Would be a very interesting fight. Foreman's defence was not bad and he had a very long and hurtful jab himself. Moreover he did not really get tired. He was similar to Joyce in some ways that he could plod along patiently and fight at that measured pace all night long. On the downside he was also glacial in punching speed and smaller than Joyce. I think Foreman's crossarm defence was miles better than Joyce's 'hit me' defence and that if he gets into the second half of the fight without major damage it could get interesting. I honestly could not make a fair prediction. Zhang's habit of gassing out from round 5-6 is bad, but then he does have some seriously heavy and accurate artillery at his disposal. He's also a big, big man, and that could be significant against Foreman who was used to being the bigger man in there.
Big George Foreman wins this. George was a not only a combination of experience and size, whereby in this carnation he had the pace and patience to time and conserve himself correctly but he still retained the incredible radar and accuracy in his punches that he had as the wild slugger he’d been in the 1970s. Hes not walking down a faster moving athlete here though, but it won’t matter because the pace of fighter he’s up against here has less energy to conserve than George did. Zhang is still a manufactured fighter. To overcome George he needs to outsmart a strong guy who won’t miss him who has huge experience over him. It’s not going to happen. The punch rate is with George and the defence is with George. Although Comeback George largely avoided higher rated men as big or bigger than himself like Lewis, Bowe, Bruno, Golata …these were guys who could theoretically outwork him. Zhang represents none of this because he’s as old as comeback George and cannot outwork George. Instead, zhang simply represents a huge target to chop down. I see George walking up to Zhang and clubbing him from a few different angles, defending himself behind the cross arms before crunching the giant over the head with those swooping arm punches that did for Cooney. Foreman finally meets somebody slow enough for him to blindside.
Foreman. The ever-underrated defense, heavy hands, granite chin, and stamina carry him to victory though not without taking a few shots.
Zhang didn’t look slow against Hrgovic an Joyce. For a 20 stone guy his hands were a lot faster than you would think. I think he can outwork foreman though whether he has the gas to keep it up for the entire fight is another thing
How does Foreman do against southpaws? Some guys, apparently including Joyce, just cannot stop being hit by southpaws, and Zhang has fast hands and big power.
Zhang. Foreman would want no part of that fight is actually way smaller than Joyce, let alone Zhang. It would be a repeat of the Joyce fight. Zhang is also more adept at winning rounds; size and strength aren’t the only advantages.
I like this fight! I'll pick Foreman, Zhang is too slow to avoid that bomb forever but he will be dominating the fight on the scorecard before that
Looking fast against Joyce is one thing. Looking fast against comeback George is incomparable. I just don’t think old George gives Zhang the same one dimensional openings that Joyce did. I know Joyce was comparable to George in some sense in that he comes in ..but by the time of his comeback George had a bit more about him. He knew where to stand. When to pull the trigger. And his unusual ability to walk in cross his feet and punch with a walking stride..and land woukd be too difficult for a guy of Zhangs experience to deal with. He needs space and time and a guy like Joyce who struggles with southpaws to look that good. I am almost as certain that Joyce flattered Zhang somewhat. Not that Joyce should have got hit so much, but had his face not swelled up Zhang probably gasses out.
I don’t think that much of zhang but it would admittedly be a tough fight for a comeback George. Zhang for all his shortcomings has a big punch, good chin and a lot of size. His south paw style might be a problem too. Foreman also had a solid chin. The cross armed defense and could hit hard with both hands. I can see Foreman ( possibly ) winning a decision or a late stoppage but it would be a very hard fight
Zhang would have the following going for him: 1. The only 6’6 guy who Foreman fought 2. The only southpaw other than Moorer. 3. The only superheavyweight medalist 4. The only guy with a significant strength and weight advantage. 5. Power advantage (yes he does) Zhang’s weakness is against quick movers. Foreman would stand right in front of him and get lined up. Tko incoming, although Foreman would be smart enough to not take this fight.
1. Cooney and O' Halloran 2. Moorer 3. I'll give ya that but was there a SH olympic medal in the 60s? 4. Is Zhang stronger than GF? 5. i doubt it
Right, he did fight Moorer. The stylistic and size differences between Zhang and him are night and day though.
Michael Moore was a Southpaw and Cooney was 6'6 but Foreman fought plenty of guys around the 6'3-6'5 range. The Super Heavyweight division at the Olympics was created in 1984 when Foreman was 35, pretty irrelevant point. Zhang is slow, one dimensional, horrible stamina and hasn't knocked anyone past the 6th round, any version of Foreman murders him.
It’s not irrelevant considering that he expressed no interest in Lewis, Bowe, and Golota. It’s funny that you bring up 12 rounders. Foreman is officially 3-4 in fights that went 12 and one of those wins is considered a robbery. It’s funny the you mention Cooney. He nailed Foreman with the left despite being totally shot. Zhang stopped Joyce in the mid rounds and had Hrgovic ready at times in the second half of their fight. His power carries. He’s shown increasingly good stamina since the Forrest fight too.
