George Foreman vs Lennox Lewis

Probably i do.

 

Well most people Know that Foreman's comeback was well thought out in terms of comp. I watched the Foreman - Stewart fight a couple of years ago and I was shocked how Foreman controlled the first part of the fight then allowed Steward to get back into it and almost win. So Stewart never should have been in the mix to begin with. As far as Morrison, Holyfield, and Briggs goes if you want to use them as a demonstration of Foreman having a great chin than fine, but the same also applies to Lewis. :bbb

 

By the same arguement Foreman hits harder than both McCall and Rahman.

 

Agreed,

Although I'd pick Lewis to beat Foreman, it's for other reasons mainly style related that I'd make this choice.

We can't say on one hand, that Lewis would destroy Foreman on the basis that he was shaken up by Ali and young, when at the same time, Lewis was knocked out by Mccall and Rahman, and rocked by Bruno and Mercer. It's kind of a double standard. We also have to consider that in 81 pro fights, Foreman was stopped but once, against a concensus all time great champion. In only 44 pro fights, Lewis was stopped twice, and by men who were hardly viewed as historically great fighters.

That being said, I would still pick Lewis to beat Foreman at any stage of his career, but I don't nor ever will, use the Young or Ali fights as measurable data to make my selection.

 

They are three and four on my alltime top ten list.

I haven't decided which is three and which is four.

 

And he does, which is why he has a chance.

Those numbers don't mean much.

Out of those 81 pro fights, about 70 were against completely overmatched tomato cans, including guys with 0-14 records the year before he won the title.
On the other hand, of Lewis' 44 pro fights, about 20 of them were world class opposition.


By your reasoning, Butterbean would have to be considered very good too, because he was only stopped once in 90 or so fights.


And while Ali was an all time great, he was hardly an all time great puncher. Overmatched guys like Rudi Lubbers also went the distance with him.

 

I see old George is gaining ground...

 

Agreed 100%.


Interesting by the way, it's only a few votes away from being exactly 50/50 after 100 votes.

 

Not surprising,

They were both awesome fighters. :good

 

I already voted, but I'd like to pose a question. Can Lewis win a match in which every forward step taken is Foreman's?

 

My answer is yes,

Lennox had the jab, movement, and power to keep george at bay. That's not to say that Foreman wouldn't land enough to harm Lewis, but I think that Lewis had the right tools to combat Foreman's walk-in style.

 

Yep, Lewis is very versatile and has shown in fights that he can fight off the back foot or do the leading. In the Tua fight, he was on the back foot most of the time without much trouble, picking his shots.