Is it true that they had Foreman on a vegetarian type diet early in his career?

You just would have known that that wasn't going to work...George was probably having hunger induced nightmares...like little pork chops and hamburgers and sausages and chickens all in tuxedos, dancing around him..with music playing.

 

I dunno about his diet, but teh best Foreman was between 1973-1974 And he weighed 217-224lbs.

What makes you think he was better at 235lbs against Qawi? He was actually MORE powerful when younger And lighter.
He was way past-prime in his comeback and could no longer get in teh great shape he was in the 70's.
BUT - he was still a H2H Tank in the 80's and 90's.

 

You think that is a bad thing??
Here George is in perfect shape at 217lbs [just 2lbs more than 215lbs] And this was his best performance when peaked - destroying prime undefeated 29-0 World Champion Joe Frazier in 2 rounds with 6 knock-downs

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4-WjL8jIyQ[/ame]

Foreman would have done the same thing to "prime" Tyson too.

 

:deal

 

off Foreman's nuts please- Frazier was clearly out of shape in this fight, and was not at his peak. might as well bring up Ali-Williams too

 

Stop trying to discredit great fighter's wins.

Frazier was prime at age 29, undefeated, only 8½lbs heavier than he was against Ali in 1971 And looked very good against contenders Stander And Daniels before fighting Foreman. Foreman almost murdered him.

Williams was just a little past-prime at age 33, And he was ripped at 210lbs like he was in 1959 against Liston. Ali looked like teh perfect slick boxer in there against grade B+ contender Williams, and Ali showed-off the fastest heavyweight hand-speed and foot-speed ever seen in boxing as he boxed his head off.

 

Not a good comparison. Williams was literally shot, and never great, while Frazier may have been past his very peak but still a great fighter.

I don't know about any vegetarian diet but I do know that he came in dehydrated to some of his fights.

 

Frazier nearly knocked out Bugner and did knock out Jerry Quarry after the Foreman fight.

Frazier was brilliant here:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdDG7e-pqDQ[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyzFObCvtDk[/ame]


He became increasingly easy to hit and wasn't in peak condition, but he was still Joe Frazier. Now the second time around with Foreman, Frazier was truly washed up.

 

After the FOTC, the chip was off Frazier's shoulder, and the driving motivation which fueled his need to prove himself as the one and only champion was gone. You can see and hear the loss of this vital force in his interviews at the time of Daniels and Stander, and he only regained it for Manila.

Why did it take him nine rounds to stop a diminished and aging Jimmy Ellis (who was four years older than Joe) five years after crushing him in less than half the time?

Larry Holmes achieved a quantum leap upgrade from Arrington to Shavers I. Frazier similarly degraded from the FOTC to Daniels, but it took Foreman two years after the FOTC to expose it. One match is all it takes to make all the difference for the fire within. (And with Joe, progressive conditions like severe arthritis and high blood pressure further compound matters. Arthritis ravaged Braddock as well, forced him out of action for a time, cost him dearly after the first four rounds against Louis, and was in fact the reason he retired when he did, as it deprived him of his reverse gear.)

 

Ellis came in with a sparring partner's mentality while Frazier looked to put in some work in preparation for the third Ali fight.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kK4ZbsstE8[/ame]

 

A viable explanation, TGA. Still, after Daniels in January 1972, he only produced two knockdowns in his final nine fights. (Bugner 1X, and JQ 1X. Hard opponents to bring down, but I'd have expected a peak Frazier to stop Bugner after another knockdown or two.) I wouldn't have figured Ellis to be one of those to remain upright.

 

Ellis had a good chin and he was very defensive-minded after the Shavers knockout, knowing he was only a journeyman opponent from that point onwards. He went the distance with Lyle only 6 months previous.

I thought Frazier could have knocked out Bugner but he showed class instead of killer instinct and let a defenseless Bugner "off the hook". A peak, motivated Frazier would have probably KO'd Bugner there and then though. But the Frazier of 1973 was still a capable fighter and should not be compared to a 1966 Cleveland Williams by any means.

 

One of the worst posts I've ever seen on this forum ,especially the Williams bit.