Ray Mercer: Best I Faced

I had the same reaction. LOL

Like, he was? Hmmm?

 

You are right, Foreman lacked the speed and accuracy to land clean on Ali

 

Morrison was a brutal puncher and i even think Ruddock said he hit harder than Mike Tyson. Though if he truly did hit harder than Wladimir Klitschko thats crazy and it also means Foreman had a cast iron chin

 

Amazing that he didn't start boxing till his early 20's.

 

No.

 

Foremans neck was literally the diameter of the moon in his comeback.

 

I actually do think Foremans chin was much better due to the massive increase in weight. Ali KO'd him and Ron Lyle hurt him badly along with Jimmy Young but in the 90s he ate shots from Morrison, Holyfield, and Briggs. Briggs wasn't that skilled but he was a huge puncher and posseses the most 1 round KOs in history. Lennox Lewis himself said briggs was the biggest puncher he faced. People say its because Foreman paced himself better in the 90s but you still have the example of Ron Lyle almost KOing him

 

Interesting read from one of the toughest HWs of that era. Thanks for the post!

 

In fairness, Foreman was exhausted when he got decked by Ali and Young, though. Lyle was the only one to put him down when he wasn't tired and weakened. Lyle was also a helluva puncher when he landed clean and full force. What Foreman says of other fighters (including those he faced) will often depend on what he thinks people want to hear, but he's been pretty consistent with rating Lyle and Cooney as the hardest punchers he was in the ring with. Even when he blew Frazier out he still ate some left hooks that didn't remotely faze him.

My point being that I don't think his chin really got better in the 90s. It was more that he wasn't in a position to become tired enough or take enough accumulated damage to be put down.

 

Well there's another example. He consistently ate huge left hooks from cooney and never got dropped. And Tommy Morrison on multiple accounts hit harder than Mike Tyson. I do think Foreman in the 70s had a solid chin when not gased but those extra 30 pounds he put on in the 90s improved it a bit

 

We both know Lyle was a big, big puncher and no joke as an overall boxer. Had be been prime in the 80s he would absolutely have held a belt. Ali didn't know what to do with him, it was a lucky punch that spelled Ron's end.

 

Mercer gave Lewis the toughest fight of his career. I had Lewis winning the fight by 1 point but could easily see it being a draw or Mercer winning.

That says all you need to know about how good a prime Mercer was!

 

Fair to say both hit IMMENSELY hard.

 

You may be correct about everything, except he put "a kid named Cleveland Williams" also among his Holy Trinity of punchers that he fought.

 

Tillis and thomas said the same thing.
James claimed Morrison takes the number 2 spot as the hardest puncher he ever fought after Shavers. Which means he might have had more power than tyson and even Frank Bruno !!
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