Was Foreman`s hand speed underestimated?

Foreman could shoeshine pretty quickly, and his jab was always sharp, but his power punches had a pronounced arc and wind up on them that made them easy to avoid if you weren't already hurt. That also meant he couldn't really punch quickly in combination, because the momentum of the swings tended to throw him off balance.

 

True. He could hide them well when he wanted to.

 

Foreman's hands were never that fast but he had good timing with the jab and the mass behind his blows more than made up for the lack of zip.

 

Well, I have always thought this: If his (or anyone's for that matter) hands were that slow, they would never land as his opponents would see them coming and move head/and/or body out of harms way.

 

A good puncher once he hurts his an opponent can flurry pretty quickly when his opponent is less defensive & wounded. That is finishing power.

I dont think Foreman could be considered slow or fast for that matter. Big George tellegraphed his punches in career one & Ali often mocked him with wide swinging failing arms. Foreman tightened up his defense & shortened up in punches in career 2.

Look at Joe Louis finish vs Walcott fight 2 11th round & Marciano fight 2 vs Ezzard Charles, Dempsey long count flurry vs Tunney, Lewis Rahman 2 none of them were considered speedy but all effective & fast enough with power shots

 

Joe Louis had awesome hand speed.

 

This, and many of his best wins were either opponents who came straight at him, or couldn't take a big punch.

Put Foreman in there vs a boxer like Ali, Lyle or Young, and his lack of speed becomes an issue.

 

Oh my they were very slow in that fight. Both were gassing out, someone was going to catch the other one soon. Watch the fight, you'll see the best of Foreman and the worst of Foreman at the same time.

 

Where Holmes would've beaten Foreman to the punch literally is Foreman had the tendency to hook his shots, and windmill them. Holmes on the other hand were very straight. Esp his jab and his right hand.

 

But what you do see is that amazing physical strength he had , with him being able to maneuver Frazier the way he did, a lot of time with one arm.