I'm not convinced that Prime Foreman hit any harder than Lennox Lewis

K

 

Oliver actually stated Cooper was the hardest puncher he shared the ring with.

 

BEST PUNCHER
LENNOX LEWIS: There was two; both come from London. The first one was with Bruno. I got hit with a right hand (in the first round) … and it made my eye swell. It made me timid coming in because if you hit it again, it’s gonna split, and I never had my eye cut in a fight. The second one would have to be in the third round of the second fight with Lennox Lewis. The punch I got hit with – and I remember that punch – it was a wallop. I looked over his shoulder and saw his momma rooting for him to knock me out, and I thought of my momma not being there. When that man hit me I was going to retaliate, and I broke down. The overhand right that hit me sent me reeling into the ropes, and as I came back I could have just held him if I hadn’t broken down. I thought, “Wow.” I just shut down. I’d pick Lennox. I’m just going off what went through my mind. Bruno hit me dead in the eye, but it wasn’t as brutal as far as the shock to my body or pain as that right hand was. When Lennox hit me with that right hand in the third round, that was a crunching right hand. It makes me think I don’t know how I could take the punches that came after it with my hands down.

 

I read different elsewhere but I guess the ring is the most official answer we have available pardon my misinformed statement.

 

All respect.

 

For sheer power I'd take Foreman, but they're at a point where it doesn't matter. Everyone I'd think Foreman can stop, I'd say Lewis can stop.

 

Cooney hit harder than foreman.....he destroyed norton, lyle, and young.....so just how hard did a foreman hit or ali ?

 

Even the most rudimentary piece of honesty and integrity tells us they were miles past their best by the time they fought Cooney - years after Foreman fought them. Young was stopped on a cut. Lynn Ball stopped Lyle in 2 rounds before Cooney did. Maybe Lynn hits harder than Foreman too.

 

That's because all the fighters from the 70s abilities vs. later HWs are exaggerated. From some time I've thought that of all the HWs from the 70s the one that could be marginally successful in the 2000s would be Foreman.

Foreman was a huge clubbing puncher... for his era of typical 200-220# HWs. Lewis is 2" taller and 30# heavier than Foreman of the 70s.
I'll take Lewis as the harder overall puncher - not by a lot, but still better. And I was going to write that before I read JohnThomas1's post.

 

Well, I think if we're going to be going into this realm of thinking we have to take into account that Foreman of the 70s would have trained more like a 90s fighter if he was going to go up against the big heavies of that era. He would certainly have gotten himself up to the weight against Holy, even though (if we're seeing Foreman as the same age he fought Frazier) he would have had much faster hands...and was a lot more of an intimidating bully.

Just imagine a 23 year old, 257 pound Foreman (seems to me his adult frame was always capable of handling that weight). At over 6'3 he wouldn't have had a very hard time standing up to the other heavyweights like Bowe and Lewis.

However, if we're talking about Steward-era Lewis, and the pre-Zaire Foreman....we'd have to consider Foreman's chin. Ali knocked him silly in 8, and the Steward-era Lewis wasn't terribly far behind even prime Ali in terms of ring smarts and boxing skills, and had far more power (though a markedly lesser chin). If Lewis can avoid getting cute in the first five rounds he probably takes a decisive 12 round UD.

 

And it was a historical reality that Foreman was totally different from 1 dimensional guys like Bruno and especially Ruddock who literally loaded up for one shot over and over--which makes it easier to see the punch coming and block or brace yourself for it.

Foreman could throw combinations and was sneakier than you give him credit for, setting up looping hooks and uppercuts over the opponent's outstretched arms or underneath their arm pit. He was also an incredibly devastating body puncher which you have failed to address time and time again. Foreman did not just load up for one humongous hit and then got discouraged if that didn't work. I don't know what fights you were watching.

 

I notice George usually went really wide only when his opponent was on the ropes or when he was sure the guy was about to go (or when delivering his terrifying kidney punch). He knew how to tighten things up when he had to.

 

No proof whatsoever Ali had a better chin than Lewis.