I don't think the result last night changes anything. You're talking about a 21 year old novice who'd not even beaten a top 20 Heavyweight and had never gone past 6 rounds. And even though Hrgovic won he did lose most of the rounds and he pretty won due to Itauma's lack of experience and punching himself out. I don't think Hrgovic is the type of fighter to beat Foreman. Hrgovic is a not a big puncher, he's not really an elite outboxer. He's a stand up straight kind of fighter who's very easy to hit. An old Zhang has a worse gas tank than Foreman and he went 12 rounds with Hrgovic and arguably won the decision.
Foreman is a massive puncher though and has an ATG jab Hrgovic not so much. If Hrgovic had real concussive power with his size I'd give him a considerably better chance in this match up. But realistically Hrgovic is a solid fighter but none of his attributes are really stand out in regards to the eye test like speed, power, boxing skills, apart from his granite chin. The issue is when you rely purely on your chin sooner or later its going to get cracked see Joyce.
70s Foreman did not have an ATG jab nor did he have his 90s fight IQ. He was a big, though slow, puncher, and he got baited by Ali into blowing his gas tank too. Hrgovic is bigger than Ali and hits harder. I'd argue that Foreman could end up going the same way as Itauma.
I disagree look at his jab vs Frazier in their 1st fight even though it was short fight the jab really surprised me which I didn't take much notice of before. Zhang who has a considerably worse gas tank than Foreman managed to go 12 rounds in a fight alot of people thought he won. And Zhang is just a plodder with a big punch and he was 40 years old aswell. Ali was smart though whilst he took some body punishment he wasn't really getting hit too clean and covered up quite well. Where as Hrgovic stands straight up and eats punches for breakfast. And whilst Hrgovic has a very good chin he has been in trouble in fights where he has looked in distress. Hrgovic turned away a few times vs Zhang in their fight looking dazed and confused. Adeleye out of nowhere was on the verge of stopping Hrgovic when he landed 20 punches in a row. I don't think Hrgovic is the type of fighter to beat Foreman hes too basic and hittable. And he doesnt have the power to go along with his extra size advantage all he has is a chin. Someone like Usyk would be a tough match up for Foreman with the angles, elite outboxing skills, and good stamina that he possess. Not so much Hrgovic for me.
Zhang has a bigger punch than Foreman. He's also a much better boxer, he's sneaky with how he sets things up and his punches are crisper and straighter. He's a different animal entirely. You are correct about his thimble sized gas tank. He lasted 12 because he went long stretches doing minimal work. If Hrgovic was fighting a bunch of little guys like Foreman everybody would be oooh and aaah ing over his power
Agree to disagree I'm not that overly high on Hrgovic honestly. I respect him he has a great chin and I'm happy he finally won a title after waiting a long time. But I don't think he's anything special but we'll see how his career pans out. Hrgovic vs the winner of Dubois/Wardley would be interesting. I think Hrgovic should stay away from Kabayel though his workrate and body punching is all wrong for him IMO.
I have to agree mostly. I think Hrgovic is big problems for a certain kind of fighter. If dudes fight him the right way they will outpoint him fairly easily if they have a high enough skillset. It's the guys trying to out macho him that will fail. Itauma let himself get annoyed by him and blew his tank because of it.