who wins a 42 yr old foreman vs a 37 yr old lewis/??

definitely lewis.

it is true that even 1992 foreman's best punch would knockout lewis (and 99% others). but lewis was a cautious fighter. and best of all - he was a VERY TALL, LONG REACHING fighter who could stay back and BOX very well. that is the worst style for someone like foreman. especially old foreman. old foreman did not have the quickness of youth to catch lewis as easily or to evade lewis' long range bombs. lewis had really fast hands imo - remember that rahman 2 ko! young foreman beats lewis but old foreman has little chance. lewis won't let foreman land his best shot. if foreman does land a few grazing shots - lewis' chin is not as bad as people like to believe. he will outbox george from long range, circle around, and has the stopping power to really hurt foreman and back up the old man if needed. that reach advantage of lewis will really show with this strategy - just as ali's reach did (although in ali's case - his combination of speed & reach was critical).

 

scorching who ? gettting beating by Alex stewart onlt to be given the decision based on his name ?

fighting bums ?

old Foreman did'nt really fight anyone special in the 90s (Holyfield and Moorer excluded)

 

Funny you say that, because of the 99% others, Stewart, Schulz, Savarese, Grimsley (whoever that is), Briggs, Morrison and Holyfield all went the full distance. The only one who he knocked out is Moorer, who pretty muc had has a glass jaw. His power was "good" at best. Don't mistake the comebacking Foreman with the prime one, who did have devastating power.


As for this fight, i think Lewis wins a UD. Let's not forget that Vitali makes every fighter look bad and is very hard to fight. He still dug out the win. I think Vitali head to head is a lot better than the best fighter Foreman beat during his comeback.

 

Lewis, by late stoppage or UD.

 

I think the 1990-1991 Foreman was the best of the later George.

I never understand how some people just bracket the whole second career as the same Foreman, from. 1987-1997, a whole ten year span. Obviously, at 48 he might not be the same as at 42, especially when he had a few very tough fights in there !

So, the question was about the Foreman who fought Holyfield, he was thus far undefeated, and he was active, and he hadn't taken beatings yet, and he was far far more motivated than the post-Moorer version.

I'd pick the 2003 Lewis to beat him, but not with any real confidence.
Lewis was there for the taking against Vitali, coming off the longest layoff of his career, and certainly lacking the motivation of the 1991 Foreman.

 

I see your point. Foreman seemed to be a differen't fighter over various stages of his comeback. However, I might be in the minority in thinking that the Foreman that fought Savarese and Briggs - the 1997 version - seemed to fight as well or even better than any prior version of Foreman. Granted, you have take into account the quality of opposition when analyzing how a fighter looks in a fight, but Savarese and Briggs were better opponents than any fighters Foreman faced pre-Holyfield. And while George didn't knock either Briggs or Savarese out, he did show excellent boxing ability and great footwork and overall ring generalship. He seemed pretty fresh and lively against both Briggs and Savarese, and he was very fluid and moved very well. I think the Foreman from the Briggs and Savarese fights would have the best chance against Lewis. Although I would pick Lewis to beat him handily!

 

In no way did Alex Stewart win that fight in my eyes. Two unanswered knockdowns does not equate to a win.

Some of those "bums" were actually pretty savy journeyman, and he utterly destroyed most of them on a fairly active and regular basis.

"Holyfield and Moorer excluded" Isn't the reality. Those were big fights with two of the division's best competitors during the first half of the decade. He knocked out one of them to become the oldest man to win the heavyweight title, and gave a peak prime version of the other a good match. He also defeated a handful of other fighters who weren't that bad such as Stewart, Rodriguez, Savarese, and a few others. Foreman's resume was nearly as good as most of the 90's participants.