Why is George Foreman rated so highly on a lot of peoples lists?

[Rusty Tromboni]

Frazier was skillful. Just the wrong style to walk into that kind of power and walk into that kind of power in a crouch. Foreman’s most destructive blows were his uppercuts.

Foreman’s speed was underrated. As Ali stated when asked did anything surprise him about Foreman...”He was fast!”

He was also old (I have no idea why he was even still fighting) and training with Eddie Futch.

I agree that he's always at a disadvantage against Foreman; but give Gil Clancy a prime Joe Frazier and enough time to work-out a strategy, and the odds become much narrower.

[HOUDINI563]

No. Frazier had two shots vs Foreman. He was brutally koed both times. As much as I admired Frazier he had no chance of beating a prime Foreman. Joe did not have the boxing skill to fight at distance effectively and with his normal style he would be walking into a meat grinder.

[The Old LefHook]

How they gonna beat George? Why, he had more muscle.

[Rusty Tromboni]

No. Frazier had two shots vs Foreman. He was brutally koed both times. As much as I admired Frazier he had no chance of beating a prime Foreman. Joe did not have the boxing skill to fight at distance effectively and with his normal style he would be walking into a meat grinder.

Yeah, reading's not your thing.

[them_apples]

Don't get me wrong, i think Foreman is a legend just like most people do, he was a murderous puncher, and destroyed most of the guys he faced. But lets face it, he was always one dimensional, and was beaten by the two good ''boxers'' he faced in his first career. Surely to be ranked as high as the top five you need to have versatility? Foreman was undoubtedly a beast of a man and physical specimen, and any guy who took the fight to him would most likely not survive just like Joe Frazier didn't, but does he really deserve to be ranked so high considering his limatations?

Because he didn't lose to the only 2 boxers he faced. He lost to Ali. And by the time young got to him he was all but finished his first career. Foreman basically came out hot, destroyed some world class competition, then Ali managed to break his will somehow and pull off the impossible. After that George was never the same, even when he came back he was this reserved crafty "take my time" type fighter.

What he did in the 90s was incredible. Taking 12 years off and coming back to win a title and fight some pretty tough competition and still be right there in the middle of it all. I wish he fought Bowe I think he would have beat Bowe.

[Rusty Tromboni]

Because he didn't lose to the only 2 boxers he faced. He lost to Ali. And by the time young got to him he was all but finished his first career. Foreman basically came out hot, destroyed some world class competition, then Ali managed to break his will somehow and pull off the impossible. After that George was never the same, even when he came back he was this reserved crafty "take my time" type fighter.

What he did in the 90s was incredible. Taking 12 years off and coming back to win a title and fight some pretty tough competition and still be right there in the middle of it all. I wish he fought Bowe I think he would have beat Bowe.

I think you should write his biography. If I talked like that, my skin would crawl. I mean chat in the kindest way possible. You and Queenie have changed my opinion of George for the better.

[them_apples]

Foreman would destroy every champion that came before him, probably to include 60's Ali.

But he really feasted on grossly completely overmatched opponents. And the loss to Ali was all that it took to break him. Obviously, he had the comeback which helped to restore his legacy. But his first career really wasn't that much better or different than Cooney's, whom people on the internet love to eviscerate.

If Foreman came of age today or during the Klitchkos' reign he'd be the Heavyweight Graziano: the dude that killed chumps, but got killed when he stepped up in competition. Dangerous, but nothing terribly difficult to figure out.

That Praying Mantis open guard is great for smaller guys, but anyone who can match his size and split his guard with a serviceable jab has him figured out.

"Praying mantis guard"....I wouldn't be so fast to make a blanket statement about Georges fighting style (there's a negative undertone I detect). It's the same style used by Sandy Saddler and involves manipulating the oponents body by nudging his shoulders and pushing him off balance at opportune times - before his opponent gets any shots off. Anything he failed to disrupt he would roll the shots. George barely got hit in his first career, before Ali turned him into a boxer

Even in Foreman's second career, he got hit a lot, but never knocked out, and that's because he still had an inkling of his old skills and ability to ride the punches. It think it was Holyfield who brought that up. To be good at that you have to be very calm / experienced.

In Foreman's first career most guys couldn't even get punches off, he was constantly manipulating their balance and hitting them with a jab. He just walked them down and they backed up, in fact Ali was forced to do the same thing as well, he couldn't stick and move. He ended up improvising and breaking his will. Ali literally let Foreman hit him, did his best to nullify the punches and talked in his ear the entire time.

Oddly enough the tallest guys Foreman fought were his easiest fights, those guys are usually easier to hit. I have no doubt in my mind Foreman would have bulldozed Klitschko easily.

[HOUDINI563]

Such misinformation.

Foreman’s jab in his prime was termed “the best jab since Joe Louis”.

Most all heavyweight champions feast upon lower level opponents coming up. It’s what they do once fighting the top notch opponents that determine legacy. Cooney failed completely at the top. Foreman destroyed Chuvalo, Frazier and Norton.

I have watched live and in person Frazier, Shavers, Ali, Lyle and Foreman train. Foreman was the only one that distinguished themselves in terms of punching power. Scary punches that could be heard all over the gym resounding off of what appeared to be a very heavy heavy bag. Never seen anything like it before or since.

[Rusty Tromboni]

"Praying mantis guard"....I wouldn't be so fast to make a blanket statement about Georges fighting style (there's a negative undertone I detect). It's the same style used by Sandy Saddler and involves manipulating the oponents body by nudging his shoulders and pushing him off balance at opportune times - before his opponent gets any shots off. Anything he failed to disrupt he would roll the shots. George barely got hit in his first career, before Ali turned him into a boxer

First off, nice post. I gree to a degree, but you know I like to be argumentative. Oviously I respect some posters, usually you are one. You and Queenie helped me to appreciate Foreman as I hadn't before.

Saddler, like Foreman, feasted on smaller fighters. Pep, at least, fought Angott, of all people. Why didn't Saddler ever attempt that? Because his style was built on bullying smaller fighters.

Foreman would look like your daughter does when she's dancing on your toes if he tried that shyte against modern Titans.

He DID get beat up center of the ring against the first guy his size with a pulse, who didn't fold under intimidation. Wlad, Wilder, Wallin - they all have longer, harder jabs than ALi. All have proven comfortable coming forward against a fighter who can hurt them.

Being the small man will ruin Foreman.

Even in Foreman's second career, he got hit a lot, but never knocked out, and that's because he still had an inkling of his old skills and ability to ride the punches. It think it was Holyfield who brought that up. To be good at that you have to be very calm / experienced.

Because his career was cherry picked. It's ****** to pretend otherwise.

He got rattled by a coke head, handle-a-day Cooney. He got out-boxed by Morrison, Holly, and Briggs. His Hail Mary against Moorer is celebrated, but it neglects the fact that Foreman was behind in a fight against a guy who was never very good to begin with.

Yes, he took his shots like a man, but he never fought anyone who could hit like Vitali, Wlad, Wilder, Fury, or take a punch like them.

Holyfield wasn't even a good puncher at 190. He was hopeless at Heavyweight.

In Foreman's first career most guys couldn't even get punches off, he was constantly manipulating their balance and hitting them with a jab. He just walked them down and they backed up, in fact Ali was forced to do the same thing as well, he couldn't stick and move. He ended up improvising and breaking his will. Ali literally let Foreman hit him, did his best to nullify the punches and talked in his ear the entire time.

In foreman's first career most guys weren't good enough to make in the amateurs today.

If they did go Pro, they'd be Cruiserweights - or cutting to Light Heavyweight.

Ali established himself well. His non-existent power was sufficient to beat up Foreman. Yes, he wound up on the rope because George is a force of nature, but there's also no point in getting into a pissing match with someone like that. Foreman was going to gas. That was always the point. Ali wasn't terribly hard to put on the ropes or corner, Foreman didn't achieve anything unique there. Again, Ali's defensive ability is often exaggerated. I don't really remember our modern titans getting cornered like he regularly did. But even then, George went ape-sh.it - he showed no composure or experience, and punched himself out. It was a million times worse than Witherspoon punching himself out against Holmes.

And Ali years past probably did have the legs to better evade Foreman. Not make him look like Williams or Terrell, but not resort to rope-a-dope so early.

"

Oddly enough the tallest guys Foreman fought were his easiest fights, those guys are usually easier to hit. I have no doubt in my mind Foreman would have bulldozed Klitschko easily.

Because they were only there because they were tall.

Breazeale lasted a round, Spilka was winning before getting KO'd in the mid-rounds. What consequence did any of that have when he met Fury?

Really, Foreman couldn't bulldoze Ali. And he wanted no part of Quarry. No way he bulldozes the Klitchkos. That's ****** to say.

I am sure there are people who said that Farzier would cut down Foreman based on his performance against Foster, too.

[Rusty Tromboni]

Such misinformation.

Foreman’s jab in his prime was termed “the best jab since Joe Louis”.

Spoken like a true casual.

There's a jab and then there's a jab... and then there's several other jabs besides that.

Foreman had a great jab. That doesn't mean he had the ideal jab for every job.

When did you ever see him win a battle of the jabs? He lost to Ali.

Remember how heralded Bowe's jab was? How'd that serve him against Golota? After getting out-jabbed he took a life-altering beating.

Using your jab on little and broken Joe Frazier is a lot different than attempting to use it on Wlad.

Wlad ****S Foreman... and the jab is the vaseline.

Most all heavyweight champions feast upon lower level opponents coming up. It’s what they do once fighting the top notch opponents that determine legacy. Cooney failed completely at the top. Foreman destroyed Chuvalo, Frazier and Norton.

Hahahahahaha!

Foreman turned down beau-coup bucks to fight overfed Light HEavyweight Jerry Quarry to go to JPN to fight Roman....

Bragging about beating guys like Norton, (that version of) Frazier and Chuvalo is actually worse than admitting you got KTFO by Ali and Young, or went life and death with Ron Lyle.

turns out Cooney didn't lose to Young. He put him away rather quickly. He also finished Lyle and Norton with even greater ease than Foreman did.

I admit, those guys weren't at their peak. But let's not pretend that made much of a difference, or they had fullout plummeted, like Quarry when he met Norton or Ali when he met Spinks.

I have watched live and in person Frazier, Shavers, Ali, Lyle and Foreman train. Foreman was the only one that distinguished themselves in terms of punching power. Scary punches that could be heard all over the gym resounding off of what appeared to be a very heavy heavy bag. Never seen anything like it before or since.

Sweet he hit harder than Ali and Young... how did that work out for him in the ring?

Edwin Valero hit hard. Julian Jackson hit hard. John Mugabi hit hard. Paddy DeMarco hit hard. Hatchett Sheppard hit hard. Artie Levine hit hard. Peter Kane hit hard. Jack Delaney hit hard. See where we're going with this?

Foreman was lucky in that he was a Heavyweight, and Frazier defeated Ali, but Ali hadn;t yet won back the title. Otherwise, he's never champion.