George Foreman (Cooney fight) vs Prime James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith

Smith is too wild for me with his punches Foreman's better technique and straighter punches would be the difference here.

Foreman by late TKO or decision.

 

I’ve watched that fight many times bro, and you could audibly hear those jabs and hooks landing on him. After the fight he said he had never been hit like that. I agree that he wasn’t totally “ rocked “ but he was most definitely hurt in that first round.

 

That "stutter" was about the most rattled we say Foreman in his second career till the likes of Morrison and Moorer. It also probably didn't seem too major because it was THE FIRST ROUND. Lol

 

Lakusta also shook up Foreman briefly after he caught Foreman off guard after rising from a knockdown. Lakusta got up and threw his best sunday punch that connected right on the button.

 

It was short. Very short. But I was a bit impressed with how Cooney handled himself. He was moving around, staying off the ropes and throwing constantly. In the second round he seemed to abandon some of that and of course got in a world of trouble.

 

And on a scale of 1-10 it'd be a 3 at the very best for me. The round is irrelevant.

 

No doubt Cooney threw hard and fast in the first which Foreman admitted but where on tape do you see him hurt?

 

Yes i heard some solid jabs and hooks but that doesn't factor into things given Foreman was taking them as if they were nothing.

Cooney looked good, he said he was in good shape but Foreman still marched him off with not much trouble even if he had to take a few heavy (everything Cooney throws is heavy).

It would be interesting how Cooney would have went with someone else that night, say a Berbick. Not many people would have shown as much immunity as Foreman to his power i dare say.

 

check this out. George went on the David Letterman show the very next night after the Cooney fight. Look at his right eye and also listen to what he had to say.

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Letterman sure took the mickey out of Cooney didn't he.


To state the obvious the more Foreman talks up Cooney the more he was selling himself at a time when he was chasing credibility in his efforts to get a shot at the title (and associated benefits) - the entire reason he came back. It's promotion time and Foreman did a great job getting to where he wanted to.

We know Cooney can bang tho, he has immense power. He certainly hits harder than Frazier. It's hardly surprising George has a swollen face. It also says it all when he says he was "staggering" but couldn't let Cooney know. It's beyond a contradiction.

 

I thought his comments were pretty believable.

 

Well he said Cooney was the hardest hitter he ever faced. Lyle had him face first on the mat and virtually unconscious while Cooney didn't make him pause let alone have him reeling let alone have him laying face first so it's a bit of a hard sell.

When Foreman said Cooney had him staggering Letterman pointedly asked him, with surprise, when. Letterman had a couple of jibes about the difficulties Foreman was trying to sell.

 

It's hard to catch and a mere stutter- I'll admit that much. There's a lapse where Foreman backs up just a bit after taking a sharp left hook.

 

He said that at that point, but later said in an interview for The Ring's "Best I Faced" series of articles that Lyle was in fact the hardest puncher he faced. He likely put Cooney on top at that time because the fight was the day before the interview, so his wounds were still fresh. The placement of Lyle and Cooney was something he could ruminate on and change his mind on, but he was likely telling the truth when he said he was rattled. The reason that we didn't see him back up too much was due both to it being the first round, but also because of George's superior balance in his second career.

 

He almost certainly put Cooney first as he was trying to sell himself as a credible title threat at that time when all the magazines were painting him as a joke.

I have little doubt Cooney is one of the three hardest hitters he faced in the ring. Despite this he barely fazed him as Foreman went about his business of pole axing him which he achieved very quickly and certainly IMO, with a modicum of fuss.