By James Slater – It’s just over 42 years ago since George Foreman, heavyweight legend, icon, hero, etc, made his pro debut with a 3rd-round TKO win over Don Waldheim. And, a while back, I happened across a 1995 issue of Ring Magazine, inside which was a “look back at the amazing career (s) of Big George.”
Back in the 1990’s, there were two boxing related things I never missed: a George Foreman fight and the latest issue of The Bible of Boxing. And as I leafed through the ’95 issue that paid tribute to a Foreman who had just shocked the world by regaining the world crown from Michael Moorer, I had the urge to pay my own tribute to the fighter who made me begin to seriously follow the sport of boxing in the first place.
Getting out my book of boxing contact numbers, I proceeded to call as many fighters I could that had at one time fought “The Punching Preacher.” Interested in their recollections of the fight and of their overall opinions on Foreman, I scribbled down what the following six heavyweights had to say.
I hope you find this an interesting read, devoted as it is to an absolute fighting phenomenon; the likes of which we will surely never see again..
Chuck Wepner: Foreman W TKO3.
In what was the young (20-years-old) George’s first significant test at pro level, Foreman met the 18-4-2 Wepner in August of 1969. Madison Square Garden, New York was the venue, and Wepner remembers the fight well.
“The Foreman fight was a big deal at the time,” Chuck recalled over the phone from his home in Bayonne. “I kind of thought he’d go on to be something [special] later on. The funny thing was, I practiced slipping his hook in the gym. I did manage to slip inside his big hook in the fight, the only time in my career I ever managed that (laughs). But he pulled back and hit me with a shot that sliced my eye wide open. He was raw then, but very physically strong. Most of the guys I fought, I could push them around, but not Foreman (laughs). He was a lot like Liston in that regard.”
Joe Frazier: Foreman W TKO2.
In a real shocker, a 24-year-old, 37-0 Foreman challenged the 29-0 world champ in Kingston, Jamaica, and proceeded to upset the odds in a big way. “Smokin’” Joe will always remember his January 1973 fight with George!
“George, along with Joe Bugner, is the only guy to ever really shake me up,” Joe said from his home in Philly earlier this year. “It was just a rough night when I fought George the first time. I went back in with him a second time (in June of 1976) and I was able to change my tactics and I was able to go a little further in the rematch (into the 5th-round). But George is a great guy, I don’t have nothing against him today.”
Ron Lyle: Foreman W KO5.
By now an ex-champ, courtesy of the great Muhammad Ali (who, interestingly enough – Ali’s trainer, the legendary Angelo Dundee told me – would have been given a much tougher fight by the “old” version of Big George, because he had the ability to relax than), George began his comeback with a fight against ex-convict and all-round tough guy Ron Lyle. The rumble that took place in January of 1976 in Las Vegas will never be forgotten by anyone who saw it – least of all Lyle!
“The fight with Foreman didn’t go my way, but it was a great fight, one I’ll never forget,” Ron told me from his gym in Denver a few months back. “George really was a “boom!” type puncher, you know what I mean? George really stepped in with his left jab, too. I actually wanted a second fight with Foreman; back when he was on his comeback run [in the ’90s]. I had won four fights, against young guys, but that second fight never came off. That was all I wanted [in my comeback] – no other fight made sense. I guess the fans had forgotten about out first fight (laughs).”
Dwight Muhammad Qawi: Foreman W TKO7.
In what was the 39-year-old’s first significant test in a comeback that had been launched in 1987, Foreman fought former light-heavy and cruiserweight king Qawi in Vegas in March of 1988. This fight saw George eat a lot of leather early on, before the quite amazing 5’6” warrior pulled a “No Mas” in the 7th.
“I couldn’t make cruiserweight any more, so I took the fight with George,” Qawi told me from his home a while back. “Nowadays, lots of fighters move up to heavyweight, but people were telling me I shouldn’t do it. I took the fight on two-and-a-half week’s notice – I was originally supposed to fight Bert Cooper, who pulled out. I thought I was gonna knock Foreman out because he was old. But I got tired, not him. George was smart. He wasn’t just going for the KO like he used to do as a young fighter.”
Gerry Cooney: Foreman W KO2.
“It’s time to make Mike Tyson shiver,” George said ahead of his calculated risk of a fight with “Gentleman” Gerry; himself on the comeback trail. Those fans who turned out to Caesars Palace, in Atlantic City in January of 1990 were witness to a devastating KO.
“I was actually promoting George back then, in 1989,” Cooney told me earlier this year. “Then, he suddenly asked me one day if I was interested in fighting him! I said, ‘sure, why not?’ I was clean and sober and I’d gotten myself back into good condition. To be honest though, I needed more time to get my timing back. I remember I really did wobble him [in the 1st-round], but Gil [Clancy] wanted me to move around for six or seven rounds and then go in. But as a puncher, I went for it when I wobbled him and I got caught in the next round. I knew after that fight that I had to move on with my life outside of boxing. But George went on to do a great job.”
Shannon Briggs: Foreman L MD12.
The final fight in the incredible career of Big George, and what took place inside The Taj Majal Casino in New Jersey wound up being one of his most controversial. The majority decision Briggs was “given” in November of 1997 was looked at as a robbery by most. George’s reply when asked if he thought he’d been robbed? “How can a man with $5million in his pocket say he’s been robbed?”
“It was just overwhelming fighting George Foreman,” Briggs told me one time. “I thought he was gonna try and kill me! He just kept coming and coming. The pressure he put on me truly was overwhelming.”
The amazing George Foreman: 76-5(68). Two-time heavyweight champion of the world. Hall of Famer. Living legend.