What would have happened if a prime George Foreman had entered the 1967-1968 WBA Tournament?

Bonavena would be an interesting matchup. He was very durable and rugged yet had very high stamina and work rate. Foreman would have a hard time discouraging him from boring in and his shove tactics might lose their effectiveness over time.

I think it goes the distance as both men hate taking a step back and would be smothering each other's blows. However George takes it due to his superior fire power, size, and ring generalship 70% of the time. He was still a gold medalist and had a ramrod jab while Bonavena often ignored his trainers often preferring to turn his brain off.

Quarry would be a much less straightforward match up. If anyone could cause an upset it would be him. The question would be if

-Quarry can stick to the game plan and avoid slugging

-if Quarry manages to avoid getting cut.

If Quarry sticks to counter punching and doesn't get cut, he drags Foreman into deep waters and wins a very rough but convincing decision or possibly stops him late around the 11th-13th if Foreman gets too aggressive. Those are big ifs tho and I only give Quarry a 40% chance given his bad luck with cuts and his own willingness to brawl.

Assuming Foreman gets past those 2, I think Ellis would only be challenging for the first 5 rounds. He Just doesn't have the firepower to keep Foreman off and lacks the toughness to survive when the bombs start landing. His technique and ring savvy are way higher but coming up from middleweight and challenging a guy the size of Foreman is risky at best and suicidal at worst. I still give him a very slight chance to pull off an upset if Foreman fights like a moron and gasses out. Otherwise Foreman wins 90% of the time.

As for 1970 Frazier, let's assume he's just as hungry to beat Foreman the way he anticipated a bout for Ali in FOTC. This would be quite different from a Frazier whose body was starting to break down from overexerting himself, inactive, playing in bands, and satisfied from having beaten his nemesis. Peak Frazier vs peak Foreman would be less of a slaughter and more of a competitive slug fest. The key for Frazier would be to really tear that body apart and drain Foreman's gas tank. The problem for him was that he could often be a slow starter and if Foreman caught him with something big early and prevented him from finding his rhythm it would just be a repeat of their actual fight. Foreman would still logically be favored to win tho at least 60% of the time due to how difficult this matchup is for Frazier due to styles.

I think overall Foreman should be slightly favored but not by a huge amount. So many things could go wrong.

 

George would have destroyed nearly everybody. Terrell and Bonavena would have lasted the distance. Joe would have beat George in a punch-out war.

 

I agree with your assessment of the tournament participants, but there is no version of Frazier who would ever defeat a prime Foreman. Frazier was made-to-order for Foreman. A prime piece of evidence: if Bonavena gives the prime Frazier fits, Foreman is going to beat Joe every time.

 

Ok, I just saw the "prime" back in Richard's post, in which I agree with you. I think Joe might last 5 or 6 this time though.

 

@RulesMakeItInteresting?

 

It would have been good for Foreman.

He would have got experience against elite fighters, with a range of different styles, and he would have been better prepared for Ali!

Even if he had picked up a loss it would have been better for him!

 

What would have happened if a prime George Foreman had entered the 1967-1968 WBA Tournament?

Smart aleck answer: He wouldn't have won gold in Mexico City.
Real answer: Maybe, MAYBE Quarry would've been George trouble, but I think a 25 years old Foreman takes the WBA title.

How many times were Foreman - Bonavena fights cancelled? At least twice, I think.