How big of a chance would you give Marciano against Foreman?

[CarlosG815]

Foreman's only advantage is punching power? Some fifteen inches in reach, five or six inches in height, & a weight-pull of about 35lbs. aren't advantages?

Not sure I would give Marciano a speed edge, either. Certainly, the actua; speed of their assault from the opening bell strongly favours Foreman, at the very least.

Rocky was a hard target to hit, George was not.

I do agree that George is bigger, weighs more, stronger, but are they really advantages? That is kind of subjective and IMO having a 6" height advantage and a 40 pound weight advantage is actually a disadvantage in fighting a guy like Rocky Marciano... I think that how well Rocky was able to make himself such a difficult target to hit on the chin and staying low and getting inside and his ability to keep constant pressure, are all advantages when fighting a bigger man.

He would need to be kept away and fought from the outside for George to win and I just think Rocky would eventually get inside.

[Steak]

Rocky couldnt stay inside. Foreman was strong enough to simply push Marciano off and then bat him off with his heavy jab. He flat out pushed Boone Kirkman to the mat, and Kirkman weighed about as much as Marciano.

now, its possible that Marciano would outlast Foreman in the stamina department. but his face would not hold up to that point, and Foreman was no weak body puncher himself, and would often hook to the body with the right hand if his opponent was offering too much ducking head movement.(which Foreman would likely use a lot due to his inability to land his right against Rocky since Marciano usually ducked to the right.)

[Great John L]

I'm probably in the minority, and some may not like me for it, but I will pick Marciano to win in a very grueling fight.

I think George gets too much credit for what he did to Frazier. Foreman even said himself on the Facing Ali special that Frazier wasn't the same fighter, and if he ahd fought Joe only 2 years earlier, the outcome would be very different. Joe hardly trained at all, had no fire for fighting anymore, or should I say training, and had fought only two no name fighters for defenses.

George Foreman said he was so tired from pounding on George Chuvalo he was glad the ref called it early. He hardly hit Chuvalo a solid shot in the third round so called KO and was visibly tired and out of gas.

George had terrible punching technique. Rocky, though looking so crude, had better punching technique than George. He threw shorter punches and had so much leverage from his tree trunk legs he had one punch KO power. George didn't have that amazing leverage or short punching and wouldn't have as big a target as Rocky would have.

Even sharp, pinpoint accurate hitters like Walcott and Ezzard Charles had a very difficult time hitting Rocky because of his crouched stance. Foreman didn't have near their power or speed, so he won't be hitting the Rock Rocky on nthe other hand would have a load of areas to attack and rock George. George was a straight up fighter, he didn't have a crouch or a dancing style to avoid Rocky's punches, and unlike Frazier, Rocky will be moving, and will not be an easy target.

As for stamina it's no contest. Rocky had the legs and wind to fight for hours. George on the other hand would get tired after a few rounds of wild, mostly missed, swings. As I mentioend ebfore, George was dead tired after wailing ineffective punches on Chuvalo, who could still go on fighting. Foreman acknowledges this.

I see Rocky irritating George with his awkward style, and George winging and missing his best shots. George will eventually begin to tire under Rocky's constant power punching and relentless pace that George's less than stellar stamina will prevent him from matching all night long.

I see Rocky possibly getting knocked down a few time, but I eventually see him pulling off an 8th round knockout.

[Holtol]

I am not going to predict the fight because in reality I just don't know the outcome. But I see a lot of people that think that Forman hit harder then Marciano, and that may be true. But Marciano broke Lastarza's forearms which shows very hard punching. Do you know of any other boxer who broke his opponents arms?

[CarlosG815]

I'm probably in the minority, and some may not like me for it, but I will pick Marciano to win in a very grueling fight.

I think George gets too much credit for what he did to Frazier. Foreman even said himself on the Facing Ali special that Frazier wasn't the same fighter, and if he ahd fought Joe only 2 years earlier, the outcome would be very different. Joe hardly trained at all, had no fire for fighting anymore, or should I say training, and had fought only two no name fighters for defenses.

George Foreman said he was so tired from pounding on George Chuvalo he was glad the ref called it early. He hardly hit Chuvalo a solid shot in the third round so called KO and was visibly tired and out of gas.

George had terrible punching technique. Rocky, though looking so crude, had better punching technique than George. He threw shorter punches and had so much leverage from his tree trunk legs he had one punch KO power. George didn't have that amazing leverage or short punching and wouldn't have as big a target as Rocky would have.

Even sharp, pinpoint accurate hitters like Walcott and Ezzard Charles had a very difficult time hitting Rocky because of his crouched stance. Foreman didn't have near their power or speed, so he won't be hitting the Rock Rocky on nthe other hand would have a load of areas to attack and rock George. George was a straight up fighter, he didn't have a crouch or a dancing style to avoid Rocky's punches, and unlike Frazier, Rocky will be moving, and will not be an easy target.

As for stamina it's no contest. Rocky had the legs and wind to fight for hours. George on the other hand would get tired after a few rounds of wild, mostly missed, swings. As I mentioend ebfore, George was dead tired after wailing ineffective punches on Chuvalo, who could still go on fighting. Foreman acknowledges this.

I see Rocky irritating George with his awkward style, and George winging and missing his best shots. George will eventually begin to tire under Rocky's constant power punching and relentless pace that George's less than stellar stamina will prevent him from matching all night long.

I see Rocky possibly getting knocked down a few time, but I eventually see him pulling off an 8th round knockout.

I see it playing out the same way.

George Foreman gets really over rated and it seems like anytime he's brought into a matchup with a smaller guy, he gets the nod based on his fight with a has been in Joe Frazier...

[Kid McCoy]

So Joe Frazier, the undefeated undisputed heavyweight champion and 3-1 favourite was a "has been" going into the Foreman bout? Right.

George Foreman said he was so tired from pounding on George Chuvalo he was glad the ref called it early. He hardly hit Chuvalo a solid shot in the third round so called KO and was visibly tired and out of gas.

As I mentioend ebfore, George was dead tired after wailing ineffective punches on Chuvalo, who could still go on fighting. Foreman acknowledges this.

It's hard to make a case for Foreman losing to Marciano based on a fight he won in brutal fashion within three rounds...

[Steak]

not to mention that Foreman stopped someone with arguably the best chin of all time.

also, I wouldnt always take what Foreman says seriously. apart from a few oddball things hes said(boxing wise) in commentary, he also said that his old man version would have KOed the young version.

I guess you could believe that if you wanted, but I dont believe that whatsoever.

and its not just the Frazier fight that points to Foreman win. Ken Norton also had one of those strange styles where he ducked to his right. granted Norton didnt get as low as Marciano, but he also had a longer reach than did Marciano. Foreman was still able to tag Norton with his jab despite his style, and because of the reach differential Marciano would have less likely a chance to hit Foreman.

[CarlosG815]

So Joe Frazier, the undefeated undisputed heavyweight champion and 3-1 favourite was a "has been" going into the Foreman bout? Right.





It's hard to make a case for Foreman losing to Marciano based on a fight he won in brutal fashion within three rounds...

So in your opinion Frazier was at the top of his game at the time he lost to Foreman?

[Great John L]

So Joe Frazier, the undefeated undisputed heavyweight champion and 3-1 favourite was a "has been" going into the Foreman bout? Right.





It's hard to make a case for Foreman losing to Marciano based on a fight he won in brutal fashion within three rounds...

Not a has been, but not sharp. Not at his best. He didn't train and didn't want to train. The Frazier fight was not the case I made for Marciano winning. It was a fight I mentioned because George gets way too much credit. Rocky was a better puncher with more stamina. Rocky would be hunched over and moving, making George miss, not just stand straight up and throw one left hook at a time in Frazier style. Frazier had peaked before George, he had gone soft, and you could plainly see in the films of his previous two fights that he wasn't sharp or aggressive like he had been with Ali and his previous opponents. After the Ali fight, Joe went down hill and didn't look anywhere near as good as he had in 1968-1972. So Joe wasn't a bum, but he was pretty much finished as a top champion.


As for Chuvalo, that wasn't a win in brutal fashion like you make it out to be. Watch the fight. George whips random punches when he has Chuvalo on the ropes in the 3rd round, most of which didn't even land and those that did were harmless and didn't do the damage the stoppage suggested. Foreman admitted to Chuvalo he was tired and wery whipping punches Chuvalo just took and Chuvalo could keep going. Foreman was losing stamina at a rapid rate.

Foreman could wail on Marciano, a much stronger and more durable fighter than Chuvalo for a few rounds, he would miss, he'd get tired. George gets undeserved credit for Norton as well, a glass chinned fighter vulnerable to any big puncher, even Cooney. And as is plain to see, Frazier was well past it.

[CarlosG815]

Not a has been, but not sharp. Not at his best. He didn't train and didn't want to train. The Frazier fight was not the case I made for Marciano winning. It was a fight I mentioned because George gets way too much credit. Rocky was a better puncher with more stamina. Rocky would be hunched over and moving, making George miss, not just stand straight up and throw one left hook at a time in Frazier style. Frazier had peaked before George, he had gone soft, and you could plainly see in the films of his previous two fights that he wasn't sharp or aggressive like he had been with Ali and his previous opponents. After the Ali fight, Joe went down hill and didn't look anywhere near as good as he had in 1968-1972. So Joe wasn't a bum, but he was pretty much finished as a top champion.

Yes, just look at the fight with Ron Stander, Joe looked terribly out of shape.