Old foreman vs Mercer

Mercer did far better against Holyfield than Foreman did. In fact, some of the score cards reflect that if Mercer didn't get knocked down he could've won a split verdict or rewarded a draw.

http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:9526

Comprendes?

 

I believe it was you who initially tried to make Foreman's performance against Holyfield a point in favour of him. I'm stating that Mercer's performance was superior to Foreman's or at the very least comparable, so if you're going to praise Foreman for a 'competitive' fight with Holyfield then it's only fair to do the same with Mercer. I am aware they both lost by unanimous decision; it was you who seemed to only want to draw attention to that fact regarding Mercer by consistently repeating it in BLOCK CAPITALS.

Bringing up Foreman's age or state of conditioning are pointless since that was the version the OP stated faces Mercer in the initial post. Comparisons of performances are pertinent only as they give us a better understanding of how a fight between the two of them might unfold. Foreman doesn't get extra points for hanging with Holyfield at an advanced age. How he did on the night is how we perceive him here.

 

No it was the other guy i was arguing with who initially tried to prop up mercers performance over foremans.

Of course his age maks a difference. He clearly has the better chin which was my main point, and he DID land nearly as many jabs as holyfield did which is praiseworthy.

 

Why should his age make a difference? We're not taking his performance on that night and extrapolating backwards to imagine how a prime Foreman would do against Mercer. We're taking the version that fought as he is. If he's slow as a slug and only able to throw twenty punches a round then too bad, that's the one we discuss. Likewise, if Mercer is hanging with Morrison and taking his best then we don't take the worn out version that took a dive against Briggs. If that sounds unfair, well, that's what the initial question states.

"He clearly has the better chin which was my main point, and he DID land nearly as many jabs as holyfield did which is praiseworthy."

It is praiseworthy, but then so is Mercer outpunching and outboxing Holyfield for rounds at a time. In fact I'd say that was the more praiseworthy achievement, since aside from matching jabs with Holy Foreman was playing catchup the whole fight.

Not sure you can say for certain that Foreman has a better chin than Mercer based on one common opponent. Foreman was notoriously hard to hit clean due to his height and Michelin Man cross armed defence, which tended to deflect or absorb shots before they could reach the target. Mercer on the other hand ate punches for breakfast, lunch and dinner with room for a few snacks in between. That he got dropped by Holy is no biggie. It's heavyweight. People get dropped. Foreman got dropped by Young. Mercer more than proved his ridiculous levels of punch resistance by absorbing punches from Morrison, Lewis, Witherspoon and Cooper, as well as a prime Wlad late in his career. His chin would not be a weakness here.