Everybody knows Foster didn't achieve the same success he did as a LHW as oppose to HW but he ran into Frazier and Ali, two bonafide ATG HW's. How would he do against a lumbering giant against Nikolai Valuev?
He'd lose I'm afraid. Probably by stoppage anywhere from the mid rounds onward. Foster (as he was) is just nowhere big or powerful enough to take on Valuev, and most likely just not durable enough either. Valuev isn't 1/20th the fighter Foster is, but his sheer size would overcome that.
Foster just did not do anything resembling world class and 200lbs+ Is Valuev world class in a classic forum sense? That is up for debate. But what is indisputable, is that on this planet, Valuev is a 320lbs monster. Foster laughs at his predicament, at times makes Valuev look stupid, but eventually lies down in the mid to late rounds. Valuev TKO10
I don't think Valuev is that good; there are a lot of top guys who could beat him. On the other hand, Bob Foster was always over his head when he stepped up to fight heavyweights. Foster had trouble whenever he had to deal with a size disadvantage in the ring. I say Valuev stops Foster in the later rounds in what should be a good fight.
" The heavyweight jab felt like the light heavyweight knockout punch " - Bob Foster I think Valuev would win late. If Foster had a better set of whiskers, I'd pick him.
As much as I hate to pick Valuev against any man who bore the title of " great ", I must concur with the majority here. Even though Foster stepped in the heavyweight ring with men who are leagues better than Valuev, he couldn't give them a lick of trouble. Had he battled Ali and Frazier over many rounds in competitive efforts, then I might be inclined to picking him over Nikolay. As it stands however, Bob simply couldn't fight at 200 lbs.
Valuev's size doesn't really translate to anything near big power, he also fights in slow motion. So Foster could use his speed to move and outpoint Valuev as he won't get hit much. However Valuev may just land something big that Foster couldnt take. I do think Foster is underrated at HW none the less.
It depends. Valuev at times seems lethargic in the ring, trying to outbox his smaller opponents rather than using his greater size to wear them down. Terrell did exactly that, lost a couple of rounds for it but in the end it paid off as Foster was exhausted. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe2BEef3hD8
This thead I think was a loaded question with an obvious answer. By 1965, the sub-200 lbs heavyweight was over. Foster was 180 lbs for Ali, and 188 lbs for Frazier.
He might have done better with Quarry's/Doug Jones' chin. Foster was tall and had a long reach but he was never able to add any weight to his frame.