Joe Louis V George Foreman

Foreman is better than Baer, but lets face it, Baer is as close to Foreman as you will find in any era. There is no other fighter with that particular style bar Foreman, in any era, who is better at it than Baer. Short of fighting Foreman himself, this is as close a model as you could ever find.

I would also question how you could establish that Foreman was stronger, more powerful or a better athlete. Any claim that he had a higher workrate, or was a better athlete, would have to be weighed against the certain knowledge that Baer had better stamina.

 

If you look at styles Louis would flatten him in a few rounds ... No one threw harder and faster from more angles and distances ... unlike Tyson who would have to get inside Louis could tee off his jab ... he would have crushed Foreman. In many ways Foreman is the most over rated fighter on this board. Against some styles he was a killer ... against others highly beatable.

 

foreman is definitely 1 of d most underrated when ppl compare him 2 max baer , pick louis 2 stop him , consider ali as d better fighter and think d rumble in d jungle has any meaning .
some even say he ducked jerry quarry out of sheer fear.. and bonavena would have beaten him in 1970 . and dempsey would have beaten him of course .
i guess foreman doesn't remain on his feet untill d end of round 3 vs d likes of greb , tunney , conn , darcy & john conteh of course , d greatest fighters of all time after all .

foreman could only beat frazier&tyson .

 

i agree absolutely man, great post. bonavena beating foreman70 and dempsey beating foreman is ridiculous, it proves how underrated is foreman on this forum, i saw threads like " tony tubbs vs foreman" .... please....

 

Which foreman? Prime vs prime? I've seen way more footage of foreman to be honest.
Perhaps Joe's more compact precise punches would trouble foreman and maybe drop
him, but foreman's brute force would drop Louis. I think it comes down to heart. Could be
similar to Lyle foreman. Im picking foreman by KO in 6 after getting dropped in the fifth foreman
catches Louis against the ropes and knocks him through the ropes joe is counted out.

 

Louis executes Big George in a few rds, Louis too accurate,chops Big George down with brutal combo's and avoids the wide swings

 

:happy Hello my old sparring partner :good:good Welcome back man!! Jeez it's not been the same around here without you - where you been?? "with any hand" "it is simple!" - man am i pleased you back - we going to have some more tussles again - we gunna go da war ageeeaaaaiiin!!!!

 

I don't know who to pick between these two anymore.. At one point, I would have readily gone with Foreman, but its not a foregone conclusion, and I can certainly see some good arguments in favor of Louis. George had enough power to KO Louis as well as most heavyweights in my opinion.. So the prospect of Foreman getting him in trouble early and finishing him off before, Joe gets his game going is a possibility.. But a very similar scenario could unfold in reverse.. Louis had lightening fast hands, an incredible two fisted attack, and could take advantage of openings like none other.. In 1976 Ron Lyle came within an inch of beating Foreman by early KO... Now granted Foreman was coming off a 15 month layoff and a bad loss and still won the fight, so I won't play into it too deeply.. But I have some serious doubts about George winning that match if it were Louis in the ring in place of Lyle on THAT particular evening.. On the flip side, Joe got into trouble early against lesser fighters than Foreman, and had big George replaced say Buddy Baer or Tony Galento, it might have resulted in a Louis defeat.. Nevertheless, these are two punchers that I take very seriously and wouldn't put any money on either of them....

 

i could be wrong but this is the only thread i found on this matchup. Strange for 2 such ATGs.

Anyway, i dont think you are right about the stylistic analysis.

George never lost a fight to anyone who stood in front of him. He was bigger than louis and stronger than Louis. His punching technique was not as good and he wasnt quite as fast but there wasnt much in it. I think Foreman probably had the better chin. This is a bad matchup for louis. Foreman has the style and class.

I think i might take Foreman, although i am not convinced that Foreman would have been able to completely replicate Joes success in Joes era.

 

Foreman has an excellent chance of stopping Joe early. I realize Louis and Frazier are two completely different style of fighters, but if Foreman goes on the attack early against Louis early as he did with the Smoke, then the Brown Bomber s got a world of problem s coming his way.
If guys like Braddock and tt Tony can put him down, then is it fair to say George has a excellent chance?

 

Louis was much more precise and faster. He'd counter Foreman to death and despite reputation, Louis was faster on his feet than Foreman.

 

Why not? Who do you think gives Foreman problems from Joe's era?

 

It might have come down to who has the better chin and who is more durable.

I like Joe's sharp precise short punches and he was a great champion, but does he ko George? Maybe, maybe not.
Does he have the style to beat Foreman in his prime? I'm not sure but George when younger threw a lot of wide punches, so maybe Louis' straighter shots might reach the mark first.
Both men could taste the canvas in this one so heart and ability to take punishment would count imo.

It's a really interesting matchup.

 

Walcott, Pastor, Conn, Farr, Sharkey - fast boxers who are good defensively and durable enough to take some shots.

 

Young Foreman was one of the best ring cutters at heavyweight. No offense to anybody you listed but Foreman's power was a different animal from Louis. You can't just run from George. You need a clinch game to limit exchanges and none of these guys is strong enough to play a clinch game against George.