Who had the greater comeback - Ray Leonard or George Foreman?

Question

I have to say Foreman.
Leonard was able to come back from a five year hiatus and beat one of the greatest 160's that ever lived, and then have a successful career afterwards, but Foreman was basically dead to the world for 10 years until he announced his comeback, to much derision, in 1987.
Seven years later, he did it. He stopped Michael Moorer in 10 rounds and became the oldest champ in ANY division.
Not only that, but he did something never done before in the history of SPORT.
He was able to reinvent himself and have a separate, second career, that was better than the first.

By doing that, he is, in my opinion, the second greatest heavyweight champ that ever lived.

black panther - I gotta tell ya, that's the most articulated argument in Ray's favor I've ever heard.
Made me stop and think.
The issue of why Hagler lost is a separate question, but everything else you bring up is on the money, hell, I'm still thinking as I type this.
Okay - taking the mufflers, grill and other marketing appeal of Big George out of the picture, and looking at it from a purist's standpoint - you've made a tremendous argument - I still have to go with George, based on his age, length of inactivity, number of fights and quality of opposition in his comeback.

But, more importantly, the title he recaptured - the heavyweight championship - is arguably the most important title in sport.

black panther - another interesting statement. I disagree about what you call the invalidity of the title that Foreman won, though.
By beating Moorer, Foreman won not only two thirds of the undisputed title (WBA & IBF), he also beat the concensus champ - the man who beat Holyfield who beat Douglas, who beat Tyson.
As for fighting Moorer instead of Hagler, I'm not so sure about that.
Moorer was a legitimate threat in the heavyweight division and a monster at 175.

Still gotta go with Big George.

Answer 1

hmmm, i hate to take issue w/all of you, but i have to(not the first time, and certainly won't be the last!). foreman's comeback was awesome, he did re-invent himself and get his demons under wraps(something i wish tyson could have done). yes, he started out w/stiffs and made a name and a claim as a legitiamte heavyweight contender w/o having fought anyone of any significance in his comeback - alone a significant acheivement. when it came time for the big fight(s) he scored. he was the crowd favorite and won the moral victory against holyfield. and when he knocked out moorer it was a righteous kayo! he deserves all the accolades that come w/his fruit of labors...but i gottatelya, ray leonard had been written off, he had the detached retina, been embarrassingly knocked down by unheralded kevin howard, and took - i believe it was - three years off, vice five. anyways, marvelous hagler was the king back then and considered unbeatable. he was the lion on top of the throne and showed really no real weaknesses. i won't cause a riot here and say ray soundly beat him, but ray did outfox him. played him like a gazoo and stole the fight convincingly enough that hagler lost much moreso than ray beat him. this has got to be the biggest and best psyych-out job since the rumble in the jungle: ring size, glove size, length, etc. hagler was so confused, he fought most of the fight right handed, vice his natural southpaw...which only worked to sugar ray's favor. and i don't think hagler, nor any of his fans, ever truly got over it. from a public/popular appeal standpoint, i'd give it to big george, however, from a boxing purist's standpoint i just have to say leonard's comeback was the more significant! "let the insults and outrages loose!"~ :))))

addendum #1.....yo, brad, you're in the pantheon of boxing experts i think we all respect and look fwd to hearing from. your question still has me thinking. yes, you are right, the hvywt title is the most cherished in sports, even the fragment of it that big george won back then against a "champ" as weak as moorer. however, i still belive that, had big g won the title held by, say, tyson, holyfield, bowe, holmes, etc., ya know, someone valid, then, i would agree w/the rest of ya. i just never saw moorer as one of the great or even good champs of the past decade or 2. hagler was undisputed king of the middleweights and pretty much cleaned out the division that he had to fight john "the beast" mugabi(moving up in weight class) in a fight in which sugar ray said he saw how to beat hagler. duran, reportedly, told leonard that hagler could be beat and that gave sugar all he needed to go thru w/the challenge, i still say a complete title from an undisputed champ beats a fragment of a title against a pretender champ any day...and remember, the heavyweights were passing slices of the title around "weekly" back then,,,,much as they are now, only the faces now are unfamiliar and the names are almost unpronounceable! this is not to take anything away from big g's accomplishment, after ten years away from the game. it is historical and legendary, but i just see the sugarman on top in this one. truth is, if i'd been away from boxing and had a choice of who i'd rather have fought to make my comeback: hagler or moorer, hands down, i'd have chosen moorer as the far easier choice and the much lesser of two evils~

addendom #2 - i stand corrected, i'd forgotten it was 2/3 of the title! yes it was the legitimate title, however, i saw moorer as a more legitimate threat maybe +/- 5 yrs prior to his winning holyfield's title. he had become such a boring, non-distinctive fighter by that point, which is why i hold him in such low regard. in truth, he never really amounted to much before or after he lost that fight - his one and only moment of significance. he's now, in my opinion, more a trivia answer than a respected fighter. probably he's in the same ranks as dokes, page, tucker. i can see i won't "win" this argument, but if i can just make some folks think and re-consider, i'll accept that.....thanks for a great question, as usual~

Answer 2

I want you to look at the fighters you named do you see a trend all three fighters you named are three of the best fighters who ever lived I am not taking anything away from Angelo but I could have trained these guys and won Ali, Forman, Sugar Ray Leonard Wow if Angelo had trained these fighters from the start I would give him more credit for what he did I will say this he did not mess them up like Emnual Stewart does all three of these fighters were Olympic champions so they were somebody before Angelo came into the pic

Answer 3

Has to be Big George. To reinvent himself the way he did was an exceptional achievement. The four things he had working for him was his size, determination (exhibited through his ability to take a punch), he didn't lose that God given clubbing punching power, and lastly his mental strength (patience) something he didn't have during his, what I like to call, first career.

During his comeback he displayed his ring smarts. I would rank him behind Ali in the Heavyweight division as a great ring tactician. Something that many casual fans of the sport overlook but is so vital to being a winner and great champion.

Answer 4

foreman the greater comeback, when foreman returned it was a joke nobody thought he was on the verge of reclaiming the heavyweight crown, he fought stiffs he looked horrible doing it but slowly he got better and fewer people were laughing, he gave holyfield all he could handle top heavyweight contenders morrison and briggs were lucky to get gift decisions and he ko`d moorer who was in his prime to do the impossible. Leonards comeback was impressive but 2 things to keep in mind, he kept himself in shape and the public believed he was legit as the payperview bout would never have happened that soon.

Answer 5

I can't think of anyone in any sports who's had a better comeback than George Foreman. He came back and won the belt to become the oldest heavyweight champ ever. He's an inspiration to many.

Answer 6

Foreman

Answer 7

Sir I do believe that you said about what I would have. Both made great comebacks but I think Foreman's was a little harder because of his age.

Answer 8

Foreman has got to be the greatest comeback ever.

Tell me someting: Do you own a Ray Leonard grill? No? See my point?

Answer 9

oh 4 sure it was big george i still love to watch that fight with michael moorer out of nowhere bang moorer is out that was amazing ray leonard cant compare with that id still love to see big george get it on with larry holmes sure holmes beat butterbean a couple of years ago over 50 so theres still hope!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 10

i'd have to say george- his age, the length of his layoff and reworking his style the way he did. it just amazed me. ray stayed in training & watched hagler get old in the ring. i know some will disagree, but hagler was slipping, he had slowed noticeably, taking too many punches against mugabi and even roldan. the hagler who destroyed hearns & hamsho just wasnt there. apples & oranges