What the hell was up with Michael Moorer?

Not everyone is as self motivated as they probably should be…the majority aren’t but I suppose that’s what makes the greats great.

 

He doubted himself.

 

Moorer was too into his own head at times. Atlas tried his best to motivate Moored but whocjnows if he was helping or hurting being Moorers trainer.

 

It makes me wonder a lot if was to do with fighting above his natural weight. Carrying extra functional weight was within its infancy then.

Moorer started out as a Lightheavyweight. After two years He jumped from 175 to 213 in a four months spell after deciding to become a heavyweight.

I have a hunch that there was a trade off with the weight gaining techniques used at that time?

We saw Evander hit a wall at times too. He started out at 177. After a few years of artificially competing at heavyweight Holyfield also had some strange episodes in the ring against Moorer and Bowe. Especially the third fight with Bowe.

 

Just a moody, complicated guy and that's all. If you overthink boxing, it's going to hold you back to some extent (Moorer was very talented, so it only held him back relatively). You have to let go, which I think he struggled with.

 

He was on a starvation diet to make 175. There's a well circulated picture out there of him at lightheavy and Tyson and Don King. Moorer dwarfs Tyson at a time he making 175. I sensed the weight struggle was one of the factors as to why he became tired of the sport but stayed for the money. One of the factors. He was also a sullen a-hole with a socio streak... not easy to work with.

 

You can train a fighters body and teach them every technique you know, but you can't train their heart. Either they're going to stay focused or they're not.

 

Moorer was pretty much a one-gear fighter.

Some guys have the ability and inclination to rev up the engine as needed and some kind of fight along at their same pace at all times.

Moorer didn’t have that break-glass-in-case-of-emergency button. He could get you of there if he had you hurt because he was a puncher and a precise one, but he couldn’t go from zero to 60 like they say in the car ads — he plodded along at about 45 mph at all times.

 

I am not sure that anyone has hit on it yet, but Moorer was well-known to have mental problems. He had been in trouble with the law for violence earlier, and he used to watch violent movies and laugh when people were being murdered. I think it was Steward that described how he let Morrer have any room in his house to sleep in, and he chose a windowless basement that was basically a closet, and slept with a shotgun by the bed (if I remember exactly).

The guy hd a bit of a screw loose.

 

As a light heavyweight Moorer routinely weighed 200 pounds in the ring, especially as champion. He typically was much larger than his opponents and he was very aggressive as a result.
Then he moved up to heavyweight and Bert Cooper happened to him, and Alex Stewart hurt him and he became very cautious.

 

I heard in training he refers to using sayings from "grand theft auto" . Lampley made a very judgemental question for Emmanuel steward he said in the night he lost to Tua: "you're hurting right? Because Michael was like a son figure to you." (My perception, he simply lost the fight, he was ok, nothing to cry about, were all grown men in boxing,etc) Manny said "Michael Moorer doesn't enjoy boxing ". So not everybody likes their 9 to 5 and there is a thing called job satisfaction but yeah, if the shoe doesn't fit than it doesn't fit.,. I still think beating guys up for a living is better than working the register at 711. Oh well

Another thing I thought I'd mention: Moorer according to teddy, used to self cut, on his legs I believe he said. Also teddy said Michael would call it in, cancel roadwork to fake about feeling suicidal but teddy said that was Michael testing him to see if ted cared or would abandon him. Another deep meaning in the atlas tank lol. Just like when teddy had him primed for the Holyfield fight, an onlooker told him "what did you do with Michael? And who is this alien that has become him?" Lol. He was looking THAT good, teddy done right preparing him. Apparently teddy used to tell stories to Michael Moorer that didn't involve and did involve him at times. It was at these times where atlas said he would be carelessly surly, or else his chin raised in infectious wonder. Not to mention too, that MM was ALWAYS the peace keeper in all those fights at the heavyweight factory such as wlad Klitschko vs Shannon Briggs, like he had a morale duty to keep the peace... Can't be that bad of a guy!

 

You recall between rounds, Atlas sitting in Moorer corner on his stool & berating him for his lack of effort while Moorer looked on sheepishly?
That helped win him a title, but he became resentful that Atlas not he was getting the credit.
He was also bitter in an interview interspersed with Jovial George about their fight-denied that Foreman successfully manipulated him into moving over/standing in front of him-which was what happened.
Atlas screaming at him not to do so within 10 seconds of his being KOed!

With the rapid weight gain I wonder if steroids were involved which would likely worsen his behavior.