BoxRec

A prime Joe Louis against a prime George Foreman.



What advantages (if any) would Joe have over George?



What advantages (if any) would George have over Joe?



What do you see happening in this fight?



Who would win?



Why?

As with most of these mythical match ups you can make a case for both depending on who you are a fan of. foreman clearly has all the physical advantages with that great jab, and he has the power to end a fight at any time.

Louis also has that great jab and left hook. Personally I would go for Louis as I am a fan, but really out of 10 fights they might win 5 each.

Joe was the superior boxer, superior fighter, etc.

But... I don't believe he could have beaten Foreman...

Joe had a notoriously soft chin for a heavyweight, and Foreman had an all-time great chin...

I don't believe Joe Louis completely had a soft chin. Yes, his two of his three loses were by knockouts one from the first Max Schmeling fight and his last was from Rocky Marciano when Louis was past his prime. Louis had a B+chin. He was knocked down by Braddock, Galento, Buddy Baer and Jersey Joe Walcott (both fights), but Louis survived and won those fights by knockouts including one questionable decision win over Walcott in their first fight.

Anyways, Louis would use his jabs and to out-box prime George Foreman through the early rounds until Foreman punch himself out in the later rounds before Louis either put him away or win a decision after trying to knock him out. Size don't matter to Louis and yes, Foreman was better than the ones I mentioned whom Louis fought. However, Foreman size and power would not be enough to beat a prime Joe Louis.

Foreman climbs off the canvas twice in round 2 and wins by brutal 4th round tko in a classic war.

HomicideHenry wrote:Joe had a notoriously soft chin for a heavyweight, and Foreman had an all-time great chin...

Well, that's just not true.

While George is swinging the club Joe's text book technique means his punches land first and in quick succession.

Joe would be in full concentration mode and I don't think he'd allow George any openings.

Louis within 5 rounds. His much more compact, quicker shorter punches would do serious damage once Foreman began trading with him.

Ezzard wrote:While George is swinging the club Joe's text book technique means his punches land first and in quick succession. Joe would be in full concentration mode and I don't think he'd allow George any openings.

That's pretty much how I see it too. Undoubtedly George is a dangerous opponent and his enormous power gives him a big advantage in any fight, but Ali showed us in The Rumble that George does leave openings, and is susceptible to sharp, quick combinations. I'd give Joe Louis the credit to be smart enough to exploit this and win via late TKO.

I don't think that he would knock George out, but I could see Georg getting disheartened and frustrated with the way the fight was going, which leads him to make bigger mistakes and the ref ends up stepping in.

dempseyfire wrote:Louis within 5 rounds. His much more compact, quicker shorter punches would do serious damage once Foreman began trading with him.

Thanks for some sanity. Max Baer was much quicker than George and was chopped down by Louis. George always has a punchers chance, but he was so easy to hit and Joes technique was so good it's hard to imagine George lasting very long.

Another question: Who would sign that contract? I'm quite sure Louis would. But George was smart, I think he'd look for other options.

The Great John L wrote:

dempseyfire wrote:Louis within 5 rounds. His much more compact, quicker shorter punches would do serious damage once Foreman began trading with him.

Thanks for some sanity. Max Baer was much quicker than George and was chopped down by Louis. George always has a punchers chance, but he was so easy to hit and Joes technique was so good it's hard to imagine George lasting very long.

Big George was in a different class to Max Baer, and he wasnt just a puncher. He could apply pressure and he had tremendous physical strength.His jab was also an under rated weapon. I think Louis wins, but I think it is a disservice to George to say Joe would just chop him down.

Crease wrote:

HomicideHenry wrote:Joe had a notoriously soft chin for a heavyweight, and Foreman had an all-time great chin...

Well, that's just not true.

He was dropped by a former LHW title challenger (Braddock), and dropped by a weak field of challengers in Galento and Buddy Baer--- he also at times appeared hurt or wobbled against others--- and of course in his prime was kayoed by Schmeling, and in later years Walcott dropped him (in both matches) and Marciano kayoed him. It has to be noted, for the sake of history--- that most of these men weighed no more than 190-200 pounds. Galento and Baer were the only ones who weighed over 230, and neither of them had the same skills or abilities Foreman had.

It was certainly a better chin than alot of heavyweight punchers have had throughout history--- but among the all-time greats, it is soft in comparison. It's certainly not the chin of Dempsey, Marciano, Frazier, Foreman, Holyfield, Tyson, and others.

HomicideHenry wrote:He was dropped by a former LHW title challenger (Braddock), and dropped by a weak field of challengers in Galento and Buddy Baer--- he also at times appeared hurt or wobbled against others--- and of course in his prime was kayoed by Schmeling, and in later years Walcott dropped him (in both matches) and Marciano kayoed him.

I'm well aware of Joe's record. Certainly Joe had been floored a number of times, but he still got up to win all of his fights (apart from 3). The very fact that Joe got back up and strives forward to win the fight speaks volumes of the man.

When you speak of him, you present him as an Amir Khan-like figure who folds each time he gets hit on the button. And the truth is quite the opposite.

Look at his fight with Mauriello, he gets hit with a quick right, but still recovers and makes a wrecking job of Tami. (The fight is only a 1 rounder, so it won't take long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_p7Dguyjbk

HomicideHenry wrote:It has to be noted, for the sake of history--- that most of these men weighed no more than 190-200 pounds. Galento and Baer were the only ones who weighed over 230, and neither of them had the same skills or abilities Foreman had.

Weight is only a marginal advantage when you are talking about boxing at this level. I've said it before, but weight does not equate to explosive punching power, it just doesn't, and that has been scientifically proven.

All considered, there's a possibility that carrying excess weight at the top level hinders a boxer's performance because it slows him down... (Look at some of the guys who bloated up to fight the Klitschskos)

Broomhall wrote:

The Great John L wrote:

dempseyfire wrote:Louis within 5 rounds. His much more compact, quicker shorter punches would do serious damage once Foreman began trading with him.

Thanks for some sanity. Max Baer was much quicker than George and was chopped down by Louis. George always has a punchers chance, but he was so easy to hit and Joes technique was so good it's hard to imagine George lasting very long.

Big George was in a different class to Max Baer, and he wasnt just a puncher. He could apply pressure and he had tremendous physical strength.His jab was also an under rated weapon. I think Louis wins, but I think it is a disservice to George to say Joe would just chop him down.

Not sure I agree. The only significant advantage Foreman has over Baer is size.

I think Foreman is overrated and Baer is underrated. But both were obviously quality fighters.

Crease, you nail the jackpot and that was exactly what I said on Joe Louis' chin to go against HomicideHenry's argument. We both aware of Joe's record. Yes, he was knocked down several times, but he mostly got up and beat men like Jim Braddock, Tony Galento, Buddy Baer and Jersey Joe Walcott something that he fail to mention. Yes, Henry's opinion was trying to acknowledge Louis represent as Amir Khan, but Khan got knocked out after every opponent hit him right on the button. Khan is good, but Joe Louis is the legend, survivor from knockdowns and was the longest reigning Heavyweight Champion of all time. I would like to give you a clap for giving out the main point that Louis did have a chin to survive knockdowns.

In my book Foreman fought the better calibre fighters than the great Joe Louis just check the record books.

​My video shows exactly how Joe and his era fought. In that video, does that version of Joe look like he or anybody else would land anything on foreman or people he fought?

he and guys from his time look like novices compared side by side to no names Foreman fought, and in no way does anyone from that era look like they would last 1 round vs. guys in the 70s-'90s

so why say Joe all day if foreman weighted the same?, when the issue isn't weight it's the movements

The video clearly shows his whole era were novice like compared in angles/tech/fluidity/timing/defense and they fought really dumb to a lot of times standing right in front of the opposition and waiting for them to counter or to hit them, i specifically chose no names to show even those guys were way more advanced than the whole louis era[media][/media]