Harold Johnson vs Bob Foster

I like Johnson in the upset here. Decision of course.

I think that prowess and ringsmarts and slippery defense of Johnson had would see him able to solve that oddball angle Foster boxed out of. I sure don't see many other LH dealing with that angle and if you couldn't you aren't beating a Bob Foster. But Johnson was so slippery and effective in there. He's a guy that was fantastic at taking away an opponents strengths. He'd sure need that in this matchup and it's a tightrope act he'd have to walk against a Foster. Great matchup but I'll go with Johnson walking that tightrope in the upset over a personal favorite.

 

All things considering Im not so sure Johnson winning would be the upset to be honest.

 

I rate Foster higher ,head to head at LH ,but Johnson faced much better competition and won.An Alltime Great LH Puncher V an All Time Great LH Defensive Master. Truly, I can't decide.

 

50/50 fight for me. I can see Johnson outboxing Foster to a decision, but Foster's power could eventually get to Johnson at some point. Great match up.

 

once again I agree my friend! Johnsons counter punching seems to set him up perfectly for this fight.

 

Really great post!

 

Prime Bob Foster, 1968-1974, vs Prime Harold Johnson, 1954. This turns out to be a very good match up. Bob was a rangy type of fighter with a long left jab, and a very wicked left hook that left many light heavyweights in dreamland. Johnson was a very skilled sturdy light heavyweight champion. Bob would win this bout by a majority decision in this one, Harold would box Foster very cautiously, as he is aware of Foster's brutal left hook. Johnson would have many moments during this fight, he would force the action, forcing Bob into retreat during the mid rounds. This fight would look like Bob's title defense against Ray Anderson, in 1971, that went the distance. As I mentioned in my previous posts, you can only fight the opponents that are put in front of you, in your respectful era's. Both fought good opponents, Bob did give Muhammad Ali his first cut in his career, before Ali kayoed Bob, by decking him 8 times and stopping him in round 8, on Nov 21 1972, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Harold was so skilled, that he would have given Liston or Marciano a good fight.

 

For me it all comes down to, "Johnson dint catch so good." (My quote) The reason Johnson fought so cautiously is because he knew this weakness about himself. If you watch his fights with Archie Moore, Archie had a crafty way of jabbing, feinting and setting up his opponents for his right hand bomb. He played the long game and would sneak up on his opponents as the fight wore on by gradually cutting down the distance so as to be in range. This is why the kayo in the last Johnson fight took so long. Moore knew if he could close the distance, he could stop Johnson, but he had to do it gradually after Johnson tired so that Harold would not be wary about was happening. You can see Archie cutting down the distance little by little, just as he did in a lot of other fights. When I watch Foster, I see a fighter who had that same patience and crafty way of jabbing, (Foster had a heckuva jab) feinting and setting his opponent up for the right hand as Moore. I think Foster would be able to catch Johnson this way over a 15-round distance, and if he did Johnson would go. Foster's jab was even better than Moore's and his right-hand power the equal of Moore's. I look for a replay of the fourth Moore-Johnson fight. Foster by kayo.

Foster didn't catch so good either at least against heavyweights, but Johnson was not the opportunist that Moore and Foster were. Rather that looking for an opening to end the fight, Johnson would be satisfied to play it safe, coast along, build up points and try to avoid getting hit. Foster, on the other hand, would always be looking for the opportunity to end the fight. Thus, the susceptibility to a knockout punch would work more in Bob's favor than Harold's.