Why was George Foreman so successful.

because he was the hardest puncher ever, had a freakin looong ass reach for the times and his defensive skills are/were deseptive thats all Imo OF COURSE:good

 

Two things stick out to me about George power
His gold medal performance when he turned that russians face into a bloody mess just landing jabs. When I saw the heavybag after he hit it in When we were kings

 

I'm dying to hear what Dave Kraig will say about this.:yep

 

Yeah.
Maybe he didn't duck anyone and wasn't scared of anyone.
But his record shows he fought a lot of patsies, tomato cans and set-ups.
He went the no-risk route enough. I think he might have known a few to avoid. Quarry might have been on his "no wish list".

 

Oh yeah, I can agree with that definitely.

 

Hmmmm no one mentions pressure (near 100 power punches a round to the head and body), fitness, accuracy, punching technique (throwing haymakers takes technique and some of his shots were pretty compact).

 

I only read the first several posts in this thread. Foreman's boxing skills are being underrated. Shaver's hit like a tank too, but his skill was such as to keep him from realizing anything close to Foreman's accomplishments, and it wasn't just the difference in chins. The knockouts of Frazier and Norton do not represent the clumsy lummox being portrayed here. What happened to Foreman is what he said happened. He grew overconfident and took his power for granted. When he returned to the ring, he was a different man, and his performances were consistent, even though his age and weight hampered his mobility.

George Foreman was so successful because he really is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. He's up there with the other great punchers, Joe Louis and Sonny Liston.

 

Do you know any punch stats for Foremans fights?

Power combined with workrate could certainly explain a lot.

 

Did he purposely avoid Earnie Shavers?

 

I doubt it.

Shavers was quite far back in the que at this point.

 

While George by no means was a Joe Louis, I think that his skill often is very underrated. Against good/great fighters like Chuvalo, Frazier and Norton he looked very good for the most part and sometimes even awe-inspiring. Ali made him look very clumsy at times, yes, but Ali had a knack at doing that to fighters. He made Liston look clumsy as well, Quarry and Terrell amateurish, and Folley, Patterson and Ellis decidedly ordinary, so I wouldn't make too much out of that.

Foreman didn't look good against Lyle (from a technical standpoint I mean, because he showed true heart in that one) and Young either, though, but at that time he had lost his focus and most of his confidence.

 

Why was George Foreman so successful?
Answer: Because he was awesome.......Period.......