Foreman vs Ike/Tua

For those of us that follow NFL football l recall the great Bruce Smith being Ringside for one of old George's fights. He was a Defensive end with outstanding quickness of both hand and feet. Bruce went about 275-80lbs in playing shape. An uncommon athlete with coordination etc.
He was in awe of George Foreman from what he could gauge at Ringside.
Jim Lamply asked him a lighthearted question about boxing he all Smith could do was shake his head an say "I'm glad I'm not in that ring with George." Lamply says that was coming from a man with the quickest hands his sport.
But I'm sure he could squat much more than Foreman and bench press or deadlift more.
They could have put that on his tombstone.

 

There is a good fight for you to watch. Tim Witherspoon vs Frank Bruno. Check it out.

 

Great Post.

Foreman was like the heavyweight Sandy Saddler (because he was trained by him and Archie Moore).
He could be very clever with his hand positioning,nullifying and hurting opponents.

It's sort of a lost skill really, and would serve well, especially against Tua.

 

Big George by KO.

 

What the hell man, you are talking about old Foreman here - Holyfield fight.
Old Foreman 255 lbs, young Foreman 220 lbs... See the difference?

 

What does ATG status have to do with the strength of a boxer?
Young Foreman proved that a 215-220 lbs Ron Lyle is basically strong as him.
Ibeabuchi is stronger than Lyle

 

Yea but Norton was like 30 lbs lighter than Ike, see the difference?
Norton was lighter than Foreman, and Ike is bigger than Foreman

 

So Whiterspoon being a better boxer with a better chin and stamina means he is stronger than Bruno?

 

NFL players are stronger and more athletic than boxers, no doubt.

 

I'm not aware of who Ike is, however I just can't see any era of Foreman having too much trouble with Tua. Foreman (like all incredible punchers) was foiled by boxers: movement, well timed jabs and combinations. Tua wasn't that. I think in the 70s it wouldn't have been too unlike when George went against Lyle, despite the fact that Tua had significantly more stamina. At practically any point in his career Tua would have been levelled within five rounds.

I can't go without saying that Tua would have been more than capable of knocking Foreman down during the fight, though. I just don't see David resisting trading punches with George for long, and to me there's no way he would have ended up any differently than Lyle...well, maybe he'd last an extra round or half.

Just my worthless opinion.

 

Yeah, punching abilities and punching powers are obviously far more important in boxing than strength is. But they're completely different things. So I don't get why anyone would comment on a boxer's punching abilities as evidence of his strength.

Strength isn't completely irrelevant to boxing success though--depending on the styles of the fighters, it can play a significant role.

 

And in a forum like this, some guys would probably still question whether Bruce Smith was really stronger than George Foreman.

 

Excellent points, and that last sentence I'm guessing especially applies to fighters like George.