Did Foreman's chin improve with age. Why did Ali drop him but not Holy or Moorer?

No fighter ever has had or ever will have a better chin in his 40s than his 20s.

 

What did foreman in in Zaire was his poor preparation and execution. Swinging like a schoolkid in the playground at a fighter like Ali was suicidal. Combine that with the heat and humidity and George was doomed. Even Ali adopted the rope a dope tactic on the fly when he realised that it was too hot to try to dance all night away from Foreman who did a good job of cutting off the ring. By the 8th round a wild swinging schoolkid could've decked Foreman who was exhausted. plus george took quite a few flush shots from Ali from round one on. Ali's straight punches did more damage than Foreman's wide punches. Straight shots usually do. Now when Foreman came back from retirement he learned to take his time and fight in a more controlled, measured approach which conserved his energy. Gone was the wild swinging brute who gassed if he didn't get the KO and that's why he could take those punches better. He simply wasn't as tired. He paced himself for the long haul. He got smarter as he got older.

 

Foreman's chin didn't get worse in his 40's. Also, George was stronger in his 40's but too heavy. He was obviously much slower being that much heavier.

 

This is an absolute fantastic thread, and it's been a pleasure to read the comments. I haven't really got the time right now to get involved fully, but the above quote caught my eye.

You say that you're a proponent of the hit and not get hit tactic, yet you've spent the last 2 to 3 months, telling me that Ali was nothing but a runner, and his footwork wasn't effective.

You sure know how to wind people up. :good

 

Oliver McCall!:| [Seems to me the Atomic Bull really set the standard there.]

 

Man, somebody had to say it!

We may have an element behind the decline of boxing's popularity there. Toughness has receded as a premium trait, behind flashy athleticism. Fighters aren't allowed to be physically tough anymore, with bouts being stopped at the drop of a hat, amateur style.

It was only a matter of time before a mentally frail McCall would come along.

Today's fighters are lacking their inner Wepner. If their faces get damaged, they wear sunglasses to conceal the damage. Guys like Basilio wore swollen black eyes like badges of honor. Where's the Antuofermo in modern competitors?

"Never fight an ugly man. He's got nothing to lose!" Maybe we need more ugly guys at the top. [Leon Spinks might be a unified HW title holder today.]

 

Except when he gave Morrison charitable advice after Tommy was nearly killed by Mercer. "George, how would YOU fight George Foreman?" And Foreman told him, becoming the unwitting architect of his own eventual defeat at Morrison's hands.

For Tommy, George was to smart and dumb what sweet is to sour, and ice is to fire. Do we give him blame or credit for engineering Morrison's best career decision win?

Joe Frazier told Ali during Muhammad's exile, "Dinosaurs don't buddy together." Lightweights can buddy with lightweights, bantamweights can buddy with bantamweights, light heavyweights can buddy with light heavyweights, but heavyweights with heavyweights? Never! With Tommy, Foreman forgot that rule, and later paid for it with his final conclusive defeat. [At least it didn't cost him another shot at making new history.]

 

That was a frustrating fight to watch. I mean, Morrison looked like he needed oxygen by the third round -- he was gasping, mouth agape -- and all Foreman did was casually follow him around. Even when George had Morrison cornered, Foreman acted like he didn't want to hit Morrison. That was a crappy performance from Foreman. It wasn't like Morrison was so fleet-footed and fast that Foreman couldn't find him; it just looked like Foreman was either extremely undertrained and lethargic or just disinterested in fighting.