Young knocked Foreman down because he was coming into the punch and it was a flash knockdown anyway .
Foreman against Lyle and Young was just so disorganized. Too tense to be able to see the punches coming. Against straight punching Young this wasn't that much of an issue besides the fact he got outboxed but against Lyle he was getting hit by wide looped shots he should have seen coming and paid the price by being knocked on his ass. But he prevailed against Ron, but it was much closer than it should have been. I'd say if a modern top fighter would have looked as bad as Foreman did against Lyle people would be slamming their keyboards figuratively shouting that Foreman should retire.
Foreman 1976-'77 was mentally and technically off his game. I don't think his new trainer Gil Clancy did him any good. The only exception in that period was the Frazier rematch. A decent showing, against a shot fighter he'd already massacred 3 years earlier.
Evander Holyfield would be probably the first guy I would go to. He had the necessary blend of skills, strength, stamina and heart to get the job done. Holyfield had the strength to push Tyson back during the clinches which tended to zap Mike`s confidence. Evander had quick enough hands to counter Tyson and he also threw quick accurate combinations. Mike could take one shot very well but when he got peppered he lost his own offensive zeal.
Its still a punch that would not knock Foreman down in the 90's and i recall Foremans knees buckling in that fight . Either way Dundee favored 90's Foreman, Gil Clancy and Archie Moore thought the Foreman who fought Holyfield was better than how he was in the 70's ,i agree with them.
LOL@ Foreman being better in the 90's. Myriads of fighters would have beaten 90's Foreman. Michael Spinks would have for goodness sake. Holyfield would be lucky to beat peak Foreman. There's a good chance Foreman would get him out of there. For those confused the best Foreman was not the one against Jimmy Young or Lyle. They were trying to get him to pace himself with a view to better being able to challenge Ali next time around. He would have stopped Young imo if he went hard early. He had him out later but didn't have enough in the tank to stop him. This version of Young would have comfortably outpointed old Foreman.
Not if you know what you are looking at. "Actually, the old George Foreman would’ve given Ali a tougher fight. But the young George, with his wild swings, my guy would’ve beaten him all night. George, as an old guy, he was relaxed, steady and he would grind you down – A,Dundee
Well suffice to say young George got whupped. Old George probably would have kept Ali out there longer. Highly doubt he would have landed as much heavy leather. Ali still would have beaten him handily. Anyone thinking different has rocks in their head. Michael Moorer was beating him badly for heavens sake. P.S. Dundee talks a lot of crap, more than most trainers. Old Foreman a better fighter lololol.
I'd have to see primary sources for these quotes and then I still would not agree with them. Whether Foreman would not be knocked down by that punch is something we don't know. Foreman didnt even take a count against Young, he was getting up even as he went down and the commentary ruled it a slip. I recall Young saying, "I was out on my feet in the 7th all George needed to do was sneeze and I would have gone down". Young's immediate post fight in the ring comment was,"to tell the truth I was out on my feet in the 7th ,I didn't think I was going to make it." Bottom line Foreman forced the pace making the fight in extreme heat and ran out of gas end of.
Oh no not another self appointed expert! We said good bye to one when Perry departed seems we have a replacement!
I think old Foreman was better than his younger self in many ways. The mentality, the relaxation, was a great plus. It really depends who you match him with. Old Foreman's main weakness wasn't his lack of speed, it was his apparent compassion for his opponents. He let Alex Stewart off the hook and he outright carried Morrison. Contary to common opinion, I think his win over Moorer was something of a masterclass. You could see him drawing Moorer in over the course of that fight, setting a trap. Some people think it was a lucky punch. Some even think it was a fix. But they clearly don't know what they are looking at.
Ok not all, I think may have won the 1st. But the point still stands, I cant see how that fight was a 'struggle' when he won nearly all of the rounds against a guy who was physically superior to him and had the style to beat him. Its like saying Pacqiauo struggled with Algieri because he didn't knock him out.