Foreman 1973 vs Holyfield 1991

Well the old guy caught Holyfield plenty in their actual fight, so facing the raw, power of George, I see him hurting Holyfield early.
Holyfield would be brave and fire back, which leads to his downfall.
IMO Foreman wrsc 4

 

A rare fight between two all-timers where, if they fought a hundred times, I’d pick the same guy every outing.

Foreman steamrolls Holyfield. Not (entirely) a class issue, but a matter of how strengths & weaknesses line up.

Foreman TKO4.

 

Holyfields chin was too excellent for me to see him getting stopped. And Holyfield was a legitimate cruiser moving up. By legitimate cruiser, I mean 190 pounds in the ring. Not 210 pounds in the ring but 190 something the day before at the weigh in.

Holyfield chin was absolute granite.

 

His chin was pretty good but imagine the EH who was stunned by Bert Cooper, having George throwing HIS shots at him!!
No way is Foreman not stopping Holyfield in there imo.

 

Holyfield is too easy to hit, it's not a question of whether Foreman will land but how long can Evander stay upright while being poleaxed

 

73 Foreman (slugger) vs Holyfield (boxer/boxer puncher)

Power: Foreman
Speed: Holyfield
Chin: Foreman
Technique: Holyfield
Stamina: Holyfield
Combinations: Foreman
Punch variety: Foreman
Ring IQ: Holyfield (sometimes)
Body shots: Foreman
Footwork: Holyfield
Accuracy: Foreman
Offensive skill: Foreman
Defensive skill: Holyfield (sometimes)
Killer instinct: Foreman
Heart: Even

8-1-6 advantage Foreman

This is one of those fights where the outcome heavily depends on the mentality of one of the fighter's in question. Namingly: Holyfield. As you can see, his precarious defense and ring IQ could lead to him fighting at the same level (or even lower) than his opponents. We saw this several times in his career where he was more than happy to brawl or fight back when hurt or drug out of his game plan. This would be a grave mistake against 73 Foreman. Holyfield has speed, technique, and courage in spades, but brawling with someone like Foreman is flat out suicide even with Holyfield's legendary toughness. For starters, by Holyfield's own admission, Foreman was surprisingly accurate and hits much harder than him. Exchanging with a bigger, stronger, opponent who can hit accurately is a recipe for disaster.

Conclusion: Unless Holyfield fights smart and boxes a cautious fight, he is in for a rough night to say the least. The thing is, even if Holyfield uses his defense, footwork, and tries to pick his shots carefully, Foreman can still cut the ring off digging into the body or exchanges jabs with him to open Holyfield up. Realistically, it's only a matter of time before Holyfield starts to trade with Foreman. In regards to stamina, Foreman fought (and beat) opponents with better stamina than himself: Frazier, Norton, Chuvalo, etc. I don't think it would matter as an aggressive brawling Holyfield would simply take too much punishment for that to factor in. Foreman TKO Round 6.

 

I don't know. I understand your argument and actually agree with your points, but I would have to see it to believe it. I just can't see Holyfield being stopped, unless you hit him with lots of combinations. Plus, I don't think Foreman was as durable as his older incarnation. Holyfields punching power gets underrated. If Holyfield staggers 1991 Foreman, I can see it happening to 73 Foreman. And Holyfield had about as good a chin as Ali.

 

I can't see Evander winning a shootout with that Foreman (any Foreman but especially that one), and that's what would end up happening. Foreman pushing Evander back, Evander stepping back in to fire combinations............nah Evander would get stopped IMO

 

Foreman by stoppage.

 

Stoppage? This is Foreman by murder in 2 rounds as far as I'm concerned.

Holyfield has no chance whatsoever of winning or surviving this. His favorite tactic is to go to war with the bigger guy up close because he can usually outfight and outwork them with better speed and stamina, but the moment he tries that on Foreman he will get demolished and possibly knocked out brutally. He can't escape either, not forever atleast as Foreman excels at cutting people off and catching them with body shots on the way out. Holyfield can guard pretty well, but as he himself noted against the old Foreman, the hits still hurt like hell and if you accidentally fail to block one of his hits you will freeze up from the impact force.

Holyfield would need to fight like Ali and use tactics that involve indirectly fighting Foreman. The issue here is Holyfield just ain't that kinda guy. He's the kind like Frazier or Tyson who wants to impose his will on you with a beatdown to prove he is made of tougher stuff. That's obviously gonna backfire against Foreman.

 

73' Foreman was a killer--and 91' Holyfield just isn't big enough or fast enough to withstand George's power. KO by George in 5 rounds.

 

I can see Holyfield being stopped given that it actually happened against Toney and Bowe. He was also hurt badly and dropped by Bert Cooper from one punch. The issue that everyone in this thread agrees on, is that Holyfield would most likely try trading with Foreman. Chuvalo had a better chin than Holyfield and the he was stopped after getting a beating in the corner.

Disagree Foreman had a better chin as an old man. He had better defense and paced himself better. Your chin doesn't suddenly get better in your 40's. Holyfield's power being underrated won't change the fact he'd be brawling with a bigger opponent who hits much harder. Lyle hit harder than Holyfield and was just as brave, yet he still got demolished..

 

I always speculate what could've happened between prime Foreman & 91 Holyfield.
It was either rd 5 or 7 of their 91 match where as Foreman backs Holyfield to the ropes, he unleashes a huge overhand right that just comes up short and follows up with a left uppercut that grazes Holyfields chin.
All Holyfield could do was brace for it and thank the lord that Foreman was an old man with diminished speed and reflexes.
A prime Foreman lands that combo and drops Holyfield...