BoxRec

Bob Foster had trouble with good heavyweights. Would that continue if he fought Ellis during the late 60's?

Sounds like a one of the best opportunities for Bob not to be bashed by a HW. Of course, he wouldn't dominate Ellis, while Jimmy was always favored in the close fight, but he had real chances of catching Ellis.

Ellis by SD/MD or Foster by KO/TKO.

ellis wins, another loss for foster

despite coming up from the lower weights, ellis matured into a real nice hw from around 67 to the early 70s, better at hw than foster ever was.

I think that the 175 lb. division was weaker than usual during Foster's reign . There wasn't a Spinks or Qawi around like later or guys like Charles, Moore, etc. as in the 40's. JMO.

Foster isn't doing thing with a quality heavyweight. Ellis knocks him out.

I think that Ellis takes Foster at light heavyweight as well. After all, compared to fighting guys like Frazier, Ali, Shavers, and Lyle, Foster should have been a piece of cake, even at 175. It would have been nice for Jimmy to fight boxers his own size instead of bigger fighters.

Ellis by mid round ko, most likely in 5.

Jimmy would use his strong, sneaky right lead to spark Foster and win by KO. The ending probably occurs in the mid-rounds. Ellis's considerable boxing ability would also be a factor, enabling him to circle away from Bob's powerful left-hooks.

Ellis was renown for his sneak right-lead. He scored 16 first round knockouts in his career using that punch. Interestingly, Jimmy's right-lead even wobbled Joe Bugner in the first round of their 1974 London fight, though Joe recovered and won a shut-out decision. But that's additional proof that Ellis could crack with his right-cross, as almost nobody could hurt Bugner.