Questions About Foreman's 2nd Reign

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015.


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  1. Jimmy Conway

    Jimmy Conway Member Full Member

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    May 2, 2015
    At various points leading up to Holyfield-Foreman, George was vocal about his desire to regain the title and often mentioned how Zaire left him scarred, took him years to mentally recover, etc. As we know, he came up short in title shots against Holyfield and later Morrison.

    So, after he came from behind to KO Moorer, I was very excited for George's second reign. Of course, it was disappointing. Some questions I've always pondered:

    1. Why did Foreman refuse Tucker, his WBA mandatory? Tucker was a spent fighter at that point. Tucker was slow, flat-footed and couldn't pull the trigger against Lewis a few years earlier. Gone was the fighter who gave a prime Tyson a competitive match six years earlier.

    2. Why/how did Foreman wind up with the obscure Axel Schultz as his first IBF defense? Schultz was unranked and unknown to most.

    Amazing to think that, after all Foreman's campaigning to regain the title he lost to Ali, he would regain, only to be dethroned again - not by a fighter, but by sanctioning bodies.

    For a fighter who spoke ad nauseam about the scars of Zaire, his second reign was certainly curious.
     
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    #1
  2. janitor

    janitor VIP Member Full Member

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    In terms of historical position, Foreman should not have attempted a second reign.

    After the Moorer fight, he could have just walked away into the sunset!
     
    janitor, May 25, 2015
    janitor, May 25, 2015
    #2
  3. Saintpat

    Saintpat Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    He knew he had little left in the tank and only wanted to maximize profit and minimize risk while hoping to get a huge final payday ... probably against Tyson.

    Tony Tucker wasn't a marquee name, he wasn't going to generate great interest ... and he wasn't going to generate a penny more than an Axel Shultz.

    George wasn't 20 or even 30 and he wasn't on a 5-year plan. It was either big money or maybe a marking-time fight or two, nothing in between.
     
    Saintpat, May 25, 2015
    Saintpat, May 25, 2015
    #3
  4. Jimmy Conway

    Jimmy Conway Member Full Member

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    True, especially since George didn't truly earn the Moorer shot. He was fortunate to get that fight and had been inactive prior, if I recall.
     
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    #4
  5. Savak

    Savak Guest

    Foreman made earnings of $5 m in total in the 70's. By 1987 he was broke, he had no choice but to come back. His second reign might be **** because of the quality of fighters he mostly faced but my word did it change his financial fortunes tremendously. He was able to rake in $100m in fight earnings, establish the George Foreman Grill which gave him another $140 m and now sits comfortably in retirement with a total Net Worth of $250 m.
     
    Savak, May 25, 2015
    Savak, May 25, 2015
    #5
  6. Jimmy Conway

    Jimmy Conway Member Full Member

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    May 2, 2015
    All good points; his comeback opponents were "carefully" selected (but even carefully selected opponents can pose risk... see the Alex Stewart fight).

    In hindsight, it seems George was more interested in regaining the title versus defending it - given his age, maybe that shouldn't have surprised me.
     
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
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  7. Jimmy Conway

    Jimmy Conway Member Full Member

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    Absolutely amazing accomplishment, I agree. Recently saw him on a HBO special, along with Lewis, before the Mayweather-Pac fight. Great to see him again; always liked George. Wish him the best.
     
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    #7
  8. Balder

    Balder Well-Known Member banned Full Member

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    His goal was win back the title.

    He accomplished that goal. After that the only thing he may have chased is a large payday VS Tyson.... But other than that.

    He no longer wanted to fight.
     
    Balder, May 25, 2015
    Balder, May 25, 2015
    #8
  9. salty trunks

    salty trunks Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Even Axel shultz turned out to be a bad opponent for the slow plodding George. That was one of the Arum bribe deals to get that fight made. Tucker was a King promoted fighter and Foreman and Arum ddint want to do business with King.
    George was fun to watch but he needed opponents would stand in front of him and fight with him and some of the guys they selected put on their roller skates and made him look foolish.
     
    salty trunks, May 25, 2015
    salty trunks, May 25, 2015
    #9
  10. Saad54

    Saad54 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    He's still hawking products on TV. I've seen his "Invent Help" commercial on HLN about 100 times. I love "Forensic Files" and it seems to be the main commercial for that show.

    I think he milked his second reign. He knew he couldn't beat any legitimate guys and wanted to make more money. Personally, I think he should have walked away after the Moorer win. It would have been a fitting ending and he had already made a lot of Money in his comeback. He also would have avoided some unneccesary punishment. He took a hell of a lot of shots against . Alex Stewart. Apparently, he hasn't suffered any ill effects - yet.
     
    Saad54, May 25, 2015
    Saad54, May 25, 2015
    #10
  11. Jimmy Conway

    Jimmy Conway Member Full Member

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    May 2, 2015
    Interesting that he stayed around after Moorer. He regained the title and made a lot of money. Nothing else to prove after that point. Seeing his face after the Stewart fight was pretty horrifying. He was a bloody, swollen mess. I never wanted to see him hurt like that and hoped he would retire. Yet, he fought on.
     
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    #11
  12. Jimmy Conway

    Jimmy Conway Member Full Member

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    Salty, good point - forgot about the Tucker-King connection (Tucker did seem to get a lot of title shots, didn't he?).
     
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    #12
  13. Jimmy Conway

    Jimmy Conway Member Full Member

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    The Tyson fight would have broken records. The money and demand were there...any thoughts on why this didn't materialize?
     
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    Jimmy Conway, May 25, 2015
    #13
  14. Vince Voltage

    Vince Voltage Boxing Addict Full Member

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    He fought Stewart BEFORE Moorer. It was not part of his title reign.
     
    Vince Voltage, May 25, 2015
    Vince Voltage, May 25, 2015
    #14
  15. Big Ukrainian

    Big Ukrainian Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    In 96 Tyson beats Foreman, yes there would be great payday, but a beating, too.

    In 99 Foreman had signed to fight Holmes, in a fight he should've earned $10 mln. Unfortunately, the promoters of that fight couldn't find the money, the fight was off in the last moment and Foreman has retired for good.
     
    Big Ukrainian, May 25, 2015
    Big Ukrainian, May 25, 2015
    #15
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