How good was Max Baer?

I personaly dont think that he would have beaten either of them though they might have been classics.

I think that he would have done better against Mike Tyson than he did against Joe Louis, because Tyson would have lead more and counterd less. There would also have been the possibility of Tyson coping something big coming in. Take any version of Tyson post Spinks and it gets verry interesting indeed.

Holyfield would have been an absolute stylistic nightmare for Baer and would have countered him silly. On the other hand Baer could probably have taken Holyfields best shots, and if Holyfield wanted to play it dirthy Baer would have matched him at his own game. If Holyfield executes a less than perfect plan and gets drawn into a brawl then this gets exciting.

 

Head to head, Max would have knocked George out. He showed his reverse gear against Carnera, something he used to buy time while his surprised opponent expended himself in pursuit. He could take a punch. He had late round power and could be wildly unpredictable. Peak Foreman could be awesome against the sluggers of his day, but Maxie was a crazy slugger with stamina, not a four round tough man competitor who was wholly dependent on being able to come forward. If both were at their very best, I would absolutely bet on Maxie to knock George out.

 

Too bad he did not take the sport serious but Max had a great punch and a great chin..on a good night could punch with the best

 

That's a bold statement.......:bbb

MR.BILL:hat

 

I agree that George would get KO'd. Baer pretty much matches him in power, and he has faster hands, plus much better stamina. I can see this turning into a slugfest, and as foreman gets tired, Baer would stay consistent.

 

I see 41 year old Foreman of 1990 and 253 pounds hammering the 1934 version of Baer who was killing Carnera....... I've said before that Foreman's technique and stamina got better with age, but his speed regressed..... Still.?.?

MR.BILL

 

No no no.

 

Its funny. so many favour foreman to destroy marciano, yet it looks like others feel max baer would take out george? its a fair argument since BAER hit harder than ali and could take it almost as good.

assesing baer without using the worn out line "if only he took boxing more seriously" here is a guy who fought very often amoung a good level and was excelent at winning key fights by KO. He won his title by knockout and he lost it on points. sure he dropped a few decisions against crafty seasoned boxers like laughran, braddock but there is no shame in that or later geting Ko'd by Louis. you get the impresion with a title on the line he could deliver the goods.
mark him down for being inconsistant in non title fighhts but Baer was very good in key fights. He knocked out two linear champs. Schmeling was still the best heavyweight in the world when baer beat him, you have to rate the guys who prove themselves by knocking out the worlds best.

 

Yes, yes, yes.

 

Foreman would beat Baer the way he did Frazier.

 

The new TLC channel show "Swapping Chins". You must be a fan. :rofl

 

How does George survive him? Carnera's physical strength was not of much help against Maxie, so I doubt that Foreman's liberal use of it would be of much advantage either. Max would just skip back away from it. (Uzcudun also had tremendous physical strength, but unlike Foreman, Paulino supplemented it with incredible stamina.)

View all available footage of the Carnera fight.

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, and he was not dependent on being able to come forward to produce a knockout punch. He was retreating, and while backing away into a corner, suddenly unloaded the bomb which destroyed an oncoming Pat Comiskey. When George did cut the ring off on Max, he'd find himself confronted with the Baer family firepower, like the unfortunate Comiskey. Max would set traps to draw Foreman into, and George would eagerly take the bait.

Foreman is not bombing him into submission early like a peaking Louis did. Neither man was noted for their speed, but Maxie's hands were faster than George's, he demonstrated vastly superior mobility against Carnera to anything Foreman ever displayed, and he could punch straight and short when he wanted. He also did have some ability to avoid telegraphed punches, while George's telegraphed offense was virtually his entire defense.

Maxie was known to alternate the classic stand up guard with the cross armed defense, a tactic which even a master boxer like Joey Archer was confused by when Griffith shifted to it at a key moment in their rematch. Jimmy Young scored well to Foreman's wide open body, and Max had no reservations about going downstairs either. (Even Ali went underneath to Foreman's body a few times.)

Galento hit him with some massive thudding hooks which had no effect, except to cause Max to clown and ridicule his opponent. (Hmmm...I wonder...what would happen if George was faced with an adversary who insulted him, mocked him, and laughed at him after getting hit with his best shot?) Both Two-Ton and Maxie were known for their ability to take a punch, but only one of the two had his knees continually buckled, and nearly dropped by a single counter right.

By what lazy leap of logic is Max ever compared to Frazier? One is a short, stocky, bobbing and weaving, come-forward, hooking, one eyed swarmer susceptible to uppercuts, while the other is a 6'3" steel chinned, upright slugger, carrying one punch knockout power in both hands, with an 81 inch reach and rapid reverse gear to go with proved 20 round stamina.

Yes, I do agree that Old George's jab and measured pace gives him a better chance at lasting longer, but Maxie's work rate would remain superior against a huge target he couldn't miss, and he'd fully retain his massive power into the final rounds, unlike a noticeably tiring Morrison.

 

Both George and Max owned wicked power....... Both threw crazy punches as well....... Neither was a defensive master, but both owned passable skill in that department..... I just think George being bigger, stronger and more intense would eventually break through on Max and get him outta there........ Who really knows???

MR.BILL

 

Court is dismissed.

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