Foreman does not retire in 1977. let's say between 1978 and 1985. besides of the eternal discussion foreman vs Holmes. who would you pick with total conviction to beat him? i have no doubt that he would be one of the champions again . he beats cooney,Norton,shavers,berbick,weaver,tate, leon, bugner,cobb,smith sure. If he was smart he would not fight an inmediate rematch with young, Norton would make the job for him and then young would be finished around 1979 however foreman would have intact his power,strength and chin, so once young is out of the map it is done. another thing,checking again closely the defences of larry Holmes i say that Foreman could have duplicated it sure. Norton Evangelista occasio weaver shavers lorenzo zanon leroy jones 1980 Ali berbick Leon spinks snipes cooney cobb lucien rodriguez spoon scott frank marvis smith david bey carl williams except spoon no of these guys is a test for Foreman. so, ignore Holmes here , we are not making another fantasy fight foreman vs holmes here. A) do you think that he would be the champion again during this frame of time? B) who would you pick to beat him with total conviction? thanks.
a) Yes, he would be champion. I don't know if he would be undisputed champion though. I am not sure if a unification fight would materialize. b) No one. Witherspoon has a chance. A motivated Greg Page would have a chance. But I wouldn't pick anyone with total conviction.
You have to think that he would have got the title back before Holmes lifted it. He would have been the only strong contender in a very weak era for a bit.
Great post. Head to head i rate foreman in a atg HW top 6. I think a 1983 dokes,a 1985 pinklon thomas are a risk..... Personally i think a foreman 78-85 reign would see george remain undefeated and a better more youthful blending of his comeback style would evolve in the early 80s..
Witherspoon & Spinks (of 85) have the best chance to win. Thomas, Dokes & Smith could be tricky for a while before they get stopped
the question must be asked, why is Zanon's name even on you're list? I think Spoon is the only guy there with any hope
I think that George Foreman would have waited for Ken Norton to beat Jimmy Young, which he did on Nov 5 1977. Then when Leon Spinks fresh off of his victory over a sadly aged Muhammad Ali, refuses to fight Ken Norton, George repeats his 1974 destruction of Norton to win the WBC Title. Then on June 9 1978, in a nationally televised fight on ABC in prime time, Larry Holmes captures the title with a lopsided 15 round decision. Holmes left jab and lateral movement spells a resounding victory as George does not have the stamina to stop a very talented Larry Holmes.
Norton-Foreman wins again, although since both are older, I think it would last a bit longer; also they both developed more as fighters since the Caracas Caper; I'm hopeful this could be a good fight, but it very well might be a carbon copy of the CC Evangelista-Foreman KO 2 occasio-Foreman KO 7; Ocasio is very tricky, but would never harm George weaver-If Weaver would start fast, this could be a tremendous action fight, Foreman would even hit the deck, and hard. However, George would more likely stop him in the 1st or 2nd rounds. shavers-Could be a war, but George might dominate Earnie and stop him anywhere btwn 1 and 8. lorenzo zanon-George KO 4. Zanon tricky, but wouldn't hurt George. leroy jones-George KO 2. 1980 Ali-George TKO 5. All George. Ali stands up to the punches, but gets destroyed. berbick-Great brawl. Really don't know if George would knock out Berbick or not. If it goes the distance, Berbick would win. Leon spinks-This could be electric. George would actually meet a guy for once that starts faster than he does. Spinks might pay for it though. George could kill Leon in 1 or 2, or this could be a thrilling see-sawer. I would predict George by knockout anywhere btwn 1 and 8 in a slugfest, cuz Leon just never could handle that level of power. However, if Leon could survive 8, he would thrash George. snipes-I actually pick Snipes. He was very tricky and could evade a lot of George's barrages. George would give him several rocky rounds though. This would be a clear indicator of George's decline to be sure. cooney-A barnstormer unlike the real thing. Still George in 5 or less. cobb-Contrary 2 what most would say imo, this would be an awful affair. George might UD Cobb, but I doubt the ref would let a beating like that last more than 6. lucien rodriguez-Foreman KO 1. spoon-Spoon SD. Foreman hurts Spoon early, but Spoon comes on and edges the fight. I realize though, stylistically, Foreman has the edge, but it would be a rare fight where George meets an explosive puncher. scott frank-George KO 1. marvis-George TKO 2. Smokin' Joe style. smith-Great battle of bombers. George KO 5. Both down at least once. david bey-George KO 3. carl williams-Williams would outjab George for a little while, probably even bother him w/ hit, but George would take him out, I would say in less than 7.
