Can't see anything other than Foreman fucking him up bad. Too powerful a puncher and Ike was not unhittable. Wouldn't go past 5 IMO.
Foreman all day. Presuming this is the pre-Zaire 1974 George. Ike's best shot is that big left and George was tall and was allowed to push guys away from him. Frazier knew more about landing the left and getting into range than most and he couldn;t really ever get close to George. Georges shove-off is as illegal as Amir Khans shove-off but if he;s allowed to use it without incurring the wrath of the referee then he wins big, he;s got that jab and uppercuts to nail Ike if he gets past the jab.
Not quite sure it was 40lbs but when I tried pointing out that the even taller, harder and heavier Vitali might just give Joe a hard fight it was poo-pooed out of town.
Worth noting that Frazier owns a clear win over one of the greatest fighters of all time. Ike owns a disputed win over Tua... I simply made this thread to see how many would overrate Ike. Irish is correct. George would keep Ike out on the end of the jab, and clobber him with uppercuts.
Firstly, power is power when it comes to heavys that size. To doubt Foreman's power is insane. He lifted a 205 pound man OFF THE CANVAS with an uppercut. Basically lifted Norton off the canvas with that uppercut as well. Ike WAS hurt by Tua. Make no mistake, Foreman would seriously damage his overrated ass. SECONDLY, when did Ike ever exhibit power against a man Foreman's size? Byrd was a blown up cruiser.
Power is power yes, but it still is a different thing to KO a smaller guy when the weight difference is 40 lbs. Several of Foreman's opponents would be cruisers these days which shows in his KO% (he still is one of the biggest punchers ever). Also, I don't remember Ike being seriously hurt against Tua. He might have been, but you know as well as I do that boxing doesn't work as linearly as 'since Tua hurt him, George hurts him worse'. George was seriously hurt against Ron Lyle too. And yes I know George wasn't at his sharpest there, but I am not sure if his chin was worse in that fight compared to the rest of his career. Also, I never said Ike was proven here, of course he is not. Therefore, George is the favorite as I said but since we know little about a) Ike's abilities at this level and b) George's punch and chin against a guy this big, it is no safe pick
If we're talking about size, Ike was 235 in the Tua fight. He weighed more against Byrd, but IMO he was better off at 235. He looked quicker in the Tua fight than he did against Byrd. Foreman's prime weight was around 225, but then again, he also had a few inches of height and reach on Ike. George was 6'4. Ike was 6'2. That's ANOTHER thing you have to consider. George not being a 5'10 midget like Tua. BTW - truth be told about Ike, had his career continued, I could see his weight getting away from him, just like what happened to Tua. I think his optimal performance weight was the 230s, but I dunno if he woulda maintained that. I actually think Ike was a damn good fighter. I just think it's overboard when people give him a chance to beat prime Foreman and prime Tyson, when MOST ppl (myself included) don't even think he beat Tua. I've watched that fight a thousand times. I have Tua winning everytime I watch. What's funny is though, in terms of styles Id give Ike a better chance of beating Foreman than I would Tua against Foreman. And I'd Tua a better chance against Tyson than Ike against Tyson.
