While I do agree that Foreman had murderous force behind his punches, similar in that respect to Max Baer, he was not the knockout puncher he is remembered as.
All of his big wins and stoppages show him him battering half dazed opponents to the canvas over and over again. He was good at cutting off the ring, and once he got you against the ropes he turned you into a human heavybag, but when did he ever knock a man unconscious with a single punch, or even a two or three punch combination, in the center of the ring like Louis, Dempsey, Lewis, and even Marciano managed to do in their careers? He didn't because he lacked the ability to do so. He either didn't have the timing, or perhaps it was that his punches were a fraction of a second too slow to pull off one of the most coveted tricks in boxing history: the one punch finish.
Foreman was a powerhouse for certain, but he was more of a clubber than a puncher. Ali was absolutely correct when he said the same thing about Foreman in the mid 70's. Foreman bludgeoned and smashed, and deadened the senses of his opponents, but he did not have the ability to win a fight against world class opposition with a single blow.
All of his big wins and stoppages show him him battering half dazed opponents to the canvas over and over again. He was good at cutting off the ring, and once he got you against the ropes he turned you into a human heavybag, but when did he ever knock a man unconscious with a single punch, or even a two or three punch combination, in the center of the ring like Louis, Dempsey, Lewis, and even Marciano managed to do in their careers? He didn't because he lacked the ability to do so. He either didn't have the timing, or perhaps it was that his punches were a fraction of a second too slow to pull off one of the most coveted tricks in boxing history: the one punch finish.
Foreman was a powerhouse for certain, but he was more of a clubber than a puncher. Ali was absolutely correct when he said the same thing about Foreman in the mid 70's. Foreman bludgeoned and smashed, and deadened the senses of his opponents, but he did not have the ability to win a fight against world class opposition with a single blow.
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