George Foreman Circa 1994 Versus Rocky Marciano Circa 1951

Old Foreman was teribly slow but Marciano wasn't a speedster himself... Foreman seemed to have a clear head in there during his comeback and picked what he did throw very well, nothing wasted.

My question would be, how much raw weight is Marciano giving up to Foreman at this stage? Even if they go punch for punch, I think still think Foreman wins. Bigger, stronger, harder hitting.

I think the real question would be, what would the fight look like over 15 or more if we're going to use a ref of Marciano's own time or earlier who isn't going to stop the fight even if Marciano's nose is split in half.

 

Good question. Obviously the earlier the ref, the better. Marciano will give up around 60lbs in weight, he will not be able to bull Foreman around like he was some opponents. Work-rate is a factor too, though. Marciano could really bang, & will out-throw Foreman drastically if he can get under the guard (& I think he can). He will enjoy a rare speed advantage here & may or may not win this fight in my view.

 

Yeah because Marciano is really a slick defensive fighter right ? Ever heard of the term "styles make fights".

Marciano is a small slugger that would be coming forward aggressively against a fighter who hits like a truck who outweighs him by 70 pounds and has over a 10 inch reach advantage.

Can Marciano fight a smart tactical fight on the backfoot for 12 rounds ? No.

Marciano doesn't beat any version of Foreman.

 

While I pick Foreman to win due to all the reasons mentioned, it’s worth noting 94 Foreman was not the same fighter as 90/91 Foreman. To me, Foreman’s speed and reflexes slowed by the time he fought Morrison and Moorer, compared to his fights with Cooney and Holyfield. Sometimes we classify “old” foreman as one fighter, but IMO there were multiple versions of Big George during his comeback. Something to consider for this fantasy matchup.

Having said that, Foreman by TKO or decision.

 

Really weird matchup to imagine, i cant quite wrap my head around it to be honest

It could be possible that with Marciano's speed, he gets his shots off before getting back into the crouch, notably scoring with the overhand right. If Foreman does land, Marciano can take it, but i wouldnt want to see Foreman get his rhythm, or Marciano could get stopped.

This could be a Morrison situation where if Marciano plays his cards right, he will win. Would be a very dangerous fight though. Might also depend on the ref's allowance or disallowance of the kidney shot

Edited: To note, if you gave Marciano the PEDs of the 90s and gave him perhaps a year or two to adjust, I think he would genuinely just beat the **** out of old Foreman, like worse than Holyfield vs Foreman. I am specifically speaking about if you teleported 1951 Marciano to modern times

 

90s foreman absolutely would gas out lol, he just paced himself much better. If you forced a pace onto him, he would gas, or literally just sit there and let you hit him so that he wouldnt gas.

 

Not actually picking Marciano here, just saying he could in theory win. Actually its one of the better matchups for him from the 90s imo, along with Tommy Morrison. I tend to think the other top heavyweights would crush him (ONLY DUE TO STEROIDS)

 

Well yeah, that's why I feel Marciano would outwork him by a lot. The question is whether Marciano could avoid most of the incoming and whether he could survive the stuff that did land. Old Foreman was as slow as a sloth but he hit every bit as hard as he ever did.

 

Yeah people are really underestimating the speed component. Marciano was not slow during his prime of 51-53, he only happened to face very fast boxers for the most part like Walcott and Charles and LaStarza, so it was a weird comparative thing. Marciano would be NOTABLY faster than 90s George Foreman if they shared a ring. That version of George is slower than Carnera lol

 

Agree. On the other hand we are talking about a guy that has over 60lbs on Marciano, and that's huge. Sure, Marciano was shredded and Foreman was kinda pudgy, but there's still a lot of muscle under that blubber.

 

Shocked at the poll results.

28 year old Rocky is not losing to any 45 year old.


(Prime for prime, a different story).

 

First of all, that Foreman could still move. He was 38, not 45.

And second, both were called Rocky, but Sekorski was hardly Marciano.