George Foreman , overrated ?

Here's where you're being an @sshole. We're not talking about an era of blog posts. And every week someone posted their personal favorite top 10 ever list.

If a publication published a list of all-timers, they weren't going to publish another list of all-timers months or sometimes even years later. They may do a division one year. Another division another year ...

Also, you're not considering that the era you're DEMANDING LISTS from was an era where the heavyweight title was split up to three ways and there was seemingly constant turnover.

So there wasn't an article every time the heavyweight title changed hands going "How would John Tate do against the All-time best heavyweights?" How would Mike Weaver do against the all-time best?" "How would Michael Dokes do against the all-time best?" How would Gerrie Coetzee do against the all-time best?" "How would Tim Witherspoon do against the all-time best?" "How would Pinklon Thomas do against the all-time best?" "How would Greg Page do against the all-time best?" "How would Tony Tubbs do against the all-time best?" "How would Tony Tucker do against the all-time best?" "How would Bonecrusher Smith do against the all-time best?"

Today, people post lists every week as click bait to get people to view them. Back then, there were 12 or fewer issues of a publication a year ... and they didn't print THE BEST HEAVYWEIGHTS EVER list routinely. Especially when the top of the division turned over practically every time someone made a title defense.

 

Because we lived through it and you didn't.

You act like a spoiled brat acting like whatever happened before you bothered to pay attention never happened.

 

Why do you assume we're "bluffing?" Everyone who were fans then are all in agreement. The people who showed up late to the party are the ones doubting everything.

 

Here is the article they are referring to with Steve Farhood (that you don't remember George being in). It was originally published after Tyson unified the WBC/WBA/IBF belts. It asks how Tyson would do against THE heavyweight greats. THE 10 heavyweight greats are listed. Foreman is among them.

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What would be the point? You prove someone wrong around here and they continue to argue hammer and tong anyway.

 

This whole topic is funny really, I think he's underrated if anything, not overrated. Guess that is just me.

 

HE WASN'T. You keep saying Foreman was, but he wasn't.

You pulled a couple lists and you're basing everything on that ... and you're accusing everyone who were fans then of lying or "bluffing." It's maddening. And you keep demanding ALL-TIME HEAVYWEIGHT LISTS (like every magazine issue included one).

Here's one of the biggest (in terms of size) boxing mags from that era. Mike Marley was the editor. He covered Foreman during his reign.

In this 1982 issue, they compiled a list of the top 15 heavyweights of all time. On the list were Foreman, Ali, Frazier, Dempsey, Tunney, Johnson, Jeffries, Liston, Marciano, Patterson, Holmes, Louis, Baer, Charles, Walcott ...

They list them in order ... and Foreman ranked #6 ... in 1982.

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Is that okay? Or are you going to say Foreman was on Jeopardy that week so he was on the top of everyone's mind?

 

Exactly.

 

I have it somewhere. I'll find it and post the results.

 

I'll look for it tonight and post the results. I think the same article was featured in a few magazines actually.

 

I posted it above.

 

Well, personally I've been saying all along I'll be happy to be "proved wrong" since I never insisted I'm right nor doing anything else but stating my own memory/perceptions of the time.

On top of that I cited what I could remember of a long feature in the RIng magazine feature, AUGUST 1987 I think, where the heavyweight were definitely rated all time. Foreman was down in 18th place or so, out of 27 champions. I think he'd had one comeback fight at time of publication. For what that's worth.

This forum should be about sharing ideas anyway. I know we get into arguments often but it's more productive to share information and try to have open minds.
I actually find the subject of why former champions are rated where they are and why/how revisions happen or don't happen in the years since they were active very interesting. The shifts in perception do happen, for various reasons. It's news to me that Foreman was considered an established all-time great heavyweight post-Ali and pre-comeback, continuously, if indeed that was the consensus.

The discussion has got to the stage where I'll just say I have faith in John Thomas and Dubblechin's version. And trust that sooner or later I'll come across enough material to confirm what they have strongly argued for beyond any remaining doubt.

 

That's really good stuff.
Thanks.

 

Sharing ideas and having ones own opinion is fine. I realize we're not always going to agree on everything around here. But I've seen too many instances over the last decade where someone posts ample information confirming their positions or even shared memories strait from ringside and someone continues to side step it or argue around it.. who has time for someone like that ?

 

If this was a p4p list reflecting a 50 year period then being #38 isn't bad at all.