He could? Yes. He would? I doubt it because evander always had the same mistake, he was too much brave and traded with everybody does not matter his power
Holyfield's few knockout losses came late in fights. Young Foreman couldn't go the distance in the grinding contest Holyfield would ensure. That's my reasoning. Foreman could always run over him though.
If Holyfield had the professional first mentality of a mayweather or jimmy young and didn't care about the crowd booing about him avoiding a slug fest, i wouldnt hesitate to pick him to win this fight 7/10. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), you couldn't count on that version of Holyfield to show up as he would switch to warrior mode at the drop of a dime when things got rough. Sometimes this was the right decision, but sometimes he paid for it (trying to outslug Bowe for instance). Here's how i see it: -prime pre Zaire George vs prime Holyfield: George by KO within 6. Holy too brave for his own good. George would not show him any respect once he realizes he's willing to brawl, doesn't hit as hard, and has lax defense. That's a recipe for disaster. Even if Holyfield does try to box, it would still be an incredibly difficult fight as Foreman could cut off the ring and demolish his mid section with body shots. I don't think Holyfield ever took nearly as much body punishment as Ali did in Zaire, it would be quite the task to overcome. Without a hot outdoor arena and loose ropes, I dont see very many boxers surviving this version of George. -post Zaire George vs prime Holyfield: this is really a toss up. George paced himself better and used his jab and lateral movement, but he was also more cautious and less brawl happy. He was basically a half assed boxer puncher, but he still had that unbelievable power and finishing instincts. The thing is, lack of a head movement was always a problem for George. Even the limited Ron Lyle wad able to time George's slower pawing jab and time him with overhand rights in the first 2 rounds. Holyfield was a much better boxer and a great counter puncher than Lyle, but didn't have his raw power. I think this fight goes the distance. A humbled George was less of a fearless offensive juggernaut, but he showed tons tons of determination and the heart of a champion in his brief comeback in the late 70's. He had something to prove would refuse to stay down. Holyfield likewise, wouldnt be as much at risk of being stopped against this version of George since he was more tentative and trying to pace himself better to last all 12. I would say Holyfield by decision 6/10. Possibly late round tko if George overexerts himself trying for the KO.
unfortunately for Frazier he was still not the FOTC Joe and Foreman had the confidence of the first win but fought a bit more cautiously - Trick with Foreman was to keep him at bay with some power and make him work- by movement or by getting inside his range (lyle did it) the younger version of Foreman could be hit and hurt but the 2 fighters of quality Frazier and Norton didn't get a chance to land anything - Ali roped a dope and Young took Foreman deep - Lyle almost took him out and Lyle was a good puncher not an elite puncher- Im not picking a winner but Evander survived Tyson and hit at least as hard as Lyle (I think harder) so this fight may be interesting
This sums it up more concisely than I could. Holmes would have had a great fight on his hands, but he had just enough weight to overwhelm Holyfield. When Holy does as his usual wont and fight inside, sooner or later the Weaver-ruining uppercut comes into play. I must mention though, one of the reasons I think it would be a great fight is because Holy would be able to often avoid the Holmes jab due to his darting style and his taste for infighting. But. as mentioned, I can't see Larry not landing that right uppercut inside more than once during the fight...that, plus that fact that even on his best day Riddick Bowe was no 1980 Larry Holmes, sees Holy getting swoll up, staggering, and stopped by round 10.
I think he meant, in regard to the Foreman fight, how many times Foreman landed some seriously threatening blows. Holy was massively rocked at least five or six times in that fight. As for the Holmes fight, Larry landed all kinds of really good rights and jabs the first half of the fight and it looked to me as though he was winning. He was even smiling and goofing with Duva. It was in the last half that he showed his age but hey, Tyson was only 30 years old (or younger) and got knocked the crap out of and stopped by a most-certainly-past-his-prime Holy in 11, so that says a lot for those two "old men".
More heart than George? did you see the fight with Ron Lyle where George got off the floor twice to stop Lyle ? Holyfield hit Foreman in one sequence about 18 times in a row and Foreman went nowhere. Foremans ability to cut the ring off is seriously underappreciated. His jab is in the top three in heavyweight history behind Holmes and Liston's and he'd use that to set up big shots on Evander. I can't see Evander surviving past the 4th when George drops him 2 or 3 times and the ref grabs Holyfield to keep him from being killed
I see the fight going similarly for Holy, he would have put up a much better fight than someone like Hide did against Bowe, but it wouldn't be entirely dissimilar, the bigger man simply brutalizing the smaller until the fight has to be stopped. I do see Holy throwing a lot of punches...but watch Foreman against Norton. Norton obviously hit harder than Holy and even landed a few nice shots during his fight with George...but most of the time he was foiled by BG's bullying smackdown of his punches. Check out how George did what he did to Joe against Norton to: he kept using his size to maneuver Kenny around to his advantage. Ken had a lot of trouble getting set or even oriented. The smaller Holyfield would be even easier to bully and manipulate. The most terrifying idea for Holy in this fight would be the prospect of him going inside (as he liked to do) and meeting with the Foreman uppercut...which would be an even more horrifying punch than the one Bowe landed on him in their first fight. George hit harder than Bowe...Holy would be devastated.
The one Bowe landed was so devastating because it came late in the fight (in the 10th round) after Holyfield had sustained quite a beating, yet he still stayed up and was rallying and pushing Bowe back and firing off his own strong combos less than a minute later. No one seemed to be able to recover quite like Evander. Foreman is a harder puncher but he would not be as active in the 10th round of a war with Holyfield as Bowe was. I think he either gets Holyfield inside of five or he gets outboxed and loses the decision.
I think this fight would be something like what happened in their fight in the 90's just in a shorter time with possibly a different out come. I think Foreman would be much more aggressive and put it on Evander who'd try a bit of everything to upset this. Eventually a fight would erupt which would results in a younger Foreman over whelming Holyfield at some point catching him with a flurry and ending the fight.
I think you hit the nail on the head in that Bowe was very hittable. If you don't make Foreman miss, whether he's 24 or 44, you've got problems.
Holyfield's effort and recovery against Bowe and Cooper speaks for itself. Foreman got rocked against him too, it was later rounds (7 or 8 i think) and Holy might've got the TKO had the round went on for longer. He has all these punches yes, but he was still predictable, Ali exposed that, Jimmy Young done what Ali done, and it worked. I can see Holyfield employing the same tactics. 70's Foreman's defense was also horrendous and open for shots and counters all day. I think Holyfield's general movement and quickness will frustrate George into punching himself out and be stopped or beaten down on the cards.
Let's take a look at the endurance issue Foreman is accused of having. When he fought Ali, he became so enraged and determined to Ko Ali because of his antics before the fight, he fought possibly the dumbest fight in boxing history (The 2and dumbest is Hagler vs Leonard) And he flailed away at Ali rd after rd , when common sense should've told him to slow down, pace himself. He was trying to prove a point, and believed in his power so much he thought surely, soon or later he would catch Ali with something and Ko him. He showed his immaturity. He gassed himself. But of all the Heavyweights in history, only Ali had the kind of personality and insanity to create that type of rage. (But I got to give it to Fury, he could be 2nd best at it) The Young fight loss was a direct result of the Ali fight. It really showed how Foreman's confidence and his actual mental stability had been shaken from losing to Ali. And what proves this is the mental breakdown / spiritual uprising Foreman had within minutes of losing to Young in the Lockeroom. I wrote all this to suggest Foreman didn't have as big as an endurance issue as some insist. Holyfield was a warrior that sometimes, or most of the time wanted to retaliate the moment an opponent hurt him. And unlike Ali, Holyfield wouldn't play the mind games. I would expect a much more composed Foreman. Holyfield would sooner, than later go to war with prime Foreman, though Holyfield has the boxing ability and hand speed to win a tactical fight, he wouldn't do that based on my seeing damn near every fight he had. He would eventually set his feet and try to ko Foreman. that would end in a disaster for him against a prime Foreman. Foreman in his prime had very underrated hand and foot speed. He was excellent at cutting the ring off, not allowing his opponents to set their feet, keeping them off balance by pushing, pulling them . Foreman would eventually Ko Holyfield. Probably within 8rds. Holyfield would be their to be hit because of his aggression. It would cost him dearly.
