Probably he was to good; and you are right to say Tiger had plenty left (incredibley - that man was ahead of his time as far as his longevity was concerned). But Dick's head was not in the game. The civil war in his country was well under way and Dick was heavily, heavily involved in the politics of the side of the receiving end of a genocide. His people were being slaughtered while he tried to train, his businesses and home being "repossesed" by the state. Even boxing writers of the time speculated about his commitement, previously unheard of. The version that Foster beat was worse than the version Griffith out-pointed the second time, I think that's clear.
Burley, he had a great chin, speed and defence enough to possibly box his way to a decision but Foster would still be favourite.
I really like this shout and i want to agree. However, I think Burley was too small. Although he may have grown into it if he hadn't be forced into an early retirement.
I was just gonna mention him I think he'd have a decent chance. He beat McTigue and drew with Jack Sharkey who were a lot bigger then Fosters so size shouldn't be a huge deal.
Well, Foster always hd trouble with busy fighter who had lost of stamina and didn't let him get set to set up his power punches (aka Joe Frazier). Marvin Hagler and Harry Greb would fit that description the best I think, and if I had to choose, I would say Hagler.:good
Bob Foster was a freak of nature and this makes it hard for anybody capable of making 160 pounds standing much of a chance against the man.
surprised no1 has mentioned Langford yet. I believe he was under the modern mw limit when he bombed out Jim Flynn the 1st time.
No natural Middleweight would have much of a shot of beating prime Bob Foster. Most would run into the same problems Cuevas and Duran had facing Hearns. Yes fighters like Hagler , Robinson , Jones Jr. Monzon etc may be better skill wise, but sometimes the best can simply get overwhelmed. Bob Foster was 6'3" with a 79" and hit harder than most heavyweights in history. In my opinion only a few natural Lt. heavy's would have much of a shot against him. Middleweights and lower? Chances are slim to none. And slim has left the building.
Was Bernard really a MW? I always thought of him as 175lber on a strict diet and modern weight cuts but I’m probably wrong, I never really watched much Hopkins he was an awful viewing.