Prime Larry Holmes vs Prime George Foreman

Ezzard · Post by **Ezzard** » 22 Mar 2006, 11:16

The guy from this era who gives Holmes trouble would be Frazier. Holmes would not like being crowded out by a non-stop punching machine. I consider Larry the greater of the 2 but think Joe could win a close UD over 15.

generic screen name · Post by **generic screen name** » 22 Mar 2006, 23:47

silkov wrote:Holmes by late stoppage... he had all the tools to beat Foreman in his prime...

Without question, Ali's jabs were giving George trouble and Holmes had a better jab.

walshb · Post by **walshb** » 23 Mar 2006, 07:11

Well Foreman too had a terrific jab, he boxes clever, he has a great chance to last the pace and beat Larry by KO....Holmes will not take his shots and Foreman will land....

surf-bat · Post by **surf-bat** » 23 Mar 2006, 13:32

walshb wrote:Well Foreman too had a terrific jab, he boxes clever, he has a great chance to last the pace and beat Larry by KO....Holmes will not take his shots and Foreman will land....

Boxes clever? What fight did you ever see him box cleverly in?

A great chance to last the pace? Well, history does not agree with this assessment at all. Foreman's lack of stamina was proven by both Ali and Jimmy Young. Holmes would be whacking him with much harder punches than those two. And his thumping jab would never allow George to get set with his big bombs.

Larry could see George's punches coming from a mile away and easily evade them. Every miss that Foreman threw Holmes would make him pay dearly for.

theone · Post by **theone** » 23 Mar 2006, 20:32

Without question, Ali's jabs were giving George trouble and Holmes had a better jab.

It wasnt Ali's jab that beat Foreman; Foreman was able to walk through it repeatidly. It wasnt Ali's boxing skill that beat Foreman; the rope-a-dope was improvised not stratigized. Ali fought that way because Foreman kept driving him into the ropes.
Ali's chin, tougness, especially to the body, and his intelligence beat Foreman. Attributes Holmes falls short in comparison.
The combination of heat and Foremans relenting pressure and power stops Holmes in the middle rounds.

evndrbsn · Post by **evndrbsn** » 23 Mar 2006, 21:42

theone wrote:
Without question, Ali's jabs were giving George trouble and Holmes had a better jab.
It wasnt Ali's jab that beat Foreman; Foreman was able to walk through it repeatidly. It wasnt Ali's boxing skill that beat Foreman; the rope-a-dope was improvised not stratigized. Ali fought that way because Foreman kept driving him into the ropes.
Ali's chin, tougness, especially to the body, and his intelligence beat Foreman. Attributes Holmes falls short in comparison.
The combination of heat and Foremans relenting pressure and power stops Holmes in the middle rounds.

I think Ali was doing the rope-a-dope a lot in sparring before the Foreman bout.

theone · Post by **theone** » 23 Mar 2006, 21:59

I think Ali was doing the rope-a-dope a lot in sparring before the Foreman bout.

Ali layed against the ropes and allowed his sparring partners to bang away at him at some point during nearly every sparring session, before and after Foreman. It was part of his training to get himself accostumed to punishment.
Angelo Dundee has always said he was emploring Ali to try and stay off the ropes in that fight. If it was part of a pre determined stratigy he would have known about it.

walshb · Post by **walshb** » 24 Mar 2006, 07:07

I agree Theone, it was Ali's mental toughness, chin, stamina and reflexes that beat George, and to be honest just about beat George. Ali said himself that he was on the verge of being KO'd, he too was damn well exhausted. They fought under very hot conditions and George threw a serious amount of power shots throughout, so his stamina was not that bad. If he meets Holmes in the right conditions and relaxes, he lasts longer and he connects more. Holmes had not got the tools to take as much as Ali and I see Foreman landing cleaner. The Foreman that beat Frazier and Norton beats Larry and I know they're different fighters to Holmes, but he still does the job