BoxRec

Larry Holmes had the tools to beat Foreman; size, movement, strength, great jab, and endurance...But would those tools be enough?

Ken Norton seemed to have a lot of tools too and Big George knocked him out of the ring...

My pick will be Foreman by KO.

Norton never seemed to match well against a big hard puncher.

He always did well against a boxer-mover.

Peralta showed that a decent mover with good boxing skills,
could stave off a prime Foreman who always did better when
he faced a determined slugger or some one who came in to
fight.

Holmes could move and jab well as we all know, but had a
tendency to stand his ground and try to make a fight of it
when he some times did not need to.

Both match up well. I however feel that Holmes with his
jab, good movement and that nice right hand beats Foreman,
may not stop him but does well over the course of the fight.
As the fight goes longer I think the better the chances for Holmes
to win by stoppage.
I do not see Foreman KOing Larry, and I just do not see George
out scoring him to get a points win over the distance.

Robinson wrote:Norton never seemed to match well against a big hard puncher.

He always did well against a boxer-mover.

Peralta showed that a decent mover with good boxing skills,
could stave off a prime Foreman who always did better when
he faced a determined slugger or some one who came in to
fight.
Holmes could move and jab well as we all know, but had a
tendency to stand his ground and try to make a fight of it
when he some times did not need to.

Both match up well. I however feel that Holmes with his
jab, good movement and that nice right hand beats Foreman,
may not stop him but does well over the course of the fight.
As the fight goes longer I think the better the chances for Holmes
to win by stoppage.
I do not see Foreman KOing Larry, and I just do not see George
out scoring him to get a points win over the distance.

Foreman feasted on pressure fighters...That's why I think he beats Tyson, Louis, and Marciano... Cutesy fighters like Young could hang with Foreman ...

If Shavers could make it tough on Holmes, Foreman would do much better. This one could go either way, but you'd always be holding your breath and wondering if Larry was going to make it through the next round. Dead even in my mind, but I'd put my money on Foreman feeling it was the better bet.

BoxBuzz wrote:If Shavers could make it tough on Holmes, Foreman would do much better. This one could go either way, but you'd always be holding your breath and wondering if Larry was going to make it through the next round. Dead even in my mind, but I'd put my money on Foreman feeling it was the better bet.

If Peralta could make it tough of Foreman then so could Holmes...:P

I think these guys match so well and it is a tragedy that they never met
as older gents or in the ate 1970s....

Holmes if they'd fought in 1978
Foreman if they'd fought in 1995
Prime-vs.-prime, I'd go with Holmes. Foreman was a killer in the first five or six rounds, but Holmes was smart enough to take it into the second half of the fight and win a decision over the distance. Maybe he'd stop Foreman.

How many times did this fight nearly happen ?
Especially in the 'comeback' era...heck Holmes
still wants it to happen..provided he gets paid
for it :P

It would have been interesting to see them
fight in 1995.

Robinson wrote:How many times did this fight nearly happen ?
Especially in the 'comeback' era...heck Holmes
still wants it to happen..provided he gets paid
for it :P

It would have been interesting to see them
fight in 1995.

What if they fought now?

Larry is 59....Big George is 59...

And both are near 300lbs :P

Robinson wrote:And both are near 300lbs :P

Holmes did fight Butterbean...

I think Holmes wins this one 4 times out of 5. Larry has the jab and the stamina and the endurance to take Foreman where he doesn't want to go and finish the fight in the late rounds.

Holmes' only problem si that he sometimes went to war when hurt. Against George he'd need to be safety first early on but I'd expect Larry's straight shots to eventually take Foreman out.

Big George is one of my all time favorite fighters. However, I think if these two fought in their primes that Holmes would outbox him and win a decision, although I think George would knock him down once or twice in the fight. Holmes would get up though and box George silly.

With that said, if the these two fought each other in the 1990's when they were both old, I think that version of George would beat Larry. I think the 1990's Big George would have KTFO'ed the 1990's version of Larry.

I rank Larry as one of the top 3 heavyweights of all time (Ali, Louis, and Holmes in no particular order). I rank George slightly lower, but still in the top 10, closer to 5 than 10.

Ezzard wrote:Holmes' only problem si that he sometimes went to war when hurt.

Holmes could take a hell of a shot, though. And when he was hurt, he recovered VERY quickly.

Foreman, no question at all, whether the versions are those of the late 70's or mid 90's. Just too damn big, too strong.

Holmes could hang in there for a decision, granted, but it'd be a lopsided one.

Big Bad John wrote:Holmes if they'd fought in 1978
Foreman if they'd fought in 1995
Prime-vs.-prime, I'd go with Holmes. Foreman was a killer in the first five or six rounds, but Holmes was smart enough to take it into the second half of the fight and win a decision over the distance. Maybe he'd stop Foreman.

I think you have it pegged right, but I don't see George lasting the full 15. I see him virtually defenseless and exhausted in the 13th or 14th and the referee mercifully ending it.

Foreman has a pretty good chance. He's much more dangerous than anyone Holmes fought, especially in his prime. But I would say, stylistically, that Holmes is probably the slight favorite. If Foreman gets Holmes hurt, which is certainly possible, Holmes' going to find it pretty difficult to survive. But that said, Holmes is the safer pick, by decision or maybe even a late stoppage.

BoxBuzz wrote:If Shavers could make it tough on Holmes, Foreman would do much better. This one could go either way, but you'd always be holding your breath and wondering if Larry was going to make it through the next round. Dead even in my mind, but I'd put my money on Foreman feeling it was the better bet.

Besides one massive right hand, Holmes handled Shavers rather easily in two fights. Prime v prime I'd go with Holmes by late round stoppage.

The Great John L wrote:

BoxBuzz wrote:If Shavers could make it tough on Holmes, Foreman would do much better. This one could go either way, but you'd always be holding your breath and wondering if Larry was going to make it through the next round. Dead even in my mind, but I'd put my money on Foreman feeling it was the better bet.

Besides one massive right hand, Holmes handled Shavers rather easily in two fights. Prime v prime I'd go with Holmes by late round stoppage.

Absolutely, Shavers was completely outboxed in both fights, save for the knockdown, Holmes had him almost out on his feet at the end of the first fight.

I see Holmes coming through some rough moments to win a clear but hard fought decision, similar to Young - Foreman.

1973 Foreman everytime

Post Zaire Foreman: Holmes UD

Nineties: Probably Larry UD

1973 Foreman? Bad stamina, bad mind. Foreman had a good mind later on, but he was past his best by then.