Who out of the following do you think could knock out George Chuvalo and Oliver McCall?

You say that Tyson let McCall walk it off after a nasty body shot in sparring, but if it was a real fight, McCall would get Tko’d. Firstly after 300 rounds with Iron Mike, I’d expect there were plenty of times McCall was hurt! It’s in the job description haha!
And secondly, of course if it was a real fight, McCall wouldn’t be allowed to walk it off…he’d have to do as you say he does when rattled hard by top tier fighters…go into survival mode…and survive!

And talking of McCall (and Tua) going into survival mode when “rattled hard” by top tier fighters…this is a natural response by fighters when hurt. They clinch, they run, they cover up, they put their chin down.
Some even go to ground and take the count, (not McCall or Tua though) until they recover. Nothing new in that.

But to pick McCall and Tua out and basically say they didn’t fight to win against top opposition, and instead simply tried to survive, is…with respect…nonsense. It’s not as though they were journeymen like Marion Wilson…they fought at the highest level against world champions. Damn…McCall was so into just surviving that he even KO’d ATG Lennox Lewis to become Heavyweight champion of the world!
The other…Tua…stood toe to toe with the hard hitting and dangerous Ibeabuchi, when he took…and delivered…power shot after power shot, and hardly looked hurt, never mind hit the canvas.

Whichever way you look at it, McCall…and Tua’s records show they both sported a damn fine set of whiskers and pretty decent all round punch resistance.

 

Certainly Foreman for me, he had the power that really softened a fighter up and bust them up, the Atomic Bull would need to be broken up before becoming ripe for the knockout .

 

On other threads it was said that Chuvalo has developed dementia in more recent times-finally.
If McCall winces after a body shot in a match-unless he is having a breakdown like vs. Lewis-it is likely he continues not turns his back, & it is doubtful Tyson stops him.

 

That list of never before stopped/KO’d fighters in respect of Louis is impressive.

It’s funny, McCall often looked better in sparring (vs Tyson) than he did in some of his actual fights. Appeared relaxed, more fluid and used his jab very well.

Unfortunately, Chuvalo has been diagnosed with dementia in recent years - I haven’t seen any interviews or film of him for several years now.

George’s son believes it is from boxing but it is impossible to know for sure unless they do scans (I don’t know if they’ve already done so) - since I think George was already late 70s or even 80 when the dementia was first identified.

 

Joe Louis would KO them both if he pushed for it.

 

sure they never tasted the canvas, but Marciano's Suzie Q also never didn't knock down/out an opponent, I have more confidence in Marciano's right hand than I do their chins

I also think Tyson would give them their first taste, there is a lot of footage of Tyson and McCall sparring and there are plenty of times where Tyson sends him flying back against the ropes, Tyson also never throws/lands a big right or uppercut on him, I think the 6-4 that floored Ribalta would easily put both of them down

Louis is up there too but he also has a good chance of getting it stopped while still standing

 

unfortunate that it really was a case of when, not if, regarding Chuvalo's pugilistica dementia. Tragic that the attribute that defined his career would take his twilight years from him, but such is the case with so many fighters. I just feel with Chuvalo his fate was a near-certainty.

My post will deal with McCall.

I see a Young Foreman's offense as a serious threat to McCall, my reasoning is that I think if Foreman employed the same tactics as the Frazier fight, he would be able to move McCall around, paw at his punches, and frame off McCall's shoulders to land accurately. McCall could not deflect and lean back from punches like Ali, I think Foreman would turn him into a heavy bag.

Liston had a beautiful jab, but I don't buy into the boogeyman status and mythical power, I don't think Liston has better technique than Lennox and I'd put their power as equals. If we could combine the technique of Lennox and his ability to generate power, with Liston's natural cannonball hands, then I would give Liston a chance... but imo Liston won't get it done.

Rooney Tyson- maybe... he has the speed and volume and accuracy which I think is a route to success against McCall. But in terms of pure power, no, he won't have enough. Tucker went the distance, so I am dubious to give even a prime Tyson the advantage.

Joe Louis I think has the tools, and regarding volume I think is a huge factor. Keeping pressure on McCall is vital to success, he has the hand speed and reflexes to take advantage of the same openings as Tyson, and is the greatest finisher in history. Louis also has the gas in the tank to keep the pressure on.

I think putting McCall on the canvas or dare I say knocking him out, we need a boxer with the right technique just as much as tremendous power. To put McCall on the canvas the fighter(s) must keep punching.

 

Ok that’s fair enough about McCall. Maybe my memory’s letting me down about him. I knew he was inconsistent, but I don’t remember him as being so reluctant to commit himself offensively. My bad.

What I do recall in the Bruno fight is that he took some big shots early on without putting up much of a fight until the last few rounds when he went for broke and battered Bruno all around the ring. It’s like the lights went on after a long power cut in his brain.But it was far too late for him to win on points and thankfully Big Frank held on to win, despite being out on his feet.

Very odd fighter was Ollie. Strong as an ox with a solid jawbone, and he could actually bang a bit too. But for some reason he just couldn’t put it all together consistently enough.

I’ll have a look at the Wilson/Ibeabuchi fight…

 

Louis had superb combinations, but he was not as much of a high volume puncher as some swarmers.
Even Ali in Manilla must have thrown & landed more in 14 rounds than Louis ever did in 15.
I am dubious about anyone stopping McCall, but it is possible.
While Tyson or anyone with his excellent but not elite power who throws enough might get it done, Tyson had blazing combinations, he did not throw very high volume.

I am unsure who might get him knocked down, let alone knocked out.
A few might; but I dunno who is the most likely to do so.
I agree that Liston-or anyone-is not likely to get it done.
I think Liston hit a little harder than Lewis, but who knows with any confidence.

 

Mike Tyson….but he’s gonna do it with body shots

 

Not to necessarily advertise Tyson himself - even though we’ve nominated him as an eligible candidate in answer to the thread question (Thomas had seen better days), but this is this type of power punching, in combination and with no let up otherwise that would be required to see off the more steel chinned fighters.

It took every damn crunching shot landed to finally put Pinky down. Even when a fighter does eventually go down, you can still say that’s a “helluva chin” in some instances, including this one imo - hard to watch in some ways because I really liked Thomas as a fighter:-

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