here's a video of foreman talking about being scared of joe frazier... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRHTl11Ktuw a photo of foreman staring down at frazier long ago I remarked that foreman was falsely modest to sell more grills and that he is so much bigger and does not look scared at all in the stare down. a poster holmesjockstrap admonished me and said...of course foreman was scared. frazier had gone 15 rounds at ali, took whatever ali dished and beat the hell out of ali. frazier was the champion. foreman knew what frazier had accomplished...and he respected and feared a man of such feats. what do you think?
I voted "not sure". Though I think most likely that Foreman had some fear, & it would be uusual for a boxer to have zero, especially against such an undefeated champion, but both overstatd it for effect 7 due to modesty, & had what fear he had well under control.
In my opinion yes. Foreman did not have the benefit of hindsight, and he could not repeatedly rewatch himself bouncing Frazier off the canvas. When you look at it that way, his claim hardly sounds incredible.
As much as i like Foreman as a fighter, i dont like this false " jolly , green giant" thing he does nowadays. Its not hard to see through that false act he puts up, according to him now everyone could have beaten him and his legs were shaking when he was in the ring with Frazier, from the bell he showed him NO respect at all. I think the ducking Quarry thing is partially true, George didnt duck him but his handlers did. Foreman was a beast and now he is trying too hard to hide it. if its to sell more grills or he believes it gets him a ticket to heaven i dont know....
Some fighters have over whelming confidence and others are more openly doubting .. Foreman as we have learned is a very smart guy and as a young man it is possible he over analyzed the bout w Frazier a bit coming in .. he may have had doubts but I'm also sure he likes the story .. it makes a fun tale ..
No doubt Foreman had the expected butterflies but he sure seemed confident as early the first sixty seconds in Kingston.
There's a difference between having fear and being scared. I don't think George was scared of Frazier, but I can believe he had fear for the best fighter he'd so far gotten in a ring with and a fellow who could beat up an opponent in a pretty brutal manner.
I think he had fear for a couple of reasons. 1. Joe Frazier was an undefeated Heavyweight Champion who had beaten Muhammad Ali and everyone else in his path. Joe had knocked out almost everyone he faced up to that point. Only Ali`s heart and unique ability allowed him to make it to the final bell against Smokin Joe. 2. George really hadn`t fought tough competition on his way up as a contender. For that era his run to the title was kind of weak. He fought alot but never against anyone close to Frazier`s level.
judging from the staredown, there is no evidence George felt fear of Joe. On the other hand, Joe seems to know his number may be up as he looks up at George. look closely as Joe tries to intimidate George. Do you see any hint of fear from George? and he SURE was never afraid of Quarry. he was just saying that to make himself more popular with white people
I see no indication that Joe knew his time had come with Foreman. The fact that Foreman was much taller? They both tried an intimdating staredown. If Joe had won your judgement would be different. But I agree George shows no fear. I doubt he he was "scared", joking on the talk show that he stared at Joe so he would not see his shaking knees. Though it would be a very rare human being who felt zero healthy fear, but whatever he had, was not excessive, controlled, chanelled, & balanced with reasonable confidence.
It wasn`t just a joke on one interview that Foreman acknowledges having fear going into the Frazier bout. George had said that consistantly. He stated on the Champions Forever video. No indication that he was joking whatsoever. With that said no George didn`t show any fear before the fight or during it. That is the idea. If he had fear why would he show Frazier? Sometimes when your a little scared you fight a little better. You senses are heightened or adrenaline is higher.