Good points. I've always maintained that the time Jack fought in was very much a transitional one. A sort of halfway house dividing the old Prizefighting era and Boxing as we've known it in more modern times. There's no doubt,though,that Johnson was one of the greatest ever.
This is potentially a close fight. I understand the facets in which Johnson would carry an advantage, at least for a while. However, there is factor I that I think would be his undoing... Foreman's jab. You just can't parry that telephone pole coming sideways. And I think there would be a rather sustained softening up process mixed with body shots (which again don't parry well)... And for those who state that Foreman does not throw combo's they need to do some more film study. This again would count in Foreman's favor. And if Jack thinks he is going to outmuscle Foreman in the clinches... uh, no. Every fighter who has ever shared the ring with George, whether in sparring or actual combat, has commented that he is strong on another level. And these weren't 170 pound guys commenting but full fledged modern heavyweights. And if you don't think strength is correlative to size...
On Monte Cox's website there was a quote by the guy who started Ring magazine I believe who had observed everyone from Johnson to Ali? You can check it out but he stated that Johnson had perfect balance, timing, anticipation, iq, and the best defense he had ever seen. Could a master like this simply adapt on the fly, I mean looking at Foreman you can tell this is not a guy to toy with.
Johnson fought plenty of big guys that outweighed him substantially, it is a fallacy repeated ad nauseum that he feasted on smaller men. Denver Ed Martin was considered to have the best jab of his generation ,Johnson did allright against him. Foreman was extremely strong but Johnson had a way of using an opponent's strength against him,allowing them to push him back using up their energy,, but not allowing them to land effectively on him. I'm not saying he could dominate Foreman , but of all the earlier champions he might have the best chance of nullifying his assets.
I know this. I am just saying that in an era where guys were generally Foreman's size, he still stood out as being incredibly strong. And in matters of strength, size does matter. It is proven in my gym every day. Foreman had a great jab compared to Liston and Ali and Holmes. To whom would we compare Martin's jab? How much footage of great jab work do we see in heavyweights of Johnson's era? Yes, he would have the best chance of his era... by far. Johnson was raised the hard way and probably saw all the existing styles of his day and learned to work them. He also had his own deficiencies which could be worked, tho obviously to a much lesser extent. Like I said initially, this could be a close match. I still take Foreman.
The abilities of Martin's jab I am taking from Adam's Johnson book. I haven't seen any footage of Greb fighting either , I have to take his ability on trust The description of the last Johnson v McVey fight mentions several times Johnson's own jab landing flush on the mark before McVey can set himself. Foreman is a formidable opponent for any one,I'm pleasantly surprised that most don't see this as a blow out for him,except for Elroy that is, and he obviously doesn't count.
I am going to put my neck on the line here, and say that Joe Frazier would beat Jack Johnson, but George Foreman wouldn't.
Foreman has a puncher's chance, but I think Johnson, with his skill set and ring intelligence, would pick George apart. Johnson via wide UD.
For the record, you can see McVey's jab on film. And it is horrible. Yes, this is not a blow out either way. I think Johnson would have adjusted quickly to a different era. As I said of Dempsey a while ago, Johnson had the mark of greatness no matter the era.
If somebody predicts a blow out in a fantasy fight, I challenge them to make a similar prediction in a real world fight where the prediction can be tested. They never take me up on it.
Not an easy fight to predict but stylistically this favors Johnson. Johnson is used to dealing with rough, aggressive, and powerful fighters. However he is often used to being the stronger and bigger man, in this case I am not sure he would be. Johnson can be hurt but if he's serious then that is not something one should expect to see. Foreman was rope-a-doped by Ali and Johnson would use a similar method. Tying Foreman up and talking to him while making him frustrated. If this goes more than a few rounds I'd favor Johnson. I don't think Johnson ever felt the power that Foreman brings but I think Johnson would manage, though he may be dropped. I expect Johnson to win by stoppage late or unanimous decision.
Not an easy fight to pick, but I would go with Foreman by late KO. I think this is an incredibly hard fight for both and one of the more difficult fights for George against ATGs. I typically am a bit biased with the latter days fighters than the former as I believe in all of the advantages a fighter gets such as: film, sports science, knowledge, etc. The way I see it is that Johnson has the lead on the cards, but Big George eventually drops Jack after Johnson starts to get ****y.
