What a life. A life fought well.

George had every reason to be the exit opposite of success both in accomplishment and as a person.

He said no.

The right have that stopped Moore in 94 to become World Champion at 45 split Moore’s mouth guard in half.

However, I always felt, “enjoyed” is the wrong word as it was brutal, his fight w Holyfield was more. No one gave Foreman any chance and he was ridiculed. Well, no one was making jokes after Holyfield and Foreman went 12. Holyfield said it was the hardest he had ever been hit. In one round, Holyfield hit Foreman w an 11 unanswered punches, but the man would not back up. I get choked up seeing it as I type.

Foreman vs Death goes to the cards.

He was one of the greats!

Rest in peace, Champ!

He really was a class act and a good man. He was certainly one of the best heavyweights ever and could have been the best.
As a fighter, he was tough and strong, but he also had some skills. If he had used his excellent left jab more and learned to throw a straight right hand, he might have been unbeatable.
As a person, he gave to his community and did a lot of good. I agree that his fight against Holyfield was the one that showed his real strength of spirit. A good man. Bill

i thought he was a class on his own when he admitted few years after the fact that ali beated fairly in zaire ...

George was a good man. RIP. One of his boys went to elementary school with my daughter and he was always doing things to help raise money for the school. Good man gone too soon.

Foreman underwent an interesting transformation after he lost to Ali in Zaire. Up until that time, he was a surly bully. Got religion a few years later and transformed himself.

If you're interested, there is an excellent movie about that fight (the Rumble in the Jungle) called "When We Were Kings."

I thought he had killed Ken Norton when they fought.

Yes and no. Part of it was not a gimmick but what he did to be a dominating force in a game of power and will. Foreman was raised in the poor, bad part of Houston.

You needed both types, but at the Olympics he takes the flag in genuine happiness after winning gold. The Foreman we saw later in life was in there from the beginning.


Go watch is Lyle bout. His first real bout after Ali. Lyle and he are killing each other. There are 4 knockdowns. Foreman gets up the most and last. You can see Foreman’s jab in the bought is excellent, but not used enough. Kyle is checking everything w short overhand rights that because of the distance, and the fact Foreman keeps his left so low, just rocks Foreman. Fireman also did not move his head off line very much ever. Bout last 5 rounds with Foreman refusing to submit. The opposite of what happened in Zaire.

I saw an interview of Foreman. He was asked who did you fear. Foreman said he feared one man. “Joe Frazier. I had a habit of staring every one down. If they looked down I knew I had them. I’m glad Frazier did not look down because he was have seen my knees trembling.”

We know how that happened. As others have said, Foreman has every reason to be the personification of hate, anger, and bitterness. The man became a great example not just in supreme competition, but as a human.

Godspeed, Big George Foreman. I imagine everyone in heaven is celebrating his arrival by grilling burgers and watching the celestial big screen in awe of the courage and skills of a great champion. Against all odds, he earned the admiration of the world.

quote:

Originally posted by LHeym500:
. Foreman was raised in the poor, bad part of Houston.

just a point of clarification - he was raised in *A* poor, bad part of Houston - there's several, and today, the 'Wards" almost all contain "bad, poor" parts - Several of which are low lands, prone to flooding, on top of all the other issues -

He was born in Marshall, which, at the time, was almost as racist as Vidor

Iconic.

Also saw that George Bell has passed.

quote:

George Bell

The baseball player?
Cubs?

Foreman ? Was that the guy who invented the Grill ?

He was the promotional face of it. Capital midland its finest. He was so much more as we have discussed. If you want to seriously look into his life.

quote:

Originally posted by LHeym500:

quote:

George Bell

The baseball player?
Cubs?

He was a player on the Harlem Globe Trotters. Also one of the tallest of men and a LEO!

Tell us more. The only one I knew was the Cubs, mvp in the 70s.

Foreman was such a sunny personality

I have never watched a Foreman fight, they must be replayed somewhere?
I have fought some big men. Not much head movement in many. They would pull their heads down between their shoulders, and sway the whole upper body. Often taking punches on the shoulders. Was that Foreman's style?
I have watched some of Don Frye's fights. He must have a head like a concrete block. 4 oz gloves and just stand there and trade blows that should drop an ox.

There are a lot of his fights on You Tube, and I expect more will become available. George adapted, to a certain extent, the crossed-arm defensive posture of Archie Moore. The thing is his power was so exceptional, his trainers neglected to try and improve his strategic boxing. When someone did, they tended to forget to meld the skills together. Not that he was without some nuance in his approach. He did a good job of positioning his opponents for a short right uppercut. His footwork in doing this was much like blocking a man out in basketball, to position for a rebound. Ultimately, his offense was his defense and few men could trade with him. His left jab was a powerful and effective punch. His time spent sparring with Sonny Liston no doubt influenced him here.
The straight right hand with which he knocked out Micheal Moorer, was a punch he lacked in his early career, and one he didn't employ enough in his second career.
His loss to Ali made him aware of his own vulnerability, but he got past it.
I can't overstate the magnitude of his accomplishment in coming back after ten years and beating top level fighters of the later era. He lost to a prime time Evander Holyfield but, just for a while, in the second and third rounds, it seemed like he might be on his way to a KO win.
One fight we never got to see was George Foreman vs Mike Tyson. I believe he would have bombed Tyson out of there inside of four rounds. If they had both been in their prime, it wouldn't have taken two rounds. Regards, Bill.

Second career Foreman used that cross arm shell made famous by Archie Moore.

First career, at best when he finished a jab he would have his chin behind, blocked by his shoulder. He kept his left real low and one could get inside distance and hammer w right hands. That is what Lyle did. Foreman was kind of there to be hit. He just killed most people as they go where they could hit him. Frazier was just too small.


Foreman never fought Ernie Shavers. Foreman did best Norton.

Most of his fights are now on YouTube. The Ron Lyle bout is only 5 rounds and it hurts to watch. Holyfield-Foreman is on YouTube now. I would have “liked” to have seen Foreman 2.0 against a motivated Bowe.

ESPN use to have the rights and air a bunch of these older-mid 1990s fights.

Like Leaper, I vote Foreman had a great jab. He hits Lyle with straight. It was the jab that set up that famous Moore finishing right. He should have used it more in his first career. Most people could not make him pay for keeping it so low or not using it enough.

Here is the Lyle fight
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fo3ohx6yTs

Here is Holyfield
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=...B2IGhvbHlmaWVrZCA%3D