Geoge Foreman VS Larry Holmes

[boxing boy]

True, Foreman was good at cutting off the ring. But Holmes's chin was pretty good and he fought well off the ropes.

Putting it another way, I actually thought the 1977 Foreman looked pretty good against Jimmy Young. He wasn't rusty like he was against Lyle and was coming off an excellent Frazier victory. But Foreman still lost a close decision to a decent boxer with distance stamina and a good chin. I'd say that Holmes beats Jimmy Young in every department.........thats another reason why I pick him.

After the Ali fight they had George fighting different.They were teaching him how to box.So he could box better.I would have sent George out against Young the same way he fought Frazier,Norton,and Ali.Seek and destroy.Forget about teaching him to box better.He would have forced Young to move faster than he wanted to.And go to the body with vicious body shots early in the fight,instead of teaching him to box better.

The Foreman who fought Frazier,Norton,and Ali would have taken Young out early.I agree with you that Larry is better than Young in every department.That is why i say George would have KO'd Young early,and Holmes-Foreman is a toss up fight.

[Sugarj]

Fair points Boxingboy, you've got to admit Foreman did whack the granny out of Young in round seven though......and Young remained intact.

But never mind, both Foreman and Holmes are my idols and clearly make my heavyweight top five, neither would have any shame in losing to another...but Holmes stays favorite in my mind.

[boxing boy]

Fair points Boxingboy, you've got to admit Foreman did whack the granny out of Young in round seven though......and Young remained intact.

But never mind, both Foreman and Holmes are my idols and clearly make my heavyweight top five, neither would have any shame in losing to another...but Holmes stays favorite in my mind.

I like both also,and rank both in my top 5 Heavyweights.

Yes,Young did surprise me surviving when he was hurt pretty bad a couple of times.After the fight Young said:Boy can George Hit!

[Sugarj]

Ha Ha, and 21 years!!!!!!! later Shannon Briggs, after winning a very debatable decision over Foreman said that he felt that he saw the 'almighty' after being hit by George.

No doubt, one of the best punchers of all time.

[Rickety Cricket]

What if George Foreman and Larry Holmes fought each other during their primes,who do you think would have won?



As for me,if Foreman doesn't knockout Holmes in the first 3 to 5 rounds,I'd give it to Holmes by UD or TKO in the late rounds.

I agree. Holmes did have a tendency to get rocked by some good right hands like in the shavers fights. Next to shavers foreman is the hardest puncher ever probably.

[JAB5239]

Ron Lyle punched alot harder than Larry Holmes.

Furthermore,this was Forman's first fight since his KO loss to Muhammad Ali in Zaire.Forman was chubby and rusty against Lyle as well.He was not conditioned for the fight and was still not mentally right.

I agree. George had fought in over a year and came in at a career high in weight at the time. Had this been the Foreman wrecking machine of the January 1973 Frazier fight I think this fight would have been over for Lyle very early.

[geribeetus]

imo holmes makes it look easier than ali did

[sonnyboyx2]

I disagree with most of the post on this topic. FOREMAN is the strongest heavyweight in HISTORY! I think that's a fact. Nobody else in history carried CATTLE on their backs and pulled semi-trucks to train for a fight. With that said, LARRY was a great boxer with the best heavy JAB I ever seen but he would not have been able to RUN from FOREMAN who wasn't the SLOWEST of hand and foot. LARRY got hit to much in my opinion to be a threat to FOREMAN. yOU GUYS ACT LIKE HE WAS THE 2ND COMING OF ALI OR SOMETHING!! He wasn't!!! He tried to be, but he wasn't. Go back and watch some more PRIME FOREMAN! LARRY was champiion for 8 years in an era where it wasn't a lot of WORLD CLASS HEAVYWEIGHTS to fight. He wouldn't have WON a decision because he would have gotten knocked out in the same fashion that TYSON knocked him out!! FOREMAN BY BRUTAL K.O.!

Excellent post... Too many like you say think of Larry Holmes as the 2nd coming of Muhammad Ali yet the truth is that Holmes when fighting on his toes was a very poor imitation of Muhammad Ali, Holmes always came unstuck when on his toes and was a far better boxer when fighting flat-footed which would have ment Foreman getting to him

[elfag]

ok here is my take.... actual prime vs prime young versions - foreman


actual fight in the late 70s early 80s - holmes


fight in the 90s - hard to say... i want to say foreman because i believe he was a better fighter at that time but if foreman doesnt stop him he looses a decision

[elfag]

I disagree with most of the post on this topic. FOREMAN is the strongest heavyweight in HISTORY! I think that's a fact. Nobody else in history carried CATTLE on their backs and pulled semi-trucks to train for a fight. With that said, LARRY was a great boxer with the best heavy JAB I ever seen but he would not have been able to RUN from FOREMAN who wasn't the SLOWEST of hand and foot. LARRY got hit to much in my opinion to be a threat to FOREMAN. yOU GUYS ACT LIKE HE WAS THE 2ND COMING OF ALI OR SOMETHING!! He wasn't!!! He tried to be, but he wasn't. Go back and watch some more PRIME FOREMAN! LARRY was champiion for 8 years in an era where it wasn't a lot of WORLD CLASS HEAVYWEIGHTS to fight. He wouldn't have WON a decision because he would have gotten knocked out in the same fashion that TYSON knocked him out!! FOREMAN BY BRUTAL K.O.!

Yeah thats the one thing i see a lot about foreman that i disagree on, his speed. Yeah he actually was terribly slow in the 90s which he made up for with timing and patience but in the 70s he wasnt nearly as slow as people made him out to be. Not fast but probably average speed. If he was as slow as some people try to pretend he wouldnt have had those KOs because he wouldnt of been landing. He stopped a lot of good fighters in the pros and stopped a soviet in the Olympics to win a gold medal, he wasnt that slow. He did look "sloppy" at times because he would be off balance when he missed but his style was highly effective at cutting off the ring and getting to them and landing flush