Chinny Fighters vs. Comeback Foreman...

[Russell]

Is it just me or did some guys with eggshell chins go the distance with George in his comeback?

Morrison and Briggs both come to mind.

Supposedly everyone knew what was coming from Foreman by this time, not to mention he was well past 40, going on 50 against Briggs... Like Joe Louis, could he simply not pull the trigger on time anymore?

[sauhund II]

Add Stewart, Saverese and Schultz, not egg but nothing to write home about.

It was probably both, age , pulling the trigger and his god given shortcoming , speed. But I am of the opinion that he did not crack that extraordinary hard especially against guys that matched him for size .

[AnthonyJ74]

Add Stewart, Saverese and Schultz, not egg but nothing to write home about.

It was probably both, age , pulling the trigger and his god given shortcoming , speed. But I am of the opinion that he did not crack that extraordinary hard especially against guys that matched him for size .

Exactly! So much of Foreman's comeback was built on smoke and mirrors - including his legendary punching power! Foreman was a big, heavy guy, and that in and of itself will enable a guy to hit hard. But Foreman's punching power was good but not spectacular during his comeback. Gerry Cooney was a fragile-chinned wasted fighter by the time he fought Foreman, and guys like Rodriguez and Moorer were never renowned for the strength of their chins........

Against guys like Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe, I think Foreman's punching power would be even less spectacular.

[fists of fury]

I sort of agree with the above posts, but against Cooney he showed serious power, imo. That was the one fight I really thought was an impressive display of power punching by George.

Then again, he hit Holyfield with several clean shots and didn't have Holyfield in any distress at all. The drama of the fight made those right hands seem more dangerous than they were.
In that fight you can see George initiate a punch, Holyfield slides back or side to side just a bit, mayybe 3 inches, and Foreman doesn't let the punch go.
I guess age and eroded handspeed were the big factors in those situations...George would see an opening, but by the time he got round to letting the punch go or even thinking about it, Holyfield was out of range.

I suppose George would always be a punishing puncher against the right kind of opponent, but a decent mover with a good chin could withstand those numbing shots and beat him because there were a couple of fights where his power seemed more myth than real to be honest.
I have no doubt that the punch that laid out Moorer would have been absorbed by the likes of Holyfield, Tyson, Bowe and probably Lewis too.