Is it underrated? Guy isn't HOF material but a 77 (61) - 7 - 1 record from a fighter who fought for nearly 20 years doesn't strike me as the garbage that many said was fed to Foreman. This fight took place right after the Cooney fight and was also at Caesar's. Just like a career being started up again he did seem to be taking on more dangerous opposition. Just because the guy fought out of Brazil basically his entire career, and being obscure doesn't make him a nobody, I suppose. Thoughts? Anyone else underrated that Foreman fought on his way back up?
I think Rodrigues gets overrated by alot of Foreman fans, actually. If you look at Adilson's career opponents, his overall record was fattened up by a collection of the usual suspects. He was starched in two rounds by Evander Holyfield, and then he fought Foreman and was starched in two. The only thing that seems to make Adilson a more credible opponent was the fact that he was once rated in the top ten. He wasn't ranked when George fought him, but to me, that ranking didn't mean much. The fact that George was willing to fight a certain fighter usually meant that the guy was no threat at all; unless it was for a title.
In the summer of 1989, Adilson Rodriguez was ranked #2 by the WBC and was the Brazilian heavyweight champion. His record at that point was around 35-2-0-26. He had a few wins over guys like Boncrusher and Tillis, both of whom were a bit past their primes. Rodiriguez fought Holyfield that summer, and was leading in the second round on points when Evander launched a missile to the forehead of Rodiriguez and left him flat on his back, hitting his head on the canvas. One year later, he fought Foreman. At this point his rating had dropped to roughly #10 by the WBC, and like #12 by the WBA. Once again, he started off winning the first round until Foreman cought him in round two, leading to another KO loss. Rodriguez's record is a bit padded as some have already mention, but he was actually a pretty good boxer with a fair amount of skill and punching power. I wouldn't call him a great fighter, but he was if nothing else respectable and certainly deserved his rating at the time.
