Was Foreman ever knocked down in a sparring session?

[TheGreatA]

Hassan Shabazz supposedly dropped Foreman on one knee during a 1989 boxing exhibition.

Foreman may have faked the "knockdown", as Ali did though.

[Mintcar923]

Whats weird is he was much easier to drop when he was young, or so it seemed. He never hit the canvas once in his second career although Holyfield came very close to doing it in '91. Did his chin actually get better? Is it possible for a fighters chin to get better or worse depending on the situation or mindset?

[JAB5239]

Whats weird is he was much easier to drop when he was young, or so it seemed. He never hit the canvas once in his second career although Holyfield came very close to doing it in '91. Did his chin actually get better? Is it possible for a fighters chin to get better or worse depending on the situation or mindset?

Better stamina was the key in his second career. Its so much harder to take a punch when you're tired.

[Dynamite76]

I heard bits and pieces that reportedly Jerry Quarry knocked down George Foreman in a sparring session, don't know if it's true or not.

[pablo1]

It can be possible, some fighters with iron jaws went down in sparring sessions.
I heard Jimmy Ellis put Ali down twice in sparring! But we know what happened when they fighted each other in an actual fight.

[The Surgeon]

Better stamina was the key in his second career. Its so much harder to take a punch when you're tired.

Plus he was bulkier, a bigger man can often absorb a bigger punch

[Barn]

Plus he was bulkier, a bigger man can often absorb a bigger punch

And he fought a lot more measured, instead of throwing atomic bombs repeatedly.

[The Surgeon]

And he fought a lot more measured, instead of throwing atomic bombs repeatedly.

I think its true that the best version of Foreman would have been a cross between the young George and the seasoned veteran of his comeback years


Being big doesn't mean u have a good chin but the extra bulk seemed to help George absorb the punishment, he took shots in phase 2 of his career that i think would have dropped him in phase 1