Old George Foreman or Butterbean? Punching Power

Everyone doesn't need to get into such a tizzy here .. there have been many far more off the charts posts ... the guy is talking about power, alone, not overall skill, etc and Foreman's power in career two was both over rated and merchandised .. funny thing is right up until he caught Michael Moore , a blown up light heavyweight with a shaky chin with a perfect shot, the HBO team was discussing how over fabricated Foreman's "power" was .. No doubt Foreman was immensely strong and heavy handed but second career he was no where near the first career purely from a power basis .... Butterbean was a pretty good puncher and an overall tough guy ... that said, qualifying aside, Foreman still was capable of landing some nasty shots as the Moorer, Cooney and some other fights showed and he was far more qualified against ranked guys ..

 

Foreman could threw slow but extremely powerful punches as none. Blows that KO Cooney are impressive.

Joyce is on his way.

 

Completely disagree. His power was still there but his ability to land it in the way he did in the 70s had deteriorated. Foreman in the 80s and 90s wouldn’t have blown Norton or Frazier out the way he did in the 70s and it would have nothing to do with power. It’s because he changed his style to be more reserved and patient.

Had fought as aggressive in the 90s as he did 20 years earlier Im sure we could’ve seen more brutal knockouts by him, but the reality is that it didn’t make sense for him to take that risk as a guy in his 40s. He was better off more reserved and fighting behind a stiff jab and taking opportunities as they presented themselves rather than forcing the issue and potentially gassing out. He wasn’t especially quick handed in the 70s and that certainly didn’t improve over a decade later.

There were plenty of tough, aggressive guys he fought in his comeback who clearly felt his power and fought safe while minimizing the chances they were willing to take by trading with him. Evander Holyfield, Tommy Morrison, and Shannon Briggs didn’t fight off the back foot and show an aversion to swapping punches with Foreman for nothing. Evander fought many many big punchers and still cites George has the hardest hitter.

As is almost cliche to say, a decrease in ability to land power doesn’t equal a decrease in the power itself.

 

Imagine if old George Foreman and Butterbean both hit the canvas as in the last scene in Rocky II. That poor ring and canvas would be obliterated. Lol.

 

Easy, big G.

 

Get Lizzo as the ring girl while we're at it.