Peak George Foreman Versus Peak Lennox Lewis

I could see this ending in the 2nd round Foreman all the way

 

Foreman!
If Lewis try boxing like against Tua he may even survive but if he dares to do what he did against McCall and Rahman he would get a brain damage and KO that would change him forever.

 

Foreman by 6 would be too strong, too aggressive and hit too hard for Lewis to withstand if he somehow escapes the sixth then I can see Lennox taking over the fight and stopping George late but I wouldn’t bet on it

 

Foreman, definitely. George in prime time was definitely better than any of Lennox's rivals. Better than past prime Holy, Tyson's wreck, Tua overweight and injured ribs. Lennox couldn't box in reverse gear, George was too strong to be clinched and too unpredictable to miss Lennoa if he wanted to box him from a distance. He would have gotten him against the ropes like Rahman.
The problem with Foreman is that he peaked too quickly and hasn't really had time to improve. But this George from 1973 destroys every Lewis.

 

I am leaning towards Big George in this one.

Sure, if the fight goes over 6 - 8 rounds, Foreman's poor stamina management would become a critical issue.
But I am not confident on Lewis being able to duck George for so long. Maybe he can, but overall Lewis is simply too slow and vulnerable. Soon or later George is going to caught him and that is bad news for Lewis.

I think I go with George in this one.

 

Toss a coin you can make a strong case for either.

 

Lewis would have to survive for 5, terrifying rounds. I don't think he'd make it, but the longer the fight goes on the better his chance of a win.

 

There's several factors that can swing the fight in either direction:

-Lewis' attitude. He had a bad one. Lewis could sometimes become contemptuous towards his opponents. Even in fights he's winning, he could sometimes get a little too comfortable such as Briggs when he stared him down with both hands low ring center. Other times, Lewis could be very professional and technical. And yet, he could also be overly cautious giving his opponent a little too much respect. You never knew which Lewis would show up.

-Lewis' weight. This isn't discussed in a lot of Lewis vs threads, but with his extra weight sometimes came a weakness to body shots and worse stamina, it wasn't always solid muscle he was carrying. When Lewis was in shape, he was as strong as nearly any boxer in history, but once he was north of 235 he sometimes looked a little soft around the middle and would wear his trunks high in a cheap attempt to discourage this target. The ref would become a crucial factor as it would be up to him to decide if a body shot was legitimate or low, and Lewis' poor conditioning could cost him.

-The location. Both guys didn't do so good in unfamiliar climates and had moments where they didn't take the time to get acclimated.

-Ring size: A smaller ring would mean Lewis has less room to try and use stick and move tactics. The younger Lewis could pull off something with his lateral movement, but this is a less plausible scenario in a smaller ring (especially since Foreman could cut it off with his own counter footwork).

-Trainers: Obviously Lewis with Steward was better than he was with Correa. Likewise, Foreman with Saddler/Moore was a more deadly force than he was with Clancy.

-Foreman's strategy: If Foreman jabs with Lewis, targets the body, and waits for openings before throwing the big bombs he can probably get to Lewis eventually. If he grows impatient or becomes sloppy, Lewis can pick him apart and stop him instead. I don't think this fight goes the distance either way unless both guys become wary of each other and make a "silent agreement" to not throw heavy leather. A slugfest would obviously favor Foreman, but I can't see any version of Lewis willingly engaging in that after tasting the power.



My guess:


-Steward-Lewis (if he's actually in shape and not chunky/flabby) who isn't overconfident should be able to win a nail biting decision, or stops Saddler-Foreman late. He is bringing superior ring IQ, reach, defense, and better fundamentals from a long amateur+pro career against many styles which can offset Foreman's rough framing/slugging style. Foreman often struggled with good overall boxers throughout his whole career, and Steward is a master tactician who can see holes in the opponents game. Lewis would have some scary moments getting rocked and may need to get off the floor to win, but I'd lean slightly towards him to pull it off. This version of Lewis was one of the best h2h heavies of all time and extremely hard to beat when focused. However, as alluded to above, if Lewis is carrying extra flab and the ref does his job ignoring protests against body shots with the trunks held high, I think Foreman has a chance.

-Steward-Lewis wins a very clear UD against Clancy Foreman. This version of Foreman experimented with different things like using his jab more, shortening up his shots, better pacing, etc. However, sometimes Foreman would make mistakes such as dropping his right hand, having awkward and clumsy footwork, or not being aggressive enough. This matchup would be more of a chess match with the calm and cerebral Clancy attempting to get Foreman to box and pick his shots carefully, and Lewis would be more than willing to keep things that way and stay comfortable in 1st gear.

-Saddler-Foreman KOs Correa-"Prime" Lewis late. Lewis gets a decent early lead with his jabs, footwork, and combinations, but Foreman stalks him and thumps him up with heavy body shots. Eventually, Lewis bad habits and weakness to overhand rights leads to a brutal knockdown in the 6th, and Lewis never recovers. Foreman still has to work for it and cuts the ring off to ship punishment. Lewis fights backs, clinches, covers up, and tries everything to survive but eventually goes down again and the towel is thrown in the 9th.

-Correa-Lewis wins a close decision against Clancy-Foreman. Not much to discuss here. You have a highly talented, but flawed young Lewis against a Foreman who was still strong and dangerous, but unsure of himself with a worse style. I'd lean towards Lewis to win, but it would be competitive.

 

George and I think he ends it befor 5 or 6

 

Lennox would knock the absolute crap out of the man with no defense or stamina.

 

Lennox in my opinon has almost all the advantages. George had excellent underrated boxing skills in terms of picking and timing his punches (when you disregard the Ali fight where GF lost his cool). I just think Lennox' jab, superior reach and 'classic' boxing skills would be too much for a 24 year old Foreman, if we decide that that was his peak. I think they would be somewhat equal in the brute strength department in the clinches, but I think Lewis would be good enough to avoid to many clinches. Well, I would vote for Lennox. I do accept that we can't rule out an early effective attack by George.

 

Of course brute strength always means something. GF never faced a foe with the size AND speed, boxing abilities that LL possessed. George met some big, tall opponents but with no where near the skills of Lennox.

 

Interesting view! Although it wouldn't have to be strictly one or the other, as LL could box & utilize his jab yet also sit down on his shots often enough to keep Foreman respectful.

Foreman out-jabs Lewis then proceeds to KO him mid-rounds.

 

The reason Foremans comeback is such a big deal is it implies Foreman in his peak would destroy not just Holyfield and Moorer but everyone in that era. Lewis is better than Holyfield but the difference is not vast.

Foreman was stopped once in his whole career by Ali. Whether its a fluke or not(I think it is) it is still the best performance by a fighter many consider to be the greatest HW. People are taking that to suggest Foreman had cardio issues and this is one of some sort of glaring weakness opposed to an off night. In his late 40s Foreman finished his career with 4 straight decisions. The idea that Lewis can take a beating for half the fight then knockout Foreman because he will be exhausted at that point doesn't make sense.

To win Lewis needs to win 6+ rounds and avoid getting knocked down like Jimmy Young did. If Foreman is up 6-0 or 5-1 after 6 rounds George is probably going to win the fight on the cards. If he is up like 4-2 with a knockdown or two George is going to win the fight on the cards. Lewis needs to fight Foreman start to finish to even have a chance here.

Lennox is the biggest opponent Foremans faced and one of the most skilled. But Foreman didn't rely so much on his size as he was relying on his power. Lewis was relying on his size and his best opponents were smaller than Foreman too. Vitali and Tony Tucker were similar size opponents but against Holyfield and Tyson his size might be the biggest reason he won those fights.