Whoever wins, it would be a hell of a battle. As great of a puncher as Louis was ... His chin holding up against an even more powerful puncher than himself would be the deciding factor.
Louis wasn't a great mover ? Joe's feet were a big part of his greatness. Always moving and adjusting. Always set so he could punch and never off balance. I never tire of watching Louis' footwork.
Louis was a natural counter puncher. He waited for aggressive opponents to open up then punched with them. He was always at home in a trade due to his speed, accuracy and power. Also, younger guys pin your ears back, before Muhamad Ali changed Heavyweight Boxing forever, Joe Louis had the best footwork of any big guy. Always adjusting, never off balance, always set to throw and with his boots barely leaving the canvass. Louis' movement was a thing of beauty. Foreman was great at walking an opponent down for sure. He was also huge and ridiculously powerful but his lateral movement wasn't great, even old George had a tendency to move a bit like a chess piece. He also, in his first incarnation, left gaps just before and just after throwing. I can't be persuaded that Louis doesn't win this, drawing George on, turning to keep him off balance and whacking him every time he opens the angle. I have nothing but admiration for George but he gets laid out here sometime between 6 and 9.
I have Joe couple of places ahead of George in terms of greatness. But Head-to-Head, I got George at least three places ahead of Joe. Most in this thread are slightly over-rating Louis and significantly underrating Foreman.
Joe Louis was a Boxer-Puncher. George was a Slugger, period. IMHO, Joe would box him early until George lost some of his gusto, and then possibly stop George late, or, at the very least, win a wide UD victory.
I wonder if boxing him for any length of time is applicable in this one DJ. Louis has excellent compact footwork but it's not the sort of footwork that would let him sit back and box against George without getting cornered and harassed imo. His footwork is offense orientated and not evasive, certainly not for any period of time. Louis will have to fight George off at various stages or risk getting run over.
Max was a dangerous right hand puncher. George was overall the better fighter with power in both hands. For what it’s worth apparently Max’s right hand was injured/broken.
Joe comes straight at his opponents, Foreman knocks Louis out . He simply doesn't move enough to avoid George
His footwork was also effective. He never wasted energy, had a great balance and was always in position for his punches/combos. However, he wasn't a great "mover" (or runner) ala Muhammad Ali or Billy Conn (who gave him lot of problems in their first fight).
