Send in 3 ATGs of your choosing into a time machine to beat Liston of 1962 Foreman of 1973 Tyson of 1988 ....by Stoppage inside the first 6 rounds. The fight can be a two way slugfest but a UD or late stoppage doesnt count. I pick Lewis for Foreman, Liston for Tyson and Deontay wilder(believe it or not) for sonny liston. im least confident about the wilder pick but I feel like with the reach he has the best chance to detonate on liston before liston gets to him or the fight goes too long. Wilder is not an ATG by the way.
Vitali would beat young Foreman in Zaire, but it would be via prolonged beating. Foreman is out of there by 8 or 9, so probably too late for the thread. I don't think anyone would be favored to take out Tyson early. You really needed to pummel the guy. If Wlad was more durable, I'd favor him to take Liston out early. But Wlad is cautious, and would only get Liston late. Lewis sometimes took more risks, but may well instead do the same thing he did to Tyson. Tyson himself would win a shootout with Liston, though. So a somewhat aggressive Lewis (say, Rahman 2) and Tyson would be the most confident picks there.
Yes of course. I can just picture him countering listons long jab with a right hand over the top within the first 6 rounds. Hes just as likely to get pummeled by liston himself however.
This is an incredibly difficult challenge since it's limited to ATGs and the time limit is 6 rounds. All 3 of these destroyers didn't just hit hard, they were tough and could turn the match around in the blink of an eye. Liston of 1962 If Alec Baldwin had a gun to my head, I'd pick Lewis of the Rahman fight and show him an edited video of Liston slapping his mother. Still a very dangerous gamble since Lewis could run into something and get sparked out, but I'd have confidence Lewis' seek and destroy mentality combined with his high ring IQ and being able to use his height to his advantage could lead to him managing to finish Liston within 5 after a few scary moments. The biggest obstacle would be Liston's pulverizing jab that rivaled Lewis own reach and Liston's thunderous body shots. I think Lewis could try timing Liston with right hand leads or countering the jab with hooks, chipping away at Liston until he saw an opening for a big combination. Foreman of 1973 If Alec Baldwin had a gun to my head, I'd pick Joe Louis. I think he's one of the only guys who could stand in the eye of the storm against Foreman at close or mid range fighting aggressively on the front foot without getting himself slaughtered. The difference between Louis and other destroyers such as Liston/Tyson etc isn't obvious things like his hand speed and great technique, it's that he would parry. Foreman's clubbing blows are dangerous, but if you can deflect/parry them they won't do nearly as much damage. Think of it this way, his fists are huge with a wide surface area and they move relatively slowly so imagine jumping out of the way of a truck and it only slightly bumps your shoulder vs a speeding Mercedes (you're a lot less likely to completely avoid damage). Louis is also one of the only boxers I think could outjab Foreman at mid range as his jab is crisper, straighter, and he was better at the throwing combinations. Louis is a jack hammer while Foreman is a wrecking ball. If Louis is 100% focused and taking Foreman seriously like the Baer fight, and uses his parrying and countering ability to frustrate Foreman, I could actually seeing him wearing him down with blistering combinations. Foreman didn't always move his head and could have leaky defense, and we saw in Zaire he was vulnerable to fast straight shots down the middle. Tyson of 1988 If Alec Baldwin had a gun to my head, I'd pick 73 Foreman. He's probably one of the worst matchups on paper and has the style and power to potentially stop Tyson early, but it wouldn't be easy. Foreman may even get dropped or badly hurt in the process, but he might get it done if he manages to time Tyson with those heavy uppercuts and keeps him on the back foot with shoves, pivots, and jabs.
Exactly the kind of response i was looking for. I also think lennox lewis if agressive is extremely dangerous, the only downside being his own vulnerability. But i think he gets foreman and liston before they get him. Foreman vs tyson is a really tough one since tyson is dangerous from any angle from either hand but would he be able to unload his best shots if foreman pushes him on the backfoot? Unlike a tua or a frazier tyson did actually have some(albeit limited) backfoot boxing ability with footwork and an effective jab.
Probably not in 6 rounds... Holmes' style and average punching power would make that very difficult. I thought about picking Holmes too, but there's too many guys inferior to the 3 destroyers who went the distance with Holmes or took way more than 6 rounds for Holmes to stop such as Weaver, Berbick, Smith, Cooney, Shavers, etc. I just don't see that happening.
