f read wrote: ↑05 Jan 2021, 18:57
I like young George to win on an early stoppage here. Holyfield had a habit of duking it out with bigger stronger fighters and he was what i would call a slugger without a punch. He is a small heavyweight and this technique and style could prove to be his downfall with a young George. If he can get past the first 5-6 rounds and then he tires George out and take a decision otherwise George puts him to sleep. If he came right in he would be playing into Georges game.
IF they were BOTH equally "early" in their career.....let's say the same age in their early to mid 20's........I'd lean quite a bit toward George. Because Evander really loved to brawl....pretty much any time during his career....but he got smarter in time. And when it came to old George...it was the combo of offense, a great chin, and very smart defense that got Evander the win. The early Evander would not have the finesse of an Ali.....a Young, or a Peralta at that point. And was not quite the master craftsman like Ali or Holmes. And did not have the chin of a Chuvalo, or a Tua. And to go in unafraid.....and a bit sure of yourself against George? Well....no......that's a plan that would not work for anyone. George Chuvalo's perfect chin rating was absolutely saved by the ref against young George. So NO ONE goes in with a "planned offense" and beats George Foreman....anywhere at anytime. I think the Older Evander probably wins against any version of George.....not because of his amazing offense, but because he became aware in bouts with Qawi, Dokes, and Douglas....that his insane toughness, along with "what he was learning along the way" was becoming a nearly unbeatable combination against anybody. He had a style that worked very well against just about any opponent.
When you say "styles make fights", You can leave Evander out of that discussion. In his case..."Evander made fights".
I believe that all this applies to lets say a Foreman on the night of his fight with Kenny Norton, who is matched up against an Evander on the night of his fight against Michael Dokes. They would be roughly the same age in this hypothetical, and were both fighting as heavies...(though George was a bit bigger...but as we know, size is not an issue for HW's. right?)
This is a night where I believe Young George would prevail. Now...with that said...IF they fought again a year later.....well....Foreman is deflated, and Evander is riding high.....and a bit wiser....so I'm keeping my money in my wallet on that one. Because Evander is about to even the score.
The most brutal fight imaginable is probably a Holyfield Frazier bout. Neither had the power to flat out stop the other....and both would die trying. And...both, at their best, were great with offense, defense, a good chin, and great ring generalship. Both would likely be standing at the end of that bout......and both would probably just want to retire after that hypothetical evening of "sport".
By the way....does anyone have more competitive fights with so called HW champions than Evander? I mean on the win side, we are talkin' Dokes, Douglas, Foreman, Bowe, Tyson, Ruiz, Rahman, and on the Draws/Loss side (though still VERY competitive you have Lewis, Bowe, Ruiz, Valuev, Ibragimov, Byrd....and though he took a drubbing on what may have been an off night...I guess we can throw in the Toney fight...though Toney was champion for only a few days right?
Interesting stuff.