OT: RIP George Foreman
- Thread starter Zak57
- Start date
From an era of great boxers
R.I.P.
R.I.P.
Won gold over Russian in Mexico City -
George Foreman: ‘If I had to do it all over again, I would have had two flags’
Foreman’s gold medal bout, occurring only days after a controversial medals-podium protest by U.S. track teammates Tommie Smith and John Carlos, ended with him patriotically parading around the ring clutching a U.S. flag.
andscape.com
It's remarkable how Foreman was able to transform himself and his image after the Ali fight. He proved, contrary to F. Scott Fitzgerald, that there are second acts in American lives. And he made a whole lot of money doing it!
Pro career spaned 28 years.
76-5 career record with losses to only Ali, Jimmy Young, Evander Holyfield, Tommy Morrison (at age 44) and Shannon Briggs (at age 48).
Notable wins:
George Chuvalo
Joe Frazier (twice)
Ken Norton
Ron Lyle
Gerry Cooney
Michael Moorer
One of the all time greats
76-5 career record with losses to only Ali, Jimmy Young, Evander Holyfield, Tommy Morrison (at age 44) and Shannon Briggs (at age 48).
Notable wins:
George Chuvalo
Joe Frazier (twice)
Ken Norton
Ron Lyle
Gerry Cooney
Michael Moorer
One of the all time greats
Forgive me for venting, but I *hated* Howard Cosell talking in the video about how Ali's punches had taken so much out of Frazier. That fight had been nearly two years before -- and, pardon me for mentioning it, but Frazier won it without question. Foreman deserved all the credit for knocking out Frazier; Cosell didn't have to give some of the credit to Ali. Ali was a great fighter, but it was awful how Cosell shilled for him constantly. End of rant.
In the documentary "When We Were Kings" serious boxing fan Norman Mailer said the fight between Foreman and Ali was the only time he saw Ali scared. Foreman used to wreck heavy bags. He eventually crushed Joe Frazier later in 1973 - fight had to be stopped in 2nd after 6 knockdowns. Peak Foreman and peak Tyson would have been a fight to watch
He was great. You could email him and he would reply. How many celebs can you say that about?
Finally, an rip thread where I don’t have to google the name of the deceased
RIP George
Told the story in the meetings with celebrities thread.
George punched me in the shoulder, I moved a good 5 feet backwards. We talked for over ten minutes, has to be the nicest celebrity I ever met.
Told the story in the meetings with celebrities thread.
George punched me in the shoulder, I moved a good 5 feet backwards. We talked for over ten minutes, has to be the nicest celebrity I ever met.
Amazing he came back and won the tile all those years later taking care of a paper champ in mooorer. He was one of my all-time favorites . Everyone had a foreman grill
It's amazing the impact people can have if they are simply kind and generous with their time and energy.
RIP George
You were one of the best (76-5, 68 KOs) heavyweights to step into the ring
You were one of the best (76-5, 68 KOs) heavyweights to step into the ring
About Ali fight:
"Foreman revealed that he "thought I would knock him out in one or two rounds."
"But in the third round, I'd hit him and he fell on me and I thought, 'That's it.' And he started screaming, 'That's all you got George, show me something,'" Foreman recalled of Ali. "And I knew then I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Ali was 32 and Foreman was 25
"Foreman revealed that he "thought I would knock him out in one or two rounds."
"But in the third round, I'd hit him and he fell on me and I thought, 'That's it.' And he started screaming, 'That's all you got George, show me something,'" Foreman recalled of Ali. "And I knew then I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
George Foreman Reflected on Iconic 'Rumble in the Jungle' Match with Muhammad Ali in One of His Final Social Media Posts
George Foreman looked back at his iconic 'the Rumble in the Jungle' match with Muhammad Ali in one of his final social media posts in October 2024, before his death on March 21. The event took place in 1974.
people.com
Ali was 32 and Foreman was 25
I watched this fight at the Oak Tree drive in theatre. My brother and I went and could not get in but there was a huge crowd watching from outside. We climbed some trees outside the fence and watched.About Ali fight:
"Foreman revealed that he "thought I would knock him out in one or two rounds."
"But in the third round, I'd hit him and he fell on me and I thought, 'That's it.' And he started screaming, 'That's all you got George, show me something,'" Foreman recalled of Ali. "And I knew then I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
George Foreman Reflected on Iconic 'Rumble in the Jungle' Match with Muhammad Ali in One of His Final Social Media Posts
George Foreman looked back at his iconic 'the Rumble in the Jungle' match with Muhammad Ali in one of his final social media posts in October 2024, before his death on March 21. The event took place in 1974.people.com
Ali was 32 and Foreman was 25
Not a lot of talk here about the Moorer fight.he won the title with that win . Was it a lucky punch or did he have a plan ??
Best article I've read about Foreman
"The old boxing heads would tell you about his transformation from what he was in the 1970s, back when he was boxing’s heavyweight champion. The words they used made no sense.
Brooding. Mean. Terrifying...
"In 1968, he won Olympic gold for the United States at just 19 years old, just a few years removed from being a wayward child in Houston’s Fifth Ward, in which he dropped out of high school and committed petty crimes to make ends meet. After he won gold in Mexico City, he famously walked around the ring waving a small American flag, a gesture that meant different things to different people right in the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, but a powerful sight."
"Foreman hitting the heavy bag is one of the more prodigious sights I’ve had in my life,” Mailer said. “Of all the people I’ve seen hitting the heavy bag, including Sonny Liston, no one ever hit it the way Foreman did. At the end of hitting the heavy bag there would be a huge dent about the size of a small watermelon."
"When he fought Muhammad Ali in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire, he was regarded as an indifferent juggernaut come to execute the “People’s Champion.” Such a Goliath figure was he that many close to the fight worried for Ali’s life, which from the Foreman perspective was a dark place from which to work. He did what an unreachable champion cast in such a light might as well do. He leaned into it. He dialed his conscience down to the dead level of zero and let the world wobble through his intimidation...
Foreman wasn’t bitter about the fight with Ali. In fact, Foreman was Ali’s biggest fan. He said Ali was the greatest man he’d ever met in his life. Tied to him forever, Foreman found more love and acceptance in that fight than he would’ve if he’d have won. This was the legacy of “Big George." Happiness was a byproduct of his discoveries. This, too, changed all narratives."
"The old boxing heads would tell you about his transformation from what he was in the 1970s, back when he was boxing’s heavyweight champion. The words they used made no sense.
Brooding. Mean. Terrifying...
"In 1968, he won Olympic gold for the United States at just 19 years old, just a few years removed from being a wayward child in Houston’s Fifth Ward, in which he dropped out of high school and committed petty crimes to make ends meet. After he won gold in Mexico City, he famously walked around the ring waving a small American flag, a gesture that meant different things to different people right in the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, but a powerful sight."
"Foreman hitting the heavy bag is one of the more prodigious sights I’ve had in my life,” Mailer said. “Of all the people I’ve seen hitting the heavy bag, including Sonny Liston, no one ever hit it the way Foreman did. At the end of hitting the heavy bag there would be a huge dent about the size of a small watermelon."
"When he fought Muhammad Ali in the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire, he was regarded as an indifferent juggernaut come to execute the “People’s Champion.” Such a Goliath figure was he that many close to the fight worried for Ali’s life, which from the Foreman perspective was a dark place from which to work. He did what an unreachable champion cast in such a light might as well do. He leaned into it. He dialed his conscience down to the dead level of zero and let the world wobble through his intimidation...
Foreman wasn’t bitter about the fight with Ali. In fact, Foreman was Ali’s biggest fan. He said Ali was the greatest man he’d ever met in his life. Tied to him forever, Foreman found more love and acceptance in that fight than he would’ve if he’d have won. This was the legacy of “Big George." Happiness was a byproduct of his discoveries. This, too, changed all narratives."
George Foreman’s life was extraordinary, and his transformation fit for a giant
It wasn’t the victories that ultimately came to define George Foreman’s life. It was the defeats and epiphanies and genuine convictions, the leaps of faith he took which came to define him. It was the greatness he inspired.
sports.yahoo.com
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