Old Man Foreman was the better version

For me, the question of who was the better fighter is debatable, but I really think Old George beats young George. Style make fights. Young George wouldn't knock his older self out, Old George was much more defensively responsible, threw accurate short and long punches and I really believe he'd walk his younger self down after a slow start and stop him sometime after the eighth...I just think he's all wrong for his younger self. And yes, dammit yes, young George goes through Stewart and Morrison and the likes....but Old George doesn't go life and death with Lyle and still stops Frazier....although he'd likely struggle with Jimmy Young....

 

Old Foreman was a smarter, more measured fighter with a more educated jab. He was stronger, didn't gas and had a better chin.

Young Foreman was much more explosive, faster and had the 'eye of the tiger'. He wasn't afraid to press for the KO and in fact insisted on it.

They are essentially different versions of the same fighter. Head to head I'm inclined to agree with OP. I think the younger version would try press the action against Gramps, get nowhere and gas mid-rounds. I think Old Man Foreman would exploit a gassed young Foreman and knock him TF out.

That's not necessarily to say Old Foreman was "better" than Young Foreman. He lost a good deal of speed when he got older and in my opinion boxer types had every chance of white washing the old dude ... whereas young Foreman had enough speed to catch up to them and impose his own game.

 

Jesus.

 

He was the better salesman. Other than that, mainly more experienced, paced, and content with using this marvelous jab of his.

 

Comeback 4Man 88-91 beats
flat footed rope-a-dope Ali.
and Jimmy Young.

Young George got too frustrated with the grappling in those fights. Mature George pummels Ali methodically patiently and cattle marches Young from pillar to post with the jab

 

We got to see young Foreman pace himself and be more conservative - against Young. Other factors were probably at play as well, but it wasn't really a resounding success.

If Foreman had fought more like the old Foreman in Zaire, he'd get soundly outboxed and could well gass anyway in those conditions over 15. And fans today would say what a complete idiot he was to fight at a pace that much more suited Ali's ageing legs.

To me The Rumble clearly shows that Foreman just had no way of beating a well prepared Ali who still had as much of his handspeed and reflexes left. If Foreman stood back he'd just pepper him with jabs and lead rights. Foreman is never winning a chess match with that version of Ali.

 

Jesus Christ.

This is so so wrong.

 

I've argued this point before and received a similar response. Old George had much better intangibles and better technique. Better engine, better pacing, better defence, better jab, better feet, more cerebral, and far calmer. Y'all just think younger George was better because he fought at a higher pace and was willing to trade.

 

Foreman during his comeback was more experienced and more efficient in the ring, so he was better in some areas, and of course still dangerous, but I wouldn't go as far to say he was overall a superior fighter compared to his prime years. No amount of ring efficiency and experience can replace the lost reflexes and speed he had in his youth.

 

Lmao as if you've just admitted on a boxing forum that you've argued thid point before.

 

I meant on this forum for clarity. https://www.boxingforum24.com/threa...etter-version-of-foreman-than-ali-did.723671/

 

The Jimmy Young fight debunks this entire thesis that Foreman was a bad point fighter in the 70s who only could do the stuff he did in the 90s with the passage of time. Its not true and the people claiming it is true are claiming this on behalf of an generation they remember nostaglically that Foremans success embarassed greatly.

 

Due respect but old Foreman’s punching speed wasn’t just a little bit diminished - it was a LOT diminished.

Holyfield joked that he easily saw Foreman’s punches coming in slow motion. Evander ducked in more than good time but, as Holy described it, when he came back after ducking, that SAME punch was still coming and would end up hitting him anyway. Lol.

Young prime Foreman had excellent skills that he isn’t given nearly enough credit for.

There’s been plenty of power punchers whose delivery systems weren’t anywhere near as successful as young Foreman’s.

Foreman’s chief cons were him not sufficiently pacing himself and apparently him being a little bit too keyed up.

Chin? I think Young Foreman’s beard was more or less the same, but later it his resilience wasn’t confused with and lumped in with the poor pacing he exhibited during his first career.

But here’s the thing, first career Foreman wasn’t always badly paced.

Early, George had a number of fundamentals down and was reasonably considerate in respect of the meter of his output.

However, due to his power, the KOs ultimately came all too easily and with that, it seems Foreman become more singularly fixated on his power and ending fights quickly as possible.

The amount of rounds Foreman had in the bag prior to and leading into Zaire relative to the period of which he fought those rounds was less than ideal in so far as prepping Foreman for a fight over the longer haul.

Liston, who had similar power and ended his more recent fights in comparably quick time, was in the same boat when he arrived to fight Ali in Miami.

Otherwise, Liston could be immaculately paced and patient as he was during the Eddie Machen fight.

Earlier in his career I think the Peralta rematch and improved result second time round showed that Foreman was trending in the right direction in terms of IQ and being better paced - but he fell off that trend at some point thereafter.

All in all, pros and cons factored in for the respective versions, I would strongly vote for Young Foreman as being the superior fighter.

 

Old Foreman destroys his younger self!
Just imagine the presser and how Old Foreman would get into Young Foreman’s head:
OG: “Boy, come tomorrow night I’m going to knock you out! Do you know how I know? Because I’m you, and your future is my past and I lived through the asswhooping old me put on young me…which is the current you! We both know that you’re angry and hurting deep down and you’re in rebellion against God Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ. I’m at peace with my Savior, and after the beating I give you, you will be too. You’re going to come out swinging hard, but after you see that your best punches don’t move me, and you feel my power, then you’ll know I’m telling you the truth and you’ll accept your fate.”
Old Foreman KO4 Young Foreman

 

Yeah...and then you woke up...