In his long career he took bombs from many of the best punchers ever. Never dropped when he was old. Besides he doest look to be a punch drunk. The same cant be said for other fighters. Can someone here explain me definitively the secret of his chin?
Everyone is affected differently. Roy Jones was brutally KO'd several times and yet he is coherent with a clear voice and is still a good commentator. Yet the big tough Riddick Bowe who was never KO'd is in horrible shape with slurred speech and poor reflexes. Foreman is often criticized for slowly building himself back up but it was honestly the smart decision. It's his body, he's the one getting punched. The cross arm defense, improved stamina, and pacing himself better helped too (when he was younger, he had hypertension and anxiety issues on top of wanting to just get it over with). It's not that his chin improved with age (nobody's does after the age of 40), it's that he could often be reckless and irresponsible defensively if someone angered him. He burned through his gas tank and fell primarily due to fatigue (not to mention hot outdoor muggy weather). Being forced to "dry out" and become dehydrated likely contributed to his knockdowns and lack of energy whereas old George had plenty of camel fat and hydration to burn through to avoid gassing out (in cool indoor air conditioned arenas).
Yeah def. odd , guys like Archie Moore fought so long and nothing and he was knocked out several times. But Bowe is bad when compared to Lennox who was knocked out twice (Bowe probably took more damage as a whole though compared to Lennox KOs) guess there is no rhyme or reason for it
My theory, and I have no proof, but my theory is that Bowe was damaged goods coming out of the amateurs and they knew it. That would explain why they never let him face a big puncher until the end, that is why they would not let him fight Lewis, that is why Newman risked his own safety to pull Tillery away from him...and on and on. I have no proof, but it sure explains a lot of strange stuff. As for Foreman, he just had a great chin. The stoppage to Ali and the knockdown to Young came because he was gassed and overheated. As for Lyle, well, he was a hell of a puncher.
Built like a tank. Sitting out 10 years of punishment. Finishing some big punchers early. Getting crafty late with his mummy guard.
It is hard to understand why some guys can take so much. I personally think it is certain amount of craziness and arrogance that some fighters possess the tells them that they can’t and won’t be hurt, especially by this bum. Add that to their own greatness and will to win, it is makes sense that some of these guys can take it.
Definitely Riddick Bowe is punch drunk, but he would have been ko'd both times by Golota, if Golota didn't keep hitting below the belt. Especially after the second fight his interview with Larry Merchant he was already slurring words then.
Good call. You can add James Toney and Pernell Whitaker to that list. Both known defensive wiz’s, neither legitimately stopped (Whitaker was stopped once through injury) yet both exhibited slurred speech especially compared to the beginning of their respective careers. Wilfred Benitez is another famed defensive master who finished up badly damaged. Then you have a Durán who fought more fights, for longer and across more weight classes than any of these and he sounds as clear as a bell to this day. He was a defensive great too for sure but he copped his share of punishment as any boxer does so there must be something else to it.
Psychology definitely plays a role. I once did an experiment with my classmates in the 9th grade. I told them to repeat the words "i am weak" out loud while holding their arms straight out to the side in a T formation. I would then attempt to push their arms down. Almost every kid faltered when i did this. But when i told them to repeat I am strong, it didn't matter if the kid was skinny, short, weak, or had confidence issues all of a sudden i had a much harder time. If You believe you're tough, then you will be tough (provided you are training hard and not just being confident due to pure ego). No one just rolls out of bed able to eat a flush combination to the face. It doesn't mean you'll have a 10/10 granite level chin, but the phrase "mind over matter" has some basis in reality. Fighters convince themselves and then their opponent. No one can fake being tough. It's pretty demoralizing if someone takes your best shot and they just grunt and hit you back.
At 71yo Foreman's over the hump boxing wise for mine. Plenty of people who never fought get dementia late in life, or even quite early. Foreman's done good. Many of his era are gone.
George had a terrific chin .. the Ali and Young losses where by being out thought and exhaustion .. the Lyle fight was nasty but Lyle was a monster puncher oof he landed and man did he land vs George .. career two George was much stronger mentally and showed a strong chin against big punchers like Morrison, Briggs, Moorer but he never fought the best punchers like Tyson, Lewis, Bowe, Tua , Bruno or Ruddock either ..
