George Foreman from the 90s vs. Zhang Zhilei.

Several posters are talking about a Foreman with stamina. I don't know who that boxer was, but I did see a Foreman who collapsed vs Ali after rounds of rope a dope, and a guy who could barely stand up after 5 rounds with Lyle. And was outworked comprehensively by Jimmy Young. George was used to quick knockouts not going 15 rounds.

I believe Zhang takes George's ear.y big shots, takes him into deep water and ko's him 7th or 8th round.
Too slick, too big, too solid a chin for George.

 

Well he must not have thought much of Tyson because he chased him all over the place calling him out when he had the title....*cue tumbleweed

 

Yes because he felt that specific match up based on size and potential astronomical money was worth it. A bit different than fighting a huge guy.

 

Tyson was a helluva lot more formidable than the likes of Mercer and Zhang and Ruddock, to put it mildly.

If Lewis, Ruddock or whoever held the unified title absolutely Foreman would have taken them on, no if's or buts. It's what he came back for. Obviously Zhang would never be remotely good enough to hold it.

Contenders, well yes Foreman played it safe. Multiple titleists? Well George would probably lean toward the more suitable. As a defending titleist? George would again lean toward easier.

Again, Foreman would have fought absolutely anyone if they held the unified titles. Tyson was one of the most feared fighters in the history of the sport when Foreman was calling him out.

 

^This.^

People conveniently interpret shrewd opponent selection to mean that Foreman was fearful. Foreman didn’t hide his reasons for making his comeback in ’87. It was most definitely financially motivated.

“

This content is protected

” - George Foreman

He would have fought whoever it took to get that shot at the big time money again. So, the Foreman “would never have fought him” rhetoric is fundamentally flawed by itself.


Even with the above in mind, however, the notion that Foreman would have sought to avoid Zhang (a near-40-year-old himself) on the strength of his recent Joyce win, no less, is about as hilarious as the ‘detractor mentality’ can get.

 

Exactly. That's why he fought Lewis at Wembly and Bowe at MSG.

 

That didn't happen anymore than his "call out' of Tua.

 

https://www.sportbible.com/boxing/b...he-passed-up-a-fight-with-mike-tyson-20201214

"That guy was a nightmare in the ring," the 71-year-old boxing legend said.

"If he missed you with his left, then missed you with his right, he'd bite you.

"I didn't want anything to do with that guy. He was sacred and I was glad of that.

"I didn't want a part of Mike Tyson."

Don't report me bro.

 

You realize these quotes don't exactly help your case right? You're stupid but surely not this stupid?

 

You probably don’t know the difference between “sacred” and “scared.” They aren’t the same word.

 

Not exactly the full story .. Foreman stated more than once while live commentating on HBO that he would never fight Bowe or Lewis , period. He came back initially for Tyson because he felt the size difference and style was made for him and the money gigantic. He brilliantly and surgically charted his comeback with absolute final decision making authority on who he would fight .. he took extremely well calculated risks based on return ... a tiny , old, fat Qwai, another inconsistent short journeyman in Cooper, a weak chinned, absurdly inactive non-entity in Cooney, the blown up cruiserweight Holyfield for 12 million and a title fight .. a weak chinned , resume padded Tommy Morrison, plodders like Stewart and Coetzer .. he never, ever , ever even considered fights with a Bowe, Lewis, Mercer, Ruddock, even a Bruno when any of them would have jumped at the chance to fight that version of Foreman .. Foreman could have fought any of them at any time he wanted but he didn't because he was too smart .. he knew the challenges would end him. I do believe he would have fought Tyson before Holyfield if he could of for the money but that fight was not made mainly because it was laughed off as an absurd mismatch .. I remember after Foreman knocked out Terry Anderson in a round in late 1990 and getting attention for it that Tyson was interviewed and said "Can you imagine what they would say if I even signed to fight a nobody like Anderson?" ... Ultimately and fortunately for George the Tyson fight never happened because the sight of George flattened would have not only been sad to see but would have ruined his ultimate "losing with grace and winning by message " marketing position he was able to maintain through his second career by remaining vertical and essentially going out on his own terms with dignity intact , a huge help to the fortune he made merchandising his grille ..

 

Just to be clear, you are arguing that Foreman would not have fought Lewis if he held the unified title instead of Tyson? Well let's say Holyfield.

Lewis was still just a prospect when Foreman fought Holyfield. He was actually 2 years away from even holding the title. He would not have remotely been in the picture. Bowe was still a year and a half off fighting Holyfield when George fought him.

I made it clear i was talking a title fight, unified at that with no other options. No-one is saying he was going after Lewis and Bowe when they were contenders, heck i'm not even saying he was after them when they were champs after his failed shot at Holyfield. What i am saying is that he would have fought whoever was unified at the time he fought Holyfield. No doubt if Holyfield wasn't champ and he fought someone else the narrative could be that he wouldn't have fought Vander if he was champ. I've got no skin in the game with what he did after that initial title shot.

At the time Foreman fought Anderson Tyson was 7 months removed from the Douglas whooping and not even champ. Foreman wanted the title and had no interest in Tyson once he'd lost it tho it would still be a huge money event and he felt Tyson was "made for him."

 

Indeed. Neither Lewis nor Bowe were even known about when Big George announced his comeback. They wouldn't turn professional for another two years or more, with the Seoul Olympics some distance down the line, along the way.

 

The source you pulled up, got mixed up on who said that quote.

The closest I found to that quote was the interviewer saying "he was scared of you and you were glad". The word sacred doesn't even remotely make any sense in this context.

Also fyi, Foreman stated Tyson avoided him in that same interview as well. Funny you seem to have omitted this from your quotes.