George Foreman becoming HW champion in the two greatest eras of HW boxing, 20 years apart was truly phenomenal & unlikely ever to be matched.
In the 70s he was relentlessly destructive but fought with little or no intelligence; in the 90s, he fought with great intelligence but was so slow that you could see his punches coming from 2 decades earlier!
I've always said that if you could marry Foreman's 70s incarnation with his 90s incarnation, he'd be largely unbeatable.
The legend of Drederick Tatum!Hidden Content
Big George was lucky to win the title and carefully handpicked his fighters he fought. Sure he won the title but it was against the glass jaw Michael Moorer.
Do not let success go to your head and do not let failure get to your heart.
Top 10 all time is probably
1. Floyd mayweather
2. Marvin hagler
3. Joe Louis
4. Ray Robinson
5. Rocky Marciano
6. Larry Holmes
7. George Forman
8. Joe calzaghe
9. Lenox Lewis
10. Bernard Hopkins
I know my top list is probably different to a lot but I'm pretty harsh on fighters. I would love to add Roy Jones, Tyson etc but if fighters chose to fight past there prime they need to take the good with the bad.
Joe Louis got smashed by Rocky. Foreman lost to Morrison, Briggs and Holyfield so these 2 top fighters fought on past their best. Not even mention Robinson fighting way past his prime.
You are also giving too much respect for undefeated record and surprised you did not have Sven Ottke on your list.
Do not let success go to your head and do not let failure get to your heart.
Yes they did fight past there prime but they were not constantly getting beat up by shit opposition like Jones Jr. Tyson etc so that's why I've included them and a top 10 list is very subjective everyone likes different things in fighters. I honestly don't know how people can have Duran in any list after that no mas but that's just my opinion not that it matters much.
Spot on here Master. You can't leave people out for fighting on past their primes and ultimately being beaten by people who they would have schooled in their primes and then still have Robinson up there.
IMO Robinson is the greatest ever so for me when we talk about atg's, yes there has to be longevity but if they do fight on too long we have to consider their primes when compiling these lists and not the shadow of their former selves they go on to become.
As for the achievements of Foreman? Absolutely phenomenal!! And to me he is the second greatest HW of all time to Ali. I read earlier someone saying if they fought 10 times..... Ali was a master of game plans and was also amazing at adjusting to styles but he actually told us what he'd do to Foreman before the fight and then carried it out pretty much to the word and Foreman couldn't change his gameplan despite being warned about what Ali would do.
Anyway I don't want to sound like I am taking anything away from George, he is a true legend and to hold the greatest title in the greatest division in what was probably the 2 greatest eras of that division is one of the greatest achievements in the history of the sport.
So you punish fighters when they are past their prime...
Mayweather arguably 'peaked' a decade ago; and fought this year.
Hagler may of peaked in the late 70s, and no matter what was never quite so Marvelous post Sibson, yet fought on until 1987.
Louis peaked in the late 30s and fought on into the 50s.
Robinson peaked in the 40s and fought on onto the 60s.
Holmes possibly peaked in the Norton fight, certainly was not the same post Cooney and yet in 82 he was only a third of the way through his career (in time).
Foreman peaked in 73 yet was still fighting nearly 25 years later!
Hopkins peaked in the later part of the 20th century and certainly was never quite the same post Trinidad, yet he is still active a decade and a half later...
Last edited by Britkid; 12-28-2015 at 06:27 PM.
"Boxing is like jazz. The better it is, the less people appreciate it."
George Foreman
Do not let success go to your head and do not let failure get to your heart.
No what I mean is let's use Roy Jones as the perfect example, I don't rate fighters when they fight way past there prime and continue to lose to very poor opposition. If Roy had retired after say the glen Johnson fight I would probably of had him top 5 but he continued to fight and get beat by lesser fighters and I don't give fighters a pass just because there out of there prime. If they chose to fight past there prime they must take everything that comes with it good or bad.
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