At the age of 51 was George Foreman a top ten heavyweight?

[MisterHardtop]

2000 and 2001 were pretty good years for Tyson. He was at least as good as he had been since incarceration. I wouldn't have said 'shot' at all......

At the time he looked less than a top heavyweight but not shot, in retrospect, he was most definitely shot. Completely handled by Lewis, and knocking out barely fringe contenders doesn't cut it for me. He was far better in the mid 90s than his run 2000-02.

[Derranged]

he was 48 when he should of beat briggs. he was 47 when he beat lou savarese. both were up & comers that could punch. he was so disgusted with the briggs verdict that he retired. he figured they wanted him out of the sport. he carefully selected his opponents but he was still doing well considering his age. he won the schulz fight in my opinion.

Briggs-Foreman was one of the worst decisions I've ever seen. However during the post-fight interview, George was pretty humble about it.

[klompton]

Foreman Schulz (who wasnt even rated until Bob Arum paid a small fortune to get him rated) was one of the worst decisions Id ever seen. Then Foreman refused a rematch. Top ten, years after that embarrassment? Ha!

[Sugar Adam Ali]

That is interesting actually, first time in a long way I've seen the rankings from that era. Is this official?

Who out of the top 10 could Foreman possibly beat? Rahman maybe? Tua? Could he beat Grant? Does he have the power to stop Byrd....or a shot Tyson?

Very interesting that a man in his 50s can even be considered in such discussions. I think Foreman was badly faded by the late 90s but he still had that incredible power which allowed him to level the playing field. Lewis v Foreman in '99, now that would have been some contest.

Not official rankings, just 20 guys at the time were probably the best 20.. Foreman could maybe pull out a win, but if he fought ten of these guys he would go 3-7 or something along those lines.. I just don't see a 51 year old being able to win consistently over top guys....

[beez721]

he was 48 when he should of beat briggs. he was 47 when he beat lou savarese. both were up & comers that could punch. he was so disgusted with the briggs verdict that he retired. he figured they wanted him out of the sport. he carefully selected his opponents but he was still doing well considering his age. he won the schulz fight in my opinion.

as much as I love and admire foreman he did get a fair amount of gift decisions at the end of his career. I thought shulz,,savareese and alex stewart all edged him but its still amazing he was competive and then some with the top 10 and 20 at such an advanced age. his physical strength and durablity were just amazing