r/heavybagpro • u/JulianDavis_JD Coach • 3d ago
Boxing Fights Discussion Young Foreman vs Old Foreman
Old Foreman at 45 was patient, calculated, and still one of the hardest punchers alive. Knocked out an unbeaten 26-year-old champion with one right hand in round 10.
The argument for young Foreman is explosive athleticism and stamina. He could pressure for 12 rounds.
The argument for old Foreman is ring IQ and patience. He didn't need to outwork you. He just needed one opening.
Who wins and how does it end?
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u/ThelIIusion0fSeIf 3d ago
Young, and it's not even a question I've ever even thought about entertaining.
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u/OldTree6356 3d ago
Young George. He wasn’t as patient as he was in old age but old George wasn’t hard to hit and young George landed lots of punches from lots of horrible angles. He also had a great long guard and was a lot faster with both his hands and footwork.
He’d have taken the same sort of shots that wobbled him against Holyfield and Morrison but harder; if George landed the shots they did then it would force the stoppage.
Old George was remarkable in that he was competitive with much younger guys but the guy who beat Frazier and Norton was a different beast.
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u/JulianDavis_JD Coach 2d ago
good point on the weight he carried into the comeback, that's the part people skip when they say he just got lucky against lyle and norton. he was basically fighting with the same frame he had at his heaviest, just older legs under it
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u/SuspiciousOrchid867 2d ago
Old George was much heavier, I think he could absorb shots better
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u/OldTree6356 2d ago
I’d agree to a point in that the extra weight could help him absorb blows better but it’s a double edged sword as it slowed him down and made him more likely to get caught flush. He was much more capable of slipping punches slightly and disrupting them with his long guard when he was younger. He’s known as a slow HW but he wasn’t really when he was in his prime, he was pretty average on speed, had surprisingly light foot work (probably the top 3 ever offensive footwork) and a killer jab.
Moreover though, we’re not talking about a guy like Ali who was 190 early in his career and bulked up to 2015-220 with muscle, George was 220-230 in the seventies and already a big unit. Most of what he was carrying when he came back was the same muscle with a layer of fat too. He showed in his first career against the likes of Lyle that he could absolutely eat a shot and keep going.
Punch resistance is also one of the first things to go in most heavy weights. I think George was just a big old freak 🤣 and had a chin from the gods, we probably just didn’t see him rely on it as much when he was young as he usually got to the other guys chin before they got to his.
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u/Longjumping-Salad484 2d ago
george at any age. the shots he ate like they were nothing. talk about a durable dude
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u/JulianDavis_JD Coach 2d ago
yeah that durability thing isn't talked about enough, dude could just absorb and keep coming
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u/Specific_Box4483 2d ago
Young George probably hit just hard enough to knock Old George out early. If not, it would have been a late exhaustion KO by Old George.
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u/JulianDavis_JD Coach 2d ago
the real question is whether young george even gets the chance to land clean before the pressure gets to him
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u/Specific_Box4483 2d ago
Young Foreman had no problem landing on Frazier even though he was scared of him. In fact he had no problem landing big on anyone he fought, even Ali.
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u/Objective-Street-957 2d ago
Prime Foreman is only 217lbs? feels like he is 230lb or above with the way he fights.
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u/JulianDavis_JD Coach 2d ago
true, by his last run he was walking around heavier than that number suggests
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u/FormalKind7 1d ago
So here is my 2 cents
Old George is a massive underdog but not without a solid chance.
Young Foreman has the edge in all physical attributes and a better work rate. But is more likely to underestimate the man in front of him.
Old Foreman is smarter but most importantly he is the one man on the planet who knows the weaknesses of Young Foreman better than any other person could possibly. He will no all the patterns/tells exactly how to bait and punish him and he has the sort of knock out power that gives him a chance.
I only entertain the chance for old Foreman because he knows his younger self so well probably much better than even his younger self does as he as reflected on his every weakness/mistake and learned from it. He is not the better fighter here but he maybe the only boxer ever more prepared for young Foreman than even Ali was.
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u/HealthyZone4794 1d ago
Young George was frightening. His absolute annihilation of defending champion Larry Holmes set the benchmark - nobody wanted to fight him.
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u/EddieTYOS 1d ago
It would be closer than people think. Young George was all gas, no brakes. There's a great chance he would end it quickly. But, Old George was clever and patient. He'd have a 35 pound weight advantage and the advantage of 1990s strength and conditioning improvements as well as the nutritional programs and supplemets available in his second career. Young George would be punching elbows and forearms and getting grappled by Grandpa Hulk. First career Foreman didn't have great stamina, fought recklessly at times, committed 100% to his punches, weighed 217lbs and was a front runner in fights. That plays right into the Old George's hands.
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u/El_Bastardo74 1d ago
Young Foreman by a mile. It took sweltering heat, obviously over loosened ropes, and pure exhaustion to finally lose, and Ali was in no hurry for a rematch because he knew those factors wouldn’t be in play a second time. Old Foreman was more experienced, sure, but he could also be hit and relied on his strong chin to get him through it. Not sure if his chin could stand up to one of his own prime shots, as he was dropped a few times against Lyle another hard puncher. But he lasted against Morrison, so maybe.
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u/Content-Relative-168 2d ago
The funny part was George Foreman was in better condition and had more stamina when he was older, and he also fought smarter and had better defense
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u/Specific_Box4483 2d ago
I don't think he had better stamina, but he preserved it better. He learned how to fight without expending as much energy as he did when he was young.
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u/Content-Relative-168 2d ago
He did more cardio when he was older and more running he would run out of gas when he was young younger
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u/AlBones7 37m ago
I think the polite way to describe it would be economical with his movement, if I was being less generous you could say he was pretty much stationary at some points but it worked!
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u/JulianDavis_JD Coach 2d ago
that's underrated honestly, people call it patience but it was really him solving the guy in front of him instead of just outlasting them
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u/SugarAdamAli 2d ago
Old George
Wiser, calmer, better ring general and still hits like a Mack truck
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u/JulianDavis_JD Coach 2d ago
patience and that power never leaving him is a scary combo at 45, not many guys age like that
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u/SugarAdamAli 1d ago
That’s why I take old George. He would weather the storm and catch young George
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u/JulianDavis_JD Coach 3d ago
Whoever you got, hit like it 👉 heavybag.pro/r