FANTASY DREAM FIGHTS: George Foreman Vs. Lennox Lewis

Posted on | July 28, 2008 | No Comments

 

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By: Tony Penecale

Two BIG men! Two Olympic Gold Medalists. Two undisputed champions. But other than that, George Foreman and Lennox Lewis were very dissimilar. Foreman, a prodigy of the tough streets of Houston, was a surly destroyer. He came out and destroyed opponents in breathtaking fashion. Lewis, a Brit of Jamaican descent, is a chess master, both in and out of the ring, planning his moves, and moving in for the check mate. Two heavyweight kings, with a combined weight of nearly 500 lbs, who would be the one to checkmate the other?

STATISTICS:

Foreman: (all stats for bout on 3/26/74)
Age – 25 years old
Height – 6’3”
Weight – 224 lbs
Reach – 82”
Record – 39-0 (36)

Lewis: (all stats for bout on 4/29/00)
Age – 34 years old
Height – 6’5”
Weight – 247 lbs
Reach – 84”
Record – 34-1-1 (27)

STYLE

Foreman:

Foreman was a straight forward brawler. He would set the range with a powerful jab, and follow that with an assortment of bombs, with his right hand as his money punch. For a big man, he had the ability to also fight in close with hooks and uppercuts and was also adept and landing body punches. If an opponent got too close, used his strength to push them off and create openings.

Lewis:

Lewis like to control the distance from the outside, using his long arms and strength to keep opponents at bay, and set them up for his right hand. For a tall fighter, he possessed a crippling uppercut, capable of inflicting fight-ending damage. He also likes to box with his hands low, snapping his jab in an upward motion.

STRENGTHS

Foreman:

1) Power – Foreman had a knockout percentage of 92%. He launched bombs from the opening bell, demolishing some top-notch opposition and others who had reputations of not being knocked out.

2) Chin – Any questions about Foreman’s chin can be answered when he took a monster left hook from Joe Frazier and never even blinked. Foreman had a solid chin and strong neck muscles, which allowed him to walk through punches.

3) Killer Instinct – Foreman was a killer. He beat opponents into submission and when an opponent was hurt, Foreman rained down blows without remorse. Combined with his angry demeanor, he struck fear into the heard of opponents and fans like a prime Sonny Liston.

Lewis:

1) Patience– Lewis is a master of controlling the tempo of a fight. He picks his shots and finds openings. He very rarely gets ruffled. Once he senses that he has an opponent in danger, he increases his aggression and ends the show.

2) Boxing Skills – Lewis has an excellent pedigree of boxing skills. He can move well for a big man and circles behind his jab. He forces opponents to make mistakes and capitalizes on them.

3) Power – Although overlooked, Lewis possesses the power in his right hand and uppercut to swiftly knock out an opponent, including several highlight reel KO’s.

WEAKNESSES

Foreman:

1) Wild – When an opponent is hurt, Foreman sometimes tends to get too aggressive and flails wildly with his punches. He leaves himself off balance and tires when he does this.

2) Stamina – With a style meant for destruction, pacing himself was not in Foreman’s plans. In 11 fights ranging from September ’71 to September ’73, Foreman only fought a total of 23 rounds, averaging 2.1 rounds per bout. If the fight went into the 6th round, Foreman could find himself in serious trouble.

Lewis:

1) Consistency – When Lewis was motivated, he could be devastating. When unmotivated, he had a tendency to be lackadaisical in the ring, coming in out of shape and not focusing on the task at hand.

2) Chin – Lewis did not possess a great chin and coupled with his moments of lapsing, this could be a dangerous mixture against a great puncher like Foreman.

BEST PERFORMANCES
** Indicates the Version of the Fighter Used for this Matchup

Foreman:

1) ** Ken Norton (3/26/74) – Making his second defense of the heavyweight title, Foreman matched up against the highly respected Ken Norton, known for breaking Muhammad Ali’s jaw. Foreman pressed at the opening bell, forcing Norton back and outjabbing him throughout the opening round and stunning him with several hooks. Foreman continued his success in the 2nd round, flooring Norton twice, before finishing him with a vicious combination against the ropes.

2) Joe Frazier (1-22-73) – Frazier was the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world and many thought he would chop down Foreman. Shortly after the opening bell, Howard Cosell made his most famous call “DOWN GOES FRAZIER! DOWN GOES FRAZIER!” And in two rounds, Frazier would go down five more times before the bout was mercifully halted and Foreman crowned the new champion.

 

3) George Chuvalo (8-4-70) – In Chuvalo, Foreman was facing a man with a legendary concrete jaw, never once tasting the canvas in 76 career bouts. Foreman came closest to putting him there, staggering him with a big left hook and unloading punishment until the bout was stopped.

Lewis:

1) ** Michael Grant (4-29-00) – One of the few occasions where Lewis was the smaller combatant was when he faced off with the 6’7”, 250 lb Michael Grant, who uncharacteristically attacked Lewis at the opening bell. Lewis quickly established himself and soon took advantage of Grant’s suspect chin, flooring him three times in the opening round. Grant fought back in the 2nd round but was leveled by a potent Lewis uppercut and was down for the count.

2) Andrew Golota (10-4-97) – Golota had built a reputation by pasting former champion Riddick Bowe in two bouts but ultimately lost both of them by disqualification. Lewis never gave him a chance flooring him in less than a minute and battering him in a corner until a defenseless Golota wilted to the canvas, the bout over in less than 90 seconds.

3) Razor Ruddock (10-31-92) – Ruddock was a feared opponent who had two bouts with Mike Tyson and was the owner of a frightening left hook. Lewis boxed patiently early avoiding most of Ruddock’s lunges before dropping him with seconds left in the 1st round and finishing him off with a barrage early in the 2nd round.

Honorable Mentions: Hassim Rahman and post-prison Mike Tyson:

 

QUESTIONS

Foreman:

1) How will he fare against someone taller and heavier?

2) Will he leave himself open to counter right hands?

3) If Lewis survives early, will he run out of gas?

Lewis:

1) Does he have the chin to stand up to Foreman’s power?

2) Will he be able to hurt Foreman and back him up?

3) Will he be able to box or will he get drawn into a slugfest?

THE PREDICTION

Seeing that Lewis is a native Jamaican and that Foreman won the heavyweight title in Kingston, then it is only fitting that this bout be held on the tiny island of Jamaica. Lewis is clearly the favorite while Foreman’s entrance is met with jeers.

Foreman comes out straight ahead, throwing his left and looking to fire his bombs against Lewis, who is content to circle to his left and keep Foreman at bay with his long left hand. Foreman lunges in but is caught with a searing counter right hand that sends the sweat flying from his head but does little to halt his aggressive attack.

Lewis looks to be more assertive in the 2nd round and throw more right hands against the onrushing Foreman but Foreman is coming in behind a thumping jab and disrupting any chance for Lewis to land his signature punch. Late in the round, Foreman steps in and connects with a lead left uppercut sending Lewis to the ropes. Foreman comes in and throws a few hard punches to the body.

Foreman will be moving in even more in the 3rd round and Lewis will try to time his rushes with a series of right hands and tie him up when he moves inside. Foreman’s chin will allow him to stand up to Lewis’ bombs and despite being outweighed by more than 20 lbs, he is equally as physical in the clinches, muscling Lewis off of him and hitting him with hooks and body punches.

Lewis tries to box on his toes in the 5th round, anything to keep Foreman off balance. Foreman steps in with a crushing right hand over the low guard of Lewis and sends him sprawling to the canvas. Lewis is up at the count of six but is under a serious assault against the ropes. Foreman is firing big shots including an uppercut, left hook, right to the body, left hook, and a massive overhand right that sends Lewis down hard. Lewis valiantly gets to his feet as the referee reaches eight, but he staggers forward, unable to continue as the bout is stopped.

 

Your winner by 5th round TKO is “Big” George Foreman!

For the next installment of Fantasy Dream Fights, it will be a welterweight war. Floyd Mayweather has also spoken of his supremacy, even saying he was better than the great Sugar Ray Leonard. Who will be more dazzling? The matchup will be available on August 11.

VOTE FOR YOUR OWN WINNER:

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