So, could Hrgovic win the Rumble if we swap him in for Ali?

Worth noting that the rope-a-dope wasn’t just taking a beating for 7 rounds. Ali was intermittently counterpunching, smothering and, of course, taunting Foreman throughout the fight. It was a multi-faceted strategy that Ali used to wear down Foreman until he went in for the 8th round kill.

 

If only Mendoza was still here for these threads...

 

Itauma was a 14 fight novice who'd never gone past 6 rounds.

He'd never even come close to beating a top 10 ranked fighter prior to fighting Hrgovic.

To put it into perspective Hrgovic was about 2 levels above anyone Itauma had fought. That shows you how irrelevant Itauma's opposition had been so far.

And now Hrgovic has gone from a fighter that most people felt has looked unspectacular in most of his fights.

To now he's being put on a pedestal where he beats ATG Heavyweights now just for beating an inexperienced 14 fight novice ?

I swear people are not from this planet.

Also it wasn't the samething Ali wasn't getting hit flush on the chin he was covering up, leaning back on the ropes, and counter punching off the ropes quite well.

Hrgovic on the other hand was standing straight up with no defence. Eating punches flush on the chin without a thought to even defend himself properly.

Nor was he counter punching either.

Ali also wasn't a mile behind on points vs Foreman he was actually ahead on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

So no different tactics entirely and Hrgovic is not Ali to state the obvious.

 

Totally agree.

Knee jerk reactions cut both ways.

Itauma was being ordained well before time.

He hadn’t necessarily disproven himself but there was still a lot more to prove.

Now, while still a relatively inexperienced fighter, Itauma has gone from hero to zero but conversely and not logically sequenced, Hrgovic’s victory over Itauma has disproportionally raised Filip’s stocks so high as to rate him as some sort of chance against an ATG like Foreman???

 

Jimmy Young.

 

And…?

 

Ali BATTERED George that night. Watch that fight almost frame by frame and it is incredible Foreman stayed up so long...

 

X 2

LOL
LOL

 

The myth that Ali was behind just won't die. That he outlanded George for most rounds was a key to the victory.

Compare Foreman's face at the end of the fight to Itauma's.

 

Would look very different. Ali's lightning quick counters not only did damage but also disrupted Foreman's rhytm.

Hrgovic is bigger and hits harder, but is far away in terms of speed and precision. So quite different things to contend with.

 

It would be insufferable if the video evidence didn’t exist.

However, Foreman wasn’t going to last the distance in any case, especially if Ali were two sizes bigger and suddenly started fighting intensely when he saw that Foreman was gassing.

 

Jimmy Young actually knew defense. Are we seriously comparing one of the better defensive heavyweight contenders in heavyweight history (Young) to a real life version of Ivan Drago who blocks punches with his face (Hrgovic)?

Foreman came close to stopping Young, and this is in spite of Young's defensive prowess.

This is what Young himself said ,

“He really hurt me,” Young said later. “I didn't think I was going to make it. But desperation and the will to live got me through. I think if that left hook had hit me on the chin instead of on the forehead, I would've been gone.”

source: Young Floors Foreman in 12th And Wins Unanimous Decision - The New York Times

Foreman-Ali took place in extremely humid conditions in Zaire. I highly doubt the conditions in UK in air conditoned arenas were anywhere near as brutal as Zaire.

Ali did a great job defending his chin. He kept his hands high. Foreman snuck in some good head shots but Ali blocked the majority of them.

Ali also landed fast hard lead right hands and combinations to wear Foreman down. Can Hrgovic throw right hand leads and 3-5 punch combinations with even a fraction of Ali's speed? no

Hrgovic will get stopped here. He isn't wearing Foreman out in modern arenas with air conditioning. In Zaire, a big man like Hrgovic himself is going to gas out - and badly. Especially if he decides to block punches with his head.

 

I don’t think you understand that fighting a guy of Hrgovic’s size is much more draining than fighting Jimmy Young or an Ali. Foreman didn’t come close to finishing the distance against Ali. I am aware of the theories that climate unilaterally affects 70s Foreman, and not his opponent, and, if we are to believe it, Hrgovic remains upright whereas Foreman gasses out and gets stopped.

 

No sorry. A guy who can block your best shots ( like Ali did) will tire you out much faster than a guy who blocks punches with his head. Hrgovic himself gassed ouI vs Dubois.

 

Hrgovic fixed his conditioning. His conditioning used to hold him back.