Razor Ruddock vs Old George

After Rudduck half killed Dokes, he was the most feared heavyweight in the world. Foreman at that time wouldn’t have got into a ring with him for all the cheeseburgers in the world. Only Tyson was fearless enough to face up to Rudduck back then.

 

Glad you're here, I was wondering when someone would point that out. Most of these posters think Foreman was invincible, only vulnerable to a guy they have read even more about, Ali. They don't realize that Foreman and his team were finding the drug addicted, the ones who were not training but would fight for money types. GF wouldn't have gotten in the same room with Ruddock.

 

Yeah, old Foreman liked to play the lovable fool in front of the cameras but he was no fool. Like Dirty Harry once said, ‘a man’s got to know his limitations’ and old Foreman certainly did. It was kinda like a masterclass in handpicking his way to a big payday title shot with none of his opponents being any real threat to him. You got to admit that he was still a big strong tough guy but still there was no way in hell he would have try to earn a title shot by facing the likes of Rudduck, Bowe or Lewis first.

 

Exactly, GF was smart and from the video I saw yesterday of him talking about Wilder and Fury, he still is. GF was a big, strong guy, not fat. Him being 38-45, and claiming to be fat made people watching at home feel good about themselves, and they were immediate fans. GF's game had always been being big and strong, when he came back he just made himself bigger and stronger. He was one of the first boxers to realize that he could lift weights, push cars, etc., anything to get stronger, and it would benefit him more than worrying about his weight and doing slow jogs. GF had better stamina at 42 than he did at 25. Whether it was because of his training, pacing, or being relaxed, his stamina improved a lot. It was probably a combination of the three.

 

Foreman is the better boxer. Better balance, two hand power but most importantly he set that power up with that big jab. Ruddock didn't use his jab or right hand. George was many things but dumb isn't one of them. He's gonna block smother that left and time his counters.
In theory Razor has the ability to win this but not the ring IQ. You just cant let Foreman hit you square too many times.
A longer version of Cooney Foreman. Razor climbs off the canvas a few more times.

 

Well

Bowe and Lewis were bad matchups for George but Ruddock not so much. Foreman realized he only had so many fights in him at the elite level.
I have no doubt that George Foreman would have signed to fight Razor Ruddock in a heartbeat if Razor had held the title even for 5 minutes. It probably would have been easier than the Moorer fight. MM at least knew how to box

 

Well he eventually got in the ring with two undefeated champions Evander Holyfield and Moorer. They both had something he wanted. The title. He made it clear from day 1 he was coming back for the title. Who had the title when he launched his comeback? There wasn't any fear in Big George.

 

Foreman picked his opponents carefully in his second career but it doesn't mean that he was afraid of bigger guys. He didn't need a fight against Lewis or Bowe at this point, because they weren't champions. Bowe was but very briefly.

A fight against Ruddock wasn't neccessary for him, but let's not act like he would have been scared of Ruddock had he been a champion. He wouldn't have been, he fought better fighters than Ruddock in Holyfield and Moorer. He wanted to fight against Tyson. He fought power punchers like Cooney, Morrison, Cooper and Briggs. Ruddock wasn't better than them, Foreman would still beat him. Ruddock wasn't Bowe or Lewis, he went life and death with Bonecrusher Smith - a fighter worse than Foreman in every possible way.

 

I can understand people being a bit leery when it comes to George's comeback opposition (though he always had tomato cans in waiting). However, no taking away the fact that he broke records breaking Moorer.

Doesn't mean he was EVER invincible. And I put Ali, Louis, Holmes, Holyfield, and Lewis ahead of him as ATGs.

He just accomplished things no other man accomplished. And though I doubt his chances against Bowe and Holyfield at the time, pre-Steward Lewis would have eaten that monstrous overhand right and gone down a LOT harder than against Oliver, and Tyson would have been on his seat within two rounds.

Call the above sycophancy or ball-hugging, that's the way I see it.