In his first career, I doubt if Foreman was afraid of anyone. But he was smartly managed. Through 1970 he was taking the future champion route, beating guys like Wepner, Chuvalo, O’Halloran, Kirkman, and Peralta. He got up to #2 and settled in to a series of keep busy fights, except for the Peralta rematch, in 1971 and ‘72. He’d earned his title shot and took no risks. So there were a number of ranked guys he could have fought in those years but didn’t. Whether that’s ducking is a matter of opinion. As champion he wasn’t super active, but much of that was due to business problems. And he did fight both Norton and Ali in ‘74. George didn’t do himself any favors post-Ali, sitting out 1975 and finally launching his comeback in earnest in June 1976. He clamored for an Ali rematch when Ali was booked with other fights, then lost and retired. As for the 1987-1997 era, Foreman maximized his earnings while taking very little risk. Thus there were several guys he didn’t fight. I both respect him and resent him for this.
Foreman vs. Five were exhibitions and thus didn’t appear on Foreman’s official record. But they were televised on ABC’s Wide World of Sports and can be found on YouTube.
After he won the lineal title from Moorer he essentially ducked the entire top 10 for years under the guise of "corrupt organizations won't tell me what to do."
As I recall, it was seen as a misguided move and wasn’t impressive. It just was. His most notable opponent was Boone Kirkman, who lasted the three round distance (unlike when they fought for real four and a half years earlier when Foreman got him out in two). Here’s a short article that pretty much hits it on the head - https://the-cauldron.com/we-were-stupider-foreman-fights-five-b48d09b686c8
He also would freely admit, like when he was commentating for HBO, that he wanted no part of “these big young strong guys.” It was part of his shtick, but it was true.
The thing that botherd me about Foreman-Quarry at the time , Is Jerry defeated that big slugger Buster Mathis (29-1 20 knockouts) Mac Foster (24-0 24 knockouts) Ron Lyle (19-0 17 knockouts) And Earnie Shavers (46-2 45 knockouts and 34 ko's in a row) Jerry barely lost a round in these bouts COMBINED! And the money both camps would have made at the time 1973-74! -Foreman could have commanded pretty much the same money he made for Muhammad ali if not even more! And quarry would have made 6 times the dough he made for MSG SECOND bout with Joe Frazier
Axel Schulz and Tony Tucker for starters. If people on this forum claim Tyson ducked Foreman despite George being handed a contract on 3 separate occasions, then what about the stripping of the WBA and IBF titles for failing to defend against those opponents? While we're at it, if people claim Bowe ducked Lewis then why don't those same people claim Lewis ducked both Ruiz and Byrd and getting stripped of the WBA and IBF titles?
I definitely believe him when he says there was fear of Frazier. Many boxers are afraid of opponents, however it's their job not to show it.
Well it is possible. I would just say if Foreman never said such, based on his demeanor and his go forward destruct and destroy, I would never have given his having "fear" any consideration. When Mike Tyson said he "feared" losing, I could buy that and definitely got that vibe about him back in the day. A perfectionist but sometimes perfectionists are kind of borne out of insecurity, unable to cope with anything less than the same. With that mentality, when the first loss is incurred, it can make for a huge bubble burst, no longer with a perfect record in hand or protect so pridefully and acutely as before.
Foreman ducked a few fighters. Probably more than most at heavy for a guy considered an ATG. He wanted no part of Schulz and dropped his belt rather than rematch. He dropped his other belt rather than face his mandatory in Tucker. He openly claimed he wanted nothing to do with Quarry. (Whether you believe Quarry could beat him or not Quarry did have good reputation against sluggers Lyle, Shavers, Foster) Never faced Holmes when they were clamoring for that fight on the Senior Circuit. Foreman’s entire second career was shady. Got the Stewart nod, in a fight most people would of stopped. Got the Schulz nod, in a fight he lost, and a whole bunch of dirt came out after that fight, with state commissioners getting bribes etc. Some people even feel the Moorer bout was not legit I’ve seen posts on this site about that. The Briggs fight was a shady call against George. Never fought in his second career the likes of Tyson, Bowe, Lewis. He gave a weird performance in the Morrison loss. I don’t know but lot of things don’t seem right with Foreman’s resurrection. At best he was extremely carefully managed, and he gets lot of slack for it because of his age.
George had firm ideas on who he wanted to fight and who he didn’t want to fight. I don’t think it necessarily constitutes a duck if you select a similar regarded guy over another one. I read that George turned down Anders Eklund as an opponent. just point blank asked for another guy. A smaller one.
