Did George Foreman hit harder than modern Super-Heavyweights (Klitschko/Lewis)?

Regardless, I'm still remain impressed to this day by the young Foreman hitting Frazier with that right uppercut and lifting him off the canvas - just sayin'

PS: The C00ney KO was pretty spectacular too.

 

No, Old Foreman was still competitive after as you say got "fat". When you add fat you also naturally add leg muscles, even if you don't train with weights at all. My brother and I have about the same genetics, he doesn't train. But "some how" he has as strong legs as me. Most power from the punches generates from the legs... And Foreman didn't just gain fat on top of that... he also trained with heavy weights which of course gave him more MUSCELS than what he had naturally. Just ask any weight lifter or body builder and they will tell you the same thing...

Foreman knew proper punch techniques after he gained more size and strength as well...

 

Of course he could have been an worse all-round boxer as he aged and gained size and strength. But that's not the question.

Yes that could very well be the case. But size and strength combined generates more power. Speed is also a key but simply not as important. Boxers from lower weight classes punches weaker for a reason...

Speed and momentum as you mention is keys to knockouts not power. You simply need to separate these two.

Yes in his comeback he did...

 

getting fatter is also at the same time getting more leg
muscles. So size+strength to a certain degree. And Foreman also gained Muscles by weight training thus gained even more muscles to an further degree.

When old Foreman connected it was harder - guarantee. Even if young Foreman threw the punches somewhat faster the impact when landed would simply slow down the punch. A heavier punch with more mass behind it will go throw further after the impact and not slow down as much. And we all can see that Foreman didn't focus on snapping punches, he threw thudding punches with deep impact. (Excellent for body punching) And his loss of somewhat speed is by miles not enough to affect his already upgraded punch power due to his increased size and strength. Think of like: 0+3-1=+2

But as quickness goes, yes he could threw more punches as younger which is great, and overall he could very well have been a better all round boxer, but as punch power goes he was not as powerful.

 

Look at it this way- Chamber , Povetkin , Haye, Iggy, Peter wouldn't have seen past 6 rounds against Foreman.

Everet Martin was floored heavily by Foreman. Wlad fought an out of shape , shot , fat old n slow Martin 10 years later and couldn't hurt him.

 

Throwing wide, telegraphed, looping punches as hard as possible looks impressive but wastes energy. Older Foreman was superior at delivering more power at the point of contact because his punches were more technically correct and shorter. More efficient motion means less wasted energy and translates to more power delivered to the target. The best weight transfer will make it look like there's been nothing at all out of the ordinary happening, like Joe Louis, not punching like a stunt double in a 50's western.

Young Foreman got away with almost comically bad technique most of the time because of how heavy handed he was against fighters who were easy to hit. I wouldn't call it proof he used his weight better than the older version by any stretch.

 

I think Wladimir's jab and straight right are pretty much the hardest ever.

Foreman had great power for clubbing punches which is an unusual and valuable thing. He had a lot more punch variety in his prime than Lennox and Wladimir do but for the basic punches they probably punch harder.

This is choosing between lamborghinis and ferraris though.

 

Yes, getting fatter usually means getting more leg muscles, as long as the fighter's still comfortable and competitive fat won't affect you negative enough because the heavyweight division has no limit.

70's smaller version of Foreman would not one shot bigger, and stronger fighters better than his more powerful self in the 90's division. But 70's Foreman could still be the better fighter knockout more due to speed, because his 70's power would still have been enough to get the job done, even if it would demand more punch output.

Therefore weaker punch. Weight training and size gaining will do more for punch power.

It depends on the puncher, if Tyson Fury lost say 25-30 pounds he would lose more punch power. And Tyson Fury is no KO-artist to begin with...

I'm not the one who ignores muscles, YOU are.

Yes that's natural muscles and low body fat. Smaller bodies has to move more to generate power, a compensation of lack of mass. Bigger bodies generates more power with less amount of movement.

And this is bulked Foreman with more weight, muscles and fat:

https://www.google.se/search?q=old+...isch&q=comeback+foreman&imgrc=nVDhH2XRnbuFJM:

Foreman on weight training: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/georgefore613411.html

He was a pioneer, and for that our modern super heavies should be thankful to him.

 

Theres a big difference from 91 foreman to 97 foreman...he was at his hardest hitting between 89/91....I don't think he had the hardest punch hes certainly up there though,he was more of a clubber..Tyson/Wlad/Lewis /Morrison/and Ruddock had better one punch abilities.

 

THIS ^^^^^^:good

 

Young Foreman was better in absolute terms due to much more speed, work rate, ring cuttng ability...Old Foreman was smarter & more efficient.

I have lifted weights for decades. Just having more body fat does not mean you will have stronger legs or anything.

Old Foreman may or may not have had as much or more one punch power due to great efficiency. But understand that it made especially a very slow man easier to land pnches, & saved energy. It does not prove that the efficency translates to more pure force compared to those shots thrown from way back...
If you through for a punch calculator you would tend to use the latter.
If you want to connect more often& throw volume, the former.

Old Foreman still through some looping punches...Recall who essentially quit after one murderous body/kidney punch?

I believe it is UNKNOWN if a particular individual's greater weight compensates for lost speed in terms of pure force.

Foreman got stronger compared to (as anyone would) being ubactive for a decade.

but you can look at him at various weights, including in the mid 230's his rare lightest for his comeback, & compare it to when he weighed over 230 later in his first career.

Clearly the math shows his body fat was similar, so he would not have more muscle in his 40's Considering body composition at about teh same weights, since his skeleton did not change.

Though the lifting likely made him even stronger.
Still he was wrong or disingenuous to say it did not matter since he never had any speed....He had some, & very good ring cutting abilities.

His jab is a good example of his development & changes & "trickeration".
It could be fast & snapping & very hard in the '70's.

It was much slower during his comeback, though he likely could throw it even harder.
He also had a -pat jab that was a rangefinder, or even more so lull you into a false sense of secuity, "I'm just a harmless old man".

Then WHAMO! A jab that could instantly KO most average men.

Trouble was it couldwor TOO well...Because it would move the likes of Holyfield out of range, & Old George could not follow up with speed.

Now that is power folks.

 

yes much heavier / perhaps not as sharp and fast like lennox / but much much heavier /