Foreman vs. Qawi-A Much Better Fight Than I Thought

Maybe, but the Frazier fights were certainly more one-sided.

 

It was actually an excellent match for George’s development in his comeback. The perfect test. A very shrewd move. People forget how weird it seemed in those days for a guy that old to expect to be taken so seriously. Foreman was seen as a but of a sideshow on an exhibition tour ... but really he was getting into shape against those guys he was beating. What I admired was that George was not just in it for the fast buck,he was not just using his name to land big names. he started his career over fighting regular as if he were a prospect starting out. Fighting often in far out places. Making news and improving. It was excellent marketing. For his comeback to really build momentum Foreman needed a better, name guy to fight, and he could not afford to lose. George needed to know for himself that he could still win a competitive fight. Qawi was perfect. Dwight was worn. But not worn out enough. He could appear almost good enough to win - yet once he didn’t, the result would answer important questions. I think it was quite an ambitious move. A calculated one that paid off. Qawi was never going to lay down. He could fight. And he did make it competitive. Qawi was carrying enough extra weight that he would tire out if he couldn’t get the job done after a few rounds. He hit George with enough right hands to show that a better fighter might have knocked George out but even so, Foreman showed he still had a good chin and enough heart to take it as well as dish it out. He came through resistance and was ready for the next step. Qawi was not that easy to hit but George made sure he hit him enough times and kept going. I think that Qawi would have been just as tricky against any other good heavyweights of that time. George probably didn’t get the credit for it.

 

What versions of Foreman did face Frazier and qawi?
Prime Foreman vs qawi probably would last 35 seconds.

 

This is a fair assessment of the fight. It was a good fight.

 

No one is saying he was hurt but he was getting hit as hard Qwai could hit and often in the early rounds .. time and again ... it showed what would always be the case with Foreman .. things worked out for the best for him by never facing a Tyson, a Lewis or a Bowe .. he would have lost badly against the best of the big men ..

 

May have been a different fight if Dwight had faced the later version of Foreman, the one that lost to Briggs. Maybe even go the distance? But Dwight was never going to get a win over the big guy.

 

if Qawi could hit a bit harder things might have been completely different. This was Dwights first heavyweight opponent. Qawi has no knockout wins at heavyweight. He just was not a puncher above LH. I don’t think he ever dropped anyone heavier than 190lb. And that’s a minimum requirement meeting any former HW champion.

But it was still competitive. I don’t think Dwight had the gas in the tank that night. He was far too heavy.

Even so, I still maintain Qawi was still good enough to have been just as tricky for other heavyweights on that form.

 

Oddly enough, I was googling around looking for Qawi stuff in the last week or so and came across this Q&A with DMQ about the Foreman fight:

http://ringobserver.com/2016/12/14/facing-greatness-dwight-qawi-recalls-boxing-george-foreman/

 

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You mean Pierre Coetzer? Well, Coetzer was coming off of 2 consecutive KO losses to Bowe and Bruno. I'll get back to you on this after a nap.

 

Never bothered to watch the fight and I agree.