Who here agrees that George Foreman could arguably be the greatest heavyweight of all time?
Let's look at the stats and compare some common opponents with Ali:
1. Foreman annihilated Chuvalo in 3 rounds. Ali UD'd him (Chuvalo was only stopped twice in his career, once by Foreman, once by Frazier)
2. Foreman annihilated Ali's arch nemesis Joe Frazier in 2 rounds. Joe Frazier beat Ali and had 2 other just about even wars with him.
3. Ken Norton beat Ali and then had another very close war rematch with him. George Foreman annihilated Ken Norton in 2 rounds.
4. Foreman KO'd Jimmy Ellis in 3, Ali took 12 rounds.
5. Ali KO'd Ron Lyle in 11, Foreman in 5
6. both Ali and Foreman only lost twice in their PRIME. Ali to Norton and Frazier and Foreman to Ali and Jimmy Young. Ali beat Jimmy Young and Foreman had a fight of the year with him and lost. However, Foreman annihilated both guys that Ali lost to, Frazier and Norton.
7. The biggest argument for Ali's greatness over Foreman is obviously that Ali beat Foreman. However obviously many things can be argued against this. For one, Foreman fought very poorly and was simply outsmarted by Ali, and not truly "beaten" or beaten up. In fact he had Ali scared laying on the ropes inventing the infamous rope a dope in this fight and basically tired himself out from winging brutal hail mary shots at an elusive Ali.
Obviously Foreman would learn and not fight this same way if they had a rematch and I truly believe that if they ever had a rematch Foreman would have annihilated Ali and would have went down in history as possibly the greatest heavyweight of all time but instead the loss affected him greatly and he lost all his self confidence and self esteem.
Secondly, the reason why that loss can't be figured too heavily is this example:
Ali lost to Frazier in their first fight too. What would have happened if they never rematched and had a trilogy? Likely Frazier would go down as the greatest ever but Ali had a chance to redeem himself. Foreman never got that chance. If he did, as I said many people believe that Foreman would have annihilated Ali as he now would have known about Ali's cheap exploit of the then loose ropes allowing him to sag far back into the ropes to do the rope a dope.
Foreman at that point already had an indomitable legacy arguably equal to that of Ali. But then he comes back and in his 40's wins the heavyweight championship again, this time securing his legacy and doing something nobody has ever done before including Ali.
In this comeback he destroys guys like Jerry Cooney, Jimmy Ellis, Bert Cooper, and Michael Moorer.
So with that said, it can be argued that achievement wise Foreman ranks above Ali since he beat most of all the same guys Ali beat and did it far more impressively AND recaptured the heavyweight title and beat some of the best of the next generation/era while Ali was already retired.
But even head to head wise, it can be argued that Foreman is greater even though prime for prime he lost once to Ali to an exploitive tactic. Like I said in a rematch I and many others believe Foreman could have annihilated Ali.
Does anyone agree with this or have a cogent argument for why Ali is in fact greater than Foreman or an argument for why Foreman does not deserve at LEAST the #2 spot of all time behind Ali if not the #1 spot itself?
He's not underrated by anybody.As I stated already,his record is padded full of unranked journeyman and the odd ranked contender.
Ali,and several other heavyweights "edge" foreman because they beat ar more rated contenders than foreman did.They didn't cherry pick their entire careers and take the easy route the way foreman did.
Go look up the rankings and see how many contenders foreman avoided.
If you can't see that foreman's record is padded,then you clearly don't know anything about his career.
he does have alot of "who the fuk is that" in his record, but he also annihilated some very very good fighters.
but i think as a whole he may be underrated by many. Ali prob get's the edge because he beat Liston and does have some other names that seperate him from Foreman...but i think Foreman is underrated.
He's not underrated by anybody.As I stated already,his record is padded full of unranked journeyman and the odd ranked contender.
Ali,and several other heavyweights "edge" foreman because they beat ar more rated contenders than foreman did.They didn't cherry pick their entire careers and take the easy route the way foreman did.
Go look up the rankings and see how many contenders foreman avoided.
If you can't see that foreman's record is padded,then you clearly don't know anything about his career.
Yeah, don't forget the fact that Mike Tyson ducked a 42 year old Foreman or however old his old ass was.
Don't believe me, read SI 91 November
Tyson didn't duck Foreman.........that one is a myth........
He's a hell of alot more greater than foreman is,that's for sure.
Not that that's some great accomplishment.I can name several heavyweights who rate higher than ole 'padman' foreman.
Arguably Ali lost all 3 times (i think he did) to Norton, he lost to Frazier in fight one, i also though he lost to Jimmy Young (who also beat George). George crushed Frazier and Norton, and became a HW champ at age 45. So i think the loss to Ali hurts his legacy, but i think as a whole he may be underrated by many. Ali prob get's the edge because he beat Liston and does have some other names that seperate him from Foreman...but i think Foreman is underrated.
What do you think of Ali then??
He's a hell of alot more greater than foreman is,that's for sure.
Not that that's some great accomplishment.I can name several heavyweights who rate higher than ole 'padman' foreman.
rumble in the jungle will forever taint Foremans Legacy.
He is indeed underrated.
A loss to an All Time Great doesn't taint anybodies legacy.
What about Ali's wins over Liston, Patterson and Williams.
The Fact that Foreman Ko'd opponents that ALi didn;t doesn't come as a suprise since Foreman had better power.
Ali lost to Frazier and Norton (both styles made to beat him) whilst he was on the decline, he managed to beat them and beat Foreman.
Ali is not stupid, you think he would use the rope a dope on Foreman again if it wasn't working, he was an adaptive fighter.
Nowhere in my post did I even mention Ali.My post was in response to your glorification of George Foreman.
Foreman's record is padded full of unranked journeyman and the odd ranked fighter.
You're quite obviously a newb.And there really is nothing worse than a newb who thinks/pretends to know more than what he actually does.
Stick to the hip hop forums.
...elaborate and comnpare to Ali and Frazier's records with Foreman's. Don't just state an opinion and assume i'm going to take it as fact....state a case and back it up...!!!!!!
Nowhere in my post did I even mention Ali.My post was in response to your glorification of George Foreman.
Foreman's record is padded full of unranked journeyman and the odd ranked fighter.
You're quite obviously a newb.And there really is nothing worse than a newb who thinks/pretends to know more than what he actually does.
Stick to the hip hop forums.
:nonono::nonono:
Nowhere in my post did I even mention Ali.My post was in response to your glorification of George Foreman.
Foreman's record is padded full of unranked journeyman and the odd ranked fighter.
You're quite obviously a newb.And there really is nothing worse than a newb who thinks/pretends to know more than what he actually does.
Stick to the hip hop forums.
What do you think of Ali then??
That would make Ali a bum beater too............don't bother replying to anything i write unless you have something useful to offer. :sleeping:
Nowhere in my post did I even mention Ali.My post was in response to your glorification of George Foreman.
Foreman's record is padded full of unranked journeyman and the odd ranked fighter.
You're quite obviously a newb.And there really is nothing worse than a newb who thinks/pretends to know more than what he actually does.
Stick to the hip hop forums.
You're obviously not familiar with George Foreman's career.
If you had been,then you would have known that he has one of the most padded record's of fighter in the hall of fame.
Spent his entire career cherry picking opposition that he knew he'd have an easy time with in route to undeserved title shots.
He is,however,the greatest bum beater in heavyweight history.QUOTE]
That would make Ali a bum beater too............don't bother replying to anything i write unless you have something useful to offer. :sleeping:
Also let's factor in that Foreman returned at 45 years of age and beat a very good HW in Michael Moorer.
You're obviously not familiar with George Foreman's career.
If you had been,then you would have known that he has one of the most padded record's of fighter in the hall of fame.
Spent his entire career cherry picking opposition that he knew he'd have an easy time with in route to undeserved title shots.
He is,however,the greatest bum beater in heavyweight history.
Who here agrees that George Foreman could arguably be the greatest heavyweight of all time?
Let's look at the stats and compare some common opponents with Ali:
1. Foreman annihilated Chuvalo in 3 rounds. Ali UD'd him (Chuvalo was only stopped twice in his career, once by Foreman, once by Frazier)
2. Foreman annihilated Ali's arch nemesis Joe Frazier in 2 rounds. Joe Frazier beat Ali and had 2 other just about even wars with him.
3. Ken Norton beat Ali and then had another very close war rematch with him. George Foreman annihilated Ken Norton in 2 rounds.
4. Foreman KO'd Jimmy Ellis in 3, Ali took 12 rounds.
5. Ali KO'd Ron Lyle in 11, Foreman in 5
6. both Ali and Foreman only lost twice in their PRIME. Ali to Norton and Frazier and Foreman to Ali and Jimmy Young. Ali beat Jimmy Young and Foreman had a fight of the year with him and lost. However, Foreman annihilated both guys that Ali lost to, Frazier and Norton.
7. The biggest argument for Ali's greatness over Foreman is obviously that Ali beat Foreman. However obviously many things can be argued against this. For one, Foreman fought very poorly and was simply outsmarted by Ali, and not truly "beaten" or beaten up. In fact he had Ali scared laying on the ropes inventing the infamous rope a dope in this fight and basically tired himself out from winging brutal hail mary shots at an elusive Ali.
Obviously Foreman would learn and not fight this same way if they had a rematch and I truly believe that if they ever had a rematch Foreman would have annihilated Ali and would have went down in history as possibly the greatest heavyweight of all time but instead the loss affected him greatly and he lost all his self confidence and self esteem.
Secondly, the reason why that loss can't be figured too heavily is this example:
Ali lost to Frazier in their first fight too. What would have happened if they never rematched and had a trilogy? Likely Frazier would go down as the greatest ever but Ali had a chance to redeem himself. Foreman never got that chance. If he did, as I said many people believe that Foreman would have annihilated Ali as he now would have known about Ali's cheap exploit of the then loose ropes allowing him to sag far back into the ropes to do the rope a dope.
Foreman at that point already had an indomitable legacy arguably equal to that of Ali. But then he comes back and in his 40's wins the heavyweight championship again, this time securing his legacy and doing something nobody has ever done before including Ali.
In this comeback he destroys guys like Jerry Cooney, Jimmy Ellis, Bert Cooper, and Michael Moorer.
So with that said, it can be argued that achievement wise Foreman ranks above Ali since he beat most of all the same guys Ali beat and did it far more impressively AND recaptured the heavyweight title and beat some of the best of the next generation/era while Ali was already retired.
But even head to head wise, it can be argued that Foreman is greater even though prime for prime he lost once to Ali to an exploitive tactic. Like I said in a rematch I and many others believe Foreman could have annihilated Ali.
Does anyone agree with this or have a cogent argument for why Ali is in fact greater than Foreman or an argument for why Foreman does not deserve at LEAST the #2 spot of all time behind Ali if not the #1 spot itself?
I see your point, and you do have one. But their are a lot of IF'S in your post. The fact is if these IF'S were put into practice back in the day, then Foreman could quite probably be considered the greatest today instead of Ali!
But the fact stands that history panned out the way it did (Ali winning against Foreman and denying him the chance to make it 1 all) and thats the reason Ali is widely recognised as the greatest.
Your first 5 arguments are just saying that Foreman was a great power puncher rest was an interesting read, thanks.
What does Foreman have over Joe Louis and Jack Johnson though ?.
Don't want an argument just want your opinion.
He hit harder than both. Liston used to say George had one punch "kill power" instead of one punch KO power. Liston is Foreman's idol.....they used to spar when Foreman was young (19 years old). Foreman also said Liston is the one fighter he was never able to back up........skill wise......it's interesting......you'd have to say Louis was perhaps the more skilled out of the three.
Who here agrees that George Foreman could arguably be the greatest heavyweight of all time?
Let's look at the stats and compare some common opponents with Ali:
1. Foreman annihilated Chuvalo in 3 rounds. Ali UD'd him (Chuvalo was only stopped twice in his career, once by Foreman, once by Frazier)
2. Foreman annihilated Ali's arch nemesis Joe Frazier in 2 rounds. Joe Frazier beat Ali and had 2 other just about even wars with him.
3. Ken Norton beat Ali and then had another very close war rematch with him. George Foreman annihilated Ken Norton in 2 rounds.
4. Foreman KO'd Jimmy Ellis in 3, Ali took 12 rounds.
5. Ali KO'd Ron Lyle in 11, Foreman in 5
6. both Ali and Foreman only lost twice in their PRIME. Ali to Norton and Frazier and Foreman to Ali and Jimmy Young. Ali beat Jimmy Young and Foreman had a fight of the year with him and lost. However, Foreman annihilated both guys that Ali lost to, Frazier and Norton.
7. The biggest argument for Ali's greatness over Foreman is obviously that Ali beat Foreman. However obviously many things can be argued against this. For one, Foreman fought very poorly and was simply outsmarted by Ali, and not truly "beaten" or beaten up. In fact he had Ali scared laying on the ropes inventing the infamous rope a dope in this fight and basically tired himself out from winging brutal hail mary shots at an elusive Ali.
Obviously Foreman would learn and not fight this same way if they had a rematch and I truly believe that if they ever had a rematch Foreman would have annihilated Ali and would have went down in history as possibly the greatest heavyweight of all time but instead the loss affected him greatly and he lost all his self confidence and self esteem.
Secondly, the reason why that loss can't be figured too heavily is this example:
Ali lost to Frazier in their first fight too. What would have happened if they never rematched and had a trilogy? Likely Frazier would go down as the greatest ever but Ali had a chance to redeem himself. Foreman never got that chance. If he did, as I said many people believe that Foreman would have annihilated Ali as he now would have known about Ali's cheap exploit of the then loose ropes allowing him to sag far back into the ropes to do the rope a dope.
Foreman at that point already had an indomitable legacy arguably equal to that of Ali. But then he comes back and in his 40's wins the heavyweight championship again, this time securing his legacy and doing something nobody has ever done before including Ali.
In this comeback he destroys guys like Jerry Cooney, Jimmy Ellis, Bert Cooper, and Michael Moorer.
So with that said, it can be argued that achievement wise Foreman ranks above Ali since he beat most of all the same guys Ali beat and did it far more impressively AND recaptured the heavyweight title and beat some of the best of the next generation/era while Ali was already retired.
But even head to head wise, it can be argued that Foreman is greater even though prime for prime he lost once to Ali to an exploitive tactic. Like I said in a rematch I and many others believe Foreman could have annihilated Ali.
Does anyone agree with this or have a cogent argument for why Ali is in fact greater than Foreman or an argument for why Foreman does not deserve at LEAST the #2 spot of all time behind Ali if not the #1 spot itself?
i think Foreman is just as great as Ali...that's just my opinion. Tha part in bold.....many people who were at that fight and others have been adamant in their belief Young beat Ali. There is also a strong case for Norton having won all 3 fights and Ali getting decisions against others that maybe he shouldn't have. Also let's factor in that Foreman returned at 45 years of age and beat a very good HW in Michael Moorer.