easily as he did Chuvalo - but having said that, Foreman’s performance against Chuvalo was terrific - and in some later fights (relative to the Chuvalo fight), he actually appeared to have regressed a bit in terms of technique and pacing - the KOs were coming all too easily, less rounds in the bag and Foreman just wanted to whomp everyone out of there - though for Frazier and then Norton Foreman tightened up his game again when it came to more serious opposition.

 

That was a monster left hook Frazier landed to put Bugner down.

In fact, I think Joe showed some mercy in that moment.

After the left hook, Bugner froze and hung in the air for a moment - Frazier could’ve easily landed another 1-2 punches.

Maybe Frazier regretted not following up because shortly thereafter, Bugner came back to wobble Joe badly with a big right hand.

It’s actually a very good fight imo, with Bugner fighting more aggressively than people were used to seeing.