Foreman v Lyle, somewhat overrated. Power notwithstanding, some decidedly slow and clumsy deliveries, finishing with an exhausted Foreman flailing away with punches of far less potency on an already beaten Lyle who eventually collapses. . If someone were to ask, well what’s better, I would immediately offer the two Liston - Williams fights. Far more skill and speed woven into a “technical “ brawl between two big punchers. There is also the Lyle v Shavers punch out that appeared more intense and on point.
Unpopular opinions right? okay.. You know Herbie Hide? Yes, He hits hard enough for me to rank him in my p4p hardest punchers list. Somewhere between 20-30 but I rank him probably at #25. P4P he's above Tyson, and also Tyson does not cut in my Top 30 hardest punchers list. Currently it's is like this: 1. Bob Fitzsimmons 2. Julian Jackson 3. Sam Langford 4. Earnie Shavers 5. Jimmy Wilde 6. Bob Satterfield 7. Thomas Hearns 8. Sandy Saddler 9. Jack Dempsey 10. Roberto Duran 11. Randall Bailey 12. Ruben Olivares 13. George Foreman 14. Wilfedo Gomez 15. Edwin Rosario 16. Gerald McClellan 17. Sugar Ray Robinson 18. Bob Foster 19. Max Baer 20. Eugene Cyclone Hart 21. Lloyd Marshall 22. Cleveland Williams 23. Prince Naseem Hamed 24. Alexis Arguello 25. Herbie Hide 26. Alfonso Zamora 27. Khaosai Galaxy 28. Joe Louis 29. Felix Trinidad 30. Jaime Garza I'm still working my way to top 100
I remember the first time trying to watch Foreman-Lyle and I was like... "Why are they punching in slow motion? Where do they think they are, underwater??"
Completely agree. I always cringe when people talk about this fight as if it's heavyweight boxing at its finest.
Exactly. Riddick bowe vs Holyfield 1 imo was a better slugfest and had more boxing skill if memory serves me correct
Usyk is a modern-day Chris Byrd (not as fast or as good defensively, but smarter, better footwork, higher work-rate, & better at adjusting in the ring).
Two I just plum forgot was that I think a good deal of Ali's prime was in the 70s, and a lot of Star's prime was as a MW.
Gerry Cooney was managed far better than most give credit for: 1) Maxed his earning potential. 2) If he had ‘stepped up’ too far earlier than Holmes he might have lost (and perhaps more than once) and maybe never gotten a title shot, or been paid far less for one if he did. 3) Jimmy Young was a fight that should have given him some quality deep rounds but he was stopped on a cut. Nine times out of 10, he probably takes Gerry the distance. 4) Whether due to injuries (as claimed) or maybe because he was having substance abuse issues that wrecked his training/preparation (as I suspect) or a combination of the two, he had a number of scheduled fights that would have been good for his development canceled. He was supposed to fight Earnie Shavers on the Hearns-Cuevas undercard but pulled out with an injury and was replaced by Tex Cobb. There were other such fights — you see a lot of down time on his record and most of that was when he was supposed to have fights but pulled out. If he was injured in training, that’s not a fault of management. If he was on a bender and in no shape to fight, the manager pulling him out and keeping those demons out of the public debate was in his best interest. Either way, good management or just one of those things. 5) He was contracted to fight Mike Weaver for that version of the title but the WBA stepped in and made Weaver fight Quick Tillis instead … even though they had Cooney ranked No. 1. Again, good management to steer him in that direction (he’d have made even more vs. Holmes if he beat Mike and was unifying with Larry — and it would have been a good opponent to help Cooney grow). 6) Most importantly, his management kept him away from signing with Don King, who notably ruined and used fighters. King controlled most of the heavyweight landscape, so a lot of opponents people think Gerry should have fought were under Don, and to fight them he would have had to sign with King. No thanks. All in all, that’s better management than most 1980s guys got.
Great post. #5 would have been the best option if allowed, but it would have been very risky, Weaver could have coldcocked him.
Mike Tyson was exactly what Holyfield's trainer said he was: the most overrated heavyweight in history. Muhammed Ali hated white people until they made him filthy rich. Larry Holmes was good in a bad era, not great. Sonny Liston is the most intriguing character in the history of boxing.
