George Foreman
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George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American two-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. He became the oldest man ever to win a major heavyweight title when, at 45, he knocked out 26-year-old Michael Moorer in the 10th round. Foreman still holds that distinction and has been named one of the 25 greatest fighters of all time by Ring Magazine.[1] Nicknamed "Big George",[2] he is now a successful businessman and an ordained Christian minister who has his own church.
Foreman has 10 children, and each of his five sons is named George: George Jr., George III, George IV, George V, and George VI. He is able to distinguish one from another by the use of nicknames such as "Monk", "Big Wheel" and "Little George".[3] His five daughters are Michi, Freeda, Georgetta, Natalie, and Leola.
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[edit] Early years
George Foreman was born in Marshall, Texas. Although raised by J.D. Foreman, whom his mother married when George was a small child, his biological father was Leroy Moorehead. During his youth, he was often in trouble with the law. In his teen years, George made a name for himself as a street brawler, thief, and mugger.[4] He and his friends would sometimes participate in gang fights, and in time George became one of the most feared street fighters in his neighborhood. He and his friends would sometimes get drunk and were constantly on the run from the police. It was during this time when he accidentally burnt his hands on a barbeque leaving him scarred. After multiple hospital visits and skin grafting, he was left with no fingerprints. A turning point came for George when, while running from police one night, he hid under a house and used the contents of a broken sewage pipe to cover his scent from police dogs.[4] He vowed that night to make a better life for himself.
He later joined the Job Corps as a way to improve his life. While stationed in Oregon, Foreman became infamous for his belligerent attitude, often picking fights with fellow trainees. It was then that his fighting skills were noticed and he was introduced to the sport of boxing, which he grew to love. Foreman got his start as an amateur from the AAU in San Francisco.
In 1967 and 1968, he was defeated by compatriot Clay Hodges, but was sent to the Olympics where he won his first fight on points and then three fights by stoppage — including the final title bout against the favored Soviet fighter.
By the age of 19, Foreman had won a gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. When he walked around the ring with an American flag following his victory, some members of the black community chastised him for being an Uncle Tom, especially since two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze), who had competed for the United States in the 200-meter dash, had raised their black-gloved fists on the award podium as a protest during the playing of the U.S. National Anthem. Others, however, lauded him for being a patriotic American during a time of political upheaval and strife. With Foreman himself stating in Foreman on Foreman that he was displaying his gratitude for being given a fantastic opportunity to represent his country.
[edit] Olympic results
- Defeated Lucjan Trela (Poland) 4-1
- Defeated Ion Alexe (Romania) TKO 3
- Defeated Giorgio Bambini (Italy) KO 2
- Defeated Ionas Chepulis (Soviet Union) TKO 2
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[edit] Professional career
Foreman, after an amazing amateur record of 27-0, turned professional in 1969 with a three-round knockout of Donald Walheim in New York. He had a total of 12 fights that year, winning all of them (11 by knockout). Among the fighters he defeated was Cookie Wallace, who lasted only 23 seconds.
In 1970, Foreman continued his march toward the undisputed heavyweight title, winning all 12 of his bouts (11 by knockout). Among the opponents he defeated were Gregorio Peralta, whom he decisioned at Madison Square Garden, and George Chuvalo, whom he defeated by technical knockout (TKO) in three rounds. After this impressive win, Foreman defeated Charlie Polite in four rounds and Boone Kirkman in three.
In 1971, Foreman won seven more fights, including a rematch with Peralta, whom he defeated by knockout in the tenth and final round in Oakland, California, and a win over Leroy Caldwell, who was knocked out in the second round. After amassing a record of 32-0, Foreman was ranked as the number one challenger by the WBA and WBC. In 1972, his string of wins continued with a series of five consecutive bouts in which he defeated each opponent within three rounds.
[edit] The Sunshine Showdown - World Heavyweight Champion: Beating Frazier
Still undefeated, and with an impressive knockout record, Foreman was set to challenge undefeated and undisputed world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, who in 1971 had scored a 15-round unanimous decision over previously-unbeaten Muhammad Ali, following Ali's return to the ring after an exile of more than three and a half years.
The Sunshine Showdown took place on January 22, 1973, in Kingston, Jamaica, with Foreman knocking down Frazier six times in two rounds to win the championship by knockout in one of boxing's biggest upsets. In what was HBO Boxing's first broadcast, the call made by Howard Cosell became one of the most memorable in all of sports: "Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!" Before the fight Frazier was 29-0 (25 KO) and Foreman was 37-0 (34 KO). Equally memorable was Foreman's final punch, an uppercut landed with such force that it lifted Frazier off his feet before sending him to the canvas for the sixth and final time. As he had done following the previous knockdowns, Frazier managed to get to his feet, but the referee called an end to the bout.
Foreman was sometimes characterized by the media as an aloof and antisocial champion. According to them, he always seemed to wear a sneer and was not often available to the press. Foreman would later attribute his demeanor during this time as an emulation of Sonny Liston, for whom he had been an occasional sparring partner.
Nevertheless, Foreman went on to defend his title successfully twice during his initial reign as champion. His first defense, in Tokyo, pitted him against Puerto Rican heavyweight champion Jose Roman. Roman was not regarded as a top contender, and it took Foreman only 55 seconds to end the fight, the fastest-ever knockout for a heavyweight championship bout. Foreman's next defense was against a much tougher opponent (at least on paper). In 1974, in Caracas, Venezuela, he faced the highly regarded Ken Norton who was 30-2, a boxer notorious for his awkward boxing style, who had broken the jaw of Muhammad Ali while defeating him on points a year earlier. Norton's ability to "take a punch," however, was suspect, and Foreman put him to the test. In an astonishing display of aggression and punching power, Foreman knocked out Norton in just two rounds. The win made Foreman 40-0 with 37 knockouts.
[edit] "Rumble in the Jungle"
Foreman's next title defense, against Muhammad Ali, was historic. Ali was 44-2 (31 KO), with losses coming at the hands of Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. Frazier had knocked down Ali in the 15th and final round enroute to a unanimous decision (9-6, 11-4 and 8-6-1), while Ken Norton, who broke Ali's jaw in the second round, won by split decision (4-7-1, 4-5-3 and 6-5-1) [these losses were later avenged by Ali via a unanimous decision and a split decision, respectively]. Foreman, who was 40-0 (37 KO), had knocked out both Frazier and Norton in the second round. The only fighters who lasted the distance with Foreman to that time were Roberto Davila, Levi Forte and Gregorio Peralta.
During the summer of 1974, Foreman traveled to Congo (then Zaire) to defend his title against former champ Muhammad Ali, by then 32 years old and considered by some to be on the decline as a fighter. The bout was promoted as The Rumble in the Jungle.
During training in Zaire, Foreman suffered a cut above his eye, forcing postponement of the match for a month. Ali used this time to tour Zaire, endearing himself to the public while taunting Foreman at every opportunity. Nevertheless, Foreman was a heavy favorite, due in large part to the fact that Frazier and Norton had given Ali four difficult fights, lasted the distance in all, and won two of them, while Foreman had scored TKOs over both in the second round.
When Foreman and Ali finally met in the ring, Ali started on his toes, dancing around as advertised. Such was the intensity of Foreman's attack, however, that he was soon driven into the ropes. Foreman dug vicious body punches into Ali's sides; however, it quickly became clear that Foreman was unable to land a clean punch to Ali's head. The ring ropes, being reasonably elastic in nature, allowing Ali to lean back and away from Foreman's wild swings, and then maul him in a clinch, forcing Foreman to expend extra energy untangling himself. To this day, it is unclear whether Ali's pre-fight talk of using speed and movement against Foreman had been just a diversionary trick, or whether his use of what became known as the " Rope-a-dope" tactic was an improvisation necessitated by Foreman's constant pressure.
In either case, Ali was able to counter off the ropes with sharp, snapping blows to the face, and was able to penetrate Foreman's defense almost at will. As the early rounds passed, Ali continued to take heavy punishment to the body, and occasionally a hard jolt to the head, but Foreman could not land his best punches directly on Ali's chin. Eventually, Foreman began to tire and his punches became increasingly wild, losing power in the process. An increasingly-confident Ali taunted Foreman throughout the bout and by the eighth round was in control of the fight. Late in that round, Ali sprang off the ropes with a sudden flurry of blows to Foreman's head, punctuated by a hard right cross that landed flush on Foreman's jaw. Foreman staggered, lurched, and collapsed, overcome as much by exhaustion as Ali's punching power. He managed to regain his feet, but the referee stopped the bout. It was Foreman's first defeat, and Muhammad Ali would remain the only boxer to defeat him by a knockout throughout his two-phased career, although Ron Lyle and Jimmy Young did manage to floor him in later bouts.
Later in Foreman on Foreman. Foreman stated that he was pleased to contribute to such a memorable moment in the history of the world, but simply regards the fight as being " a sweaty old boxing match which I lost".
[edit] References
- ^ "About.com: Boxing".
- ^ "George Foreman bio".
- ^ "New York Times archive".
- ^ a b "Michael Vick to judge: 'I am not the beast'", CNN (2007-12-14). Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
