Riddick Bowe vs Old Foreman 1993

I think so. Foreman will be busted up like he was against Stewart only Bowe will do it so badly to him the fight will have to be stopped around the 10th round

 

Bowe and Lewis yes but Foreman would have knocked out Ruddock.

 

Not so sure. Ruddock would brought size, youth and huge power. He could also take a punch. All wrong for Old Foreman.

 

I think Foreman would still be standing at the final bell - but I think Bowe in a way would have repeated Holyfield's incredible combos against Foreman where Holyfield couldn't stop punching but George was still on his feet.

 

Power Foreman
Hand speed Bowe
Chin Foreman
Technique Bowe
Stamina Bowe
Accuracy Foreman
Timing Bowe
Footwork Bowe
Defense Foreman
Ring IQ Foreman
Combinations Bowe
Killer instinct Even

6-1-5 advantage Bowe

Would be a grueling, intense fight. Bowe is bringing quicker hands, youthful stamina, and better technique to the table. Both have superb jabs and would spend the first round or 2 feeling each other out and being cautious, but then fireworks would explode at mid range with the two goliaths attempting to find the perfect bomb to land on each other.

I think Bowe would get buzzed at some point and would have to respect the Old Man's power, but he was a superb inside fighter and combination puncher for a SHW. Foreman just doesn't string together punches fast enough with his cement shoe feet and turtle pace hands. That, plus Foreman wouldn't be able to just effortlessly push the huge heavy Bowe back to make room, he'd have to either cover up and block or slug it out.

Foreman could try hiding in his fortress and biding his time for the perfect right hand or uppercut a la Cooney or Moorer fights, but I wouldn't bet a single cent on that hail Mary shot being enough to stop Bowe who was quite durable in his prime. Yes, Bowe was floored by lesser punchers such as Holyfield and Golota, but he also got right back up and was more caught off guard than badly hurt or on wobbly legs. Obviously with someone who hits as hard as Foreman, anything could happen, but statistically it's not the most plausible scenario for Foreman to win by KO. He certainly isn't winning a decision over Prime Bowe.

Verdict: Bowe wins a convincing decision in an exciting slugfest, probably 7 rounds to 5. He could possibly stop Foreman late if he causes enough swelling/facial damage, but if he pressed the issue too hard Foreman might seriously hurt him. Would've been a great fight.

 

I feel like Foreman has more success here than against Holyfield stylistically, Foreman was never the best against guys who were light on their feet, Bowe could box, but was flat footed and I think Bowe’s lack of defence and relying on blocking would see him get slightly wobbled once or twice with an uppercut or something and I see Foreman having some success with the jab also.
I feel like Foreman has the better defence here, but Bowe would’ve had faster hands and combinations allowing him to beat Foreman to the punch more often.

Some may think Bowe stops him, but the reason I don’t is because, while Holyfield was able to rock him, he was able to use his footwork to avoid and counter without getting tagged himself and he also he better stamina than Boer, I feel Bowe’s stationariness and lack of defence would mean he wouldn’t be able to let his hands go as much in combination without getting punished himself, so he’d have to just keep Foreman honest and beat him to the punch.

The way he beats Foreman is measuring him with the lead hand, forcing Foreman into the cross guard and touching to the sides with hooks to set up uppercuts and body shots, Bowe didn’t also box the smartest, but I feel like he would bring the right gameplan here because no one is stupid enough to not respect Foreman’s power.

Foreman occasionally has success with his own uppercut as they come into range because Bowe was sometimes lazy with his defence and footwork.

 

For some reason I think this fight goes the distance. I think the scoring would be close.

 

I don't think Bowe could have beaten young George, he got hit way too much. Young George had too much power and one of the greatest ring IQs of any dyed-in-the-wool heavyweight puncher.

In fact, prime Foreman stops him in 7 at the latest.

 

Ruddock had poor balance, telegraph his left, only had one hand essentially, didn't jab, one of the worst ring IQs I can think of. Old George was smart enough to avoid Ruddocks only weapon.

Ruddock did have physical talent but wasted much of it.

 

I think it's an exaggeration to state that Ruddock didn't jab or use his right hand.
Ruddock hit Tyson with some beautiful straight right hands/right uppercuts.
He had difficulty to time Tyson with his jab because he moved side to side so he resorted to sticking his left hand out.

He also smartly targeted Tyson's body with his smash during the rematch.

How would Foreman have avoided Ruddock shots since didn't step back or move his head ?

 

I can’t see Bowe knocking George out. George was never close to being sat down in his second career. Holyfield hit him about 20 straight times and Foreman barely rocked.

That said, I can’t see Foreman winning. Of course, he is always a chance with that legendary power but I have Bowe beating an old George, probably with a similar scorecard to the Holyfield/Foreman fight.

Prime Foreman kills Bowe though.