Happy sixty fifth birthday George Foreman

By James Blears

“Big” George Foreman stands as a colossus astride the history of boxing.

He lost the WBC heavyweight title in the epic “Rumble in the Jungle” To the peerless Muhammad Ali in Zaire. Yet twenty years later, wearing the same red and blue trunks, he KO’d southpaw WBA and IBF Champion southpaw Michael Moorer, courtesy of a massive short right, and then got down on his knees to thank Jesus Christ, who’d become his inspiration. It’s a time lag record, which is likely to endure for the ages, confirming George as a true and dedicated all time great!

In that interval, the once scowling and glowering menace, had grown up to become a different, kinder, smiling and better man. He was no longer fighting for himself, but as an ordained Minister he was raising funds for his youth center.

George first saw the light of Day on January 10^th 1949. Leaving behind a troubled childhood and youth, he found the Job Corps, which changed his life. Doc Broadus became his boxing mentor and George came to Mexico to win the Olympic heavyweight title in 1968. Before that, and right at the end of 1967, Broadus and Sonny Liston’s Manager Dick Saddler asked the young man if he had the vim to spar against the formidable Sonny Liston!

Courageous and ambitious George leapt at the chance. No one had introduced him to the subtleties of sparring, so he waded in with fists blazing. Sonny who’d been admonished to be gentle with the youngster, not unnaturally became a trifle irritated… and knocked off the impetuous impudent youngster with some cuffing blows.

George jovially yet ruefully recalls: “Boy, what this did for my confidence. Sonny had superb coordination. If he got you going with a left jab, he’d keep you on the hook until the bell rang. Sonny did have it going for him. He wasn’t my height, but when you looked across the ring he seemed ten feet tall. And with his extra big arms and enormous hands, that massive left jab would get to you!  Sonny Liston was truly a big and gifted heavyweight.”

A tough customer in the ring Liston was kind and decent to George once the business side of the day was done.  And George saw Sonny as a role model. He concedes: “I saw Sonny stare people down and I thought, that’s the way you do it!

“I picked up a lot of foolishness from him, and as a matter of fact, I went a step further than he would go, because I knew better.  I was seriously that way. I wasn’t putting on an act to scare people. I was truly that kind of fellow. I just tried to look through guys and scare them. I meant what I meant! But you have to grow out of these kind of things.”

As a paid fighter, George swept through the heavyweight division like a dose of salts. By the time of his challenge to WBC champion Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica in 1973, George had built an awesome record of 37-0 with 34 Ko’s . While Joe was 29-0 with 25 KO’s.

The betting was 3-1 against George, who knocked Joe down six times in two incredible rounds. Like a true champion, Joe got up all six times before hostilities were prudently waved off, by legendary Referee Arthur Mercante.

In 1974 George blasted out Ken Norton in less than two rounds, in what became known as: “The Caracas Caper.”

Then came the Rumble in the jungle , with the peerless Muhammad Ali!  Prior to this titanic tussle, George had been cut in sparring, and the fight was postponed for a month, in which George couldn’t spar.

Outfoxed by the rope a dope tactic, George pounded Ali’s body, but was far less successful in reaching his head, while Ali was pot shotting him from a southpaw stance with blistering piercing straight punches and then covering up for dear life.

Ali launched an all out  attack off the ropes in the dying embers of the fifth round. In this thirty glorious seconds both fighters hit each other with everything apart from the kitchen sink. That said, a lot of spray was flying around. It was the prelude to Ali’s lightning eight round attack with a flurry of punches, punctuated by a jarring right cross which felled George, seconds before the bell was due to toll.

In his 1976 comeback George was involved in a ring war with Ron Lyle. Ring Magazine named it Fight of the year. George so nearly finished Lyle in round one, but the bell mistakenly sounded a full minute early.

Lyle threw caution to the wind in the fourth dropping George, who got up to return the compliment. In serious trouble George’s corner admonished him asking who wants the victory most?! Characteristically George retorted he did, and in the following round, he again went to work with a will. He knocked Lyle down yet again and didn’t let him off the hook when he got up, to win a slugfest by TKO.

Then the rematch with Joe Frazier, who lasted until the fifth , to again be stopped.

The first phase of George’s career ended in a comer during 1977, against durable, slick and accurate Jimmy Young, who defeated him by decision in the sweltering heat of Puerto Rico. George had Jimmy in serious trouble in the seventh, but Jimmy survived, to achieve a flash knockdown in the twelfth and final round, and deservedly won.

George was suffering heat exhaustion in the dressing room afterwards and became ill. It was then that he experienced his epiphany. In what he describes as a dark place he pleaded with Jesus Christ for deliverance and was answered.

George says: “I picked up another role model. Jesus Christ himself, and that really puts you in line to enjoy your life. Not to imitate anyone else. Enjoy what you’ve got, and the things you don’t have, don’t ever worry about them.”

George became a born again Christian, an ordained Minister and established a youth center. This hard work involved the next ten years of his extraordinary life.

His 1987 comeback was to raise funds for that center. More mature, he’d shed some of his bulldozer offense developing a more relaxed style. It served him well in defeating “Smoking” Bert Cooper and Gerry Cooney, but at 42 years old, George lost to lithe and wonderfully conditioned Evander Holyfield.

Few gave George anything but a puncher’s chance of defeating champion Michael Moorer on November 5^th 1994 in Las Vegas. Aged 45 George was 19 years older. Way behind on the score cards, George who stood in his corner between rounds was battered and bruised, every time the action resumed. But he persisted! In the tenth round Moorer got too close for comfort, and tasted George’s tremendous zoned in right hand. He was poleaxed and counted out. George had defied Father Time to become Champion again 20 years, after loosing the title. Incredible doesn’t even begin to describe this!

Renown for pummeling gratefruit sized imprints in punch bags in public, in the privacy of his loft at home, George practiced with more finesse. He explains: “I didn’t have the power in my left jab. I’d do it all with the right. So I’d go from one side pop, pop for ten rounds, and then the opposite.

“Finally I’m in the ring with Michael Moorer and he’s standing there. I knew if I hit him with my left jab I’m going to knock him away, and I then had to lower the right. Pow!  In a split second, I was heavyweight champion again. It was night after night of practice in the loft, and people called it luck? (chuckles)

In that incredible moment, George got to his knees looked up to the sky and thanked God. He described it’s sweet vindication by commenting: “It was just one moment in the time of things.”

George retired at the age of 48, loosing a close decision against Shannon Briggs in a WBC title eliminator. It was so close, yet he was gracious in defeat. Initially willing to continue, his Wife convinced him to hang up his gloves, wisely halting him in his tracks, by asking him, how he’d like to be remembered?

George remains modest about his wondrous and unique success. He encapsulated it with the considered reply:  “I wasn’t a phenomenon or anything like that. I took advantage of everything available at that time. There will be people coming along after me who will do this even more.

“There’s no limit to what you can do! I never gave up on myself and said I was down when I lost the title to Muhammad Ali in Africa. That confidence up there, can guide you to whatever you want to do.”

The Father of twelve children including five sons all named George, albeit with a variety of innovative nicknames, Mr Foreman found a way to feed a hungry family. In fifteen years, the fat reducing grill he promoted, has sold more than 100 million.

Never, ever count a champion out!

Many Happy returns of the day George.