Maybe a little bit of both. Foreman had landed that same combination that ultimately kayoed Moorer many times prior to the 10th round, and Moorer held up well.
Yup. That sums it up for me. Without a doubt, JUDGMENT! Foreman landed this combo too many times in the fight for it to be a lucky punch. It's just that he put full power in the last one! The other factor, I wouldn't call luck, but stupidity from Moorer for not respecting Foreman's power. Hadn't he watched the brutal power of Foreman even in the comeback fights? Scary stuff.
Moorer's face certainly was not lucky. IMO, Moorer was struggling as a fighter from late on in his 175lbs days. He lacked motivation and confidence. He was clearly highly skilled as he managed to stay undefeated right up to Foreman, but it seemed to me at the time, it would only be a matter of (short) time until someone did him over. Foreman was losing the fight, but was still very much in it, as Moorer seemed too defensive and lacked the authority that the undefeated Heavyweight Champion of the World should have fighting a 45 year old. Foreman in a sense did win due to strategy, as his strategy seemed to be to fight at his own pace, even if it meant dropping rounds, because he fancied the job if he could get Moorer anytime in the 36 minutes.
Well, the stories that Foreman made up afterwards like how he planned to land that punch exactly during that round, are hogwash. But it wasn't a lucky punch either. He simply landed a great 1-2, stunned Moorer and the next 1-2 put him down for the count. He landed those kind of shots in earlier rounds, but not with the same effect.
Cumulative effect. Moorer learned that anyone who doesn't use footwork and cautious defense gets stopped by George. Moorer fought right in his range, and there are only so many heavy Foreman hits the human body can take. Moorer might have been winning the rounds in a points sense, but I say that in almost every round, Foreman landed crisp, clean, solid, effective shots that gradually wore down Moorer's ability to take it. Foreman didn't just land that right. Moorer stood right there and ate some hellacious left hooks and body shots.
Their is no such thing as luck, everythings timing and preperation. Foreman knew that Moorer would be more open as the fight went into the later rounds and knew their would come a time where Moorer would walk right into his right hand, and thats exactly what happend.
George was lucky in the sense that he wasn't fighting a guy who was never known for having a solid set of whiskers. George's punching power by that point was probably several psi's below what it was in the 70's, but combined with Moorer's shaky chin, it was enough.
Foreman won because he maintained focus and never gave up.... Moorer's attention span was erratic... Moorer was painting Foreman like a picture for 9 rds...... Still, Foreman sucked-it-up and came out to KO Moorer in round 10..... The 10th stanza was ALL Foreman..... The win was legit.... Moorer did NOT take a dive like some fools have argued, Foreman nailed Moorer's glass-jaw with a nice two punch combo that consisted of a left and right....... BOING! MR.BILL:deal
It seemed like a well timed punch and Foreman has had a lot of expierence.Not many guys take a record like his into a title fight as challenger.I think he judged the fight well and a little bit of luck is always needed to land the best shot possible.Things just went well for him that night.He won because he was the best fighter on the day.
No, I don't believe it was "luck". I think it was a combination of Foreman giving it a commendable effort for a 45 year old man who hadn't fought in over a year and Moorer being foolish in taking the bold approach that he did in trying to knock George out. Moorer boxed well, but took Foreman too lightly and showed virtually no respect for his power. At times, he had George staggered and looked as if he was trying to finish him off. Foreman to his credit, took Moorer's absolute best while maintaining his persistance and continued to try and deliver his one-two combos... Eventually, he cought Moorer at the right time and sent the champ to his first defeat in 36 pro fights. It wasn't a fluke where one man scored a flash knockdown and the the other hit his head on the canvas either. No, that punch caused Moorer to get a lot of stitches in mouth. He was messed up.
To me the thing that really screams that Foreman-Moorer was not luck is that fact that Foreman started so slowly. Normally when a guy realizes he only has a puncher's chance and is looking to get lucky in the ring, he comes out and throws everything he has early. The flip side to that, though, is that unless you catch the other guy dry, (which no champion should ever be coming into the ring, although it does sometimes happen) the early part of the fight is also going to be the point when the other guy has the most energy to get away, leacing you with nothing left. Watch Foreman in the first round. Once when I was rewatching the full fight I counted the punches in the first, and although I don't remember the exact count now, Foreman threw all of maybe two or three right hands in the first. To me, this backs up the idea that Foreman was luring Moorer in, knowing that as the fight went longer and longer Moorer would disrespect Foreman's power, become more stationary, and become less mentally sharp. (And thus less likely to pick up on the things Foreman would be looking to do or Foreman suddenly picking up the pace or throwing more of certain sorts of punches and power blows). As a beautiful bonus for Foreman, Moorer also was made so over confident by this that he didn't really pay attention to Atlas' warnings about moving away from Foreman's right and staying out of reach more. The end result was the 10th round, where things came together well enough that Foreman could smack Moorer around the ring for 2 minute straight, (and he did, anyone who says it's one shot or combo from Foreman that did it all hasn't watched the fight) before Moorer fell. Now, I'm not saying to believe everything Foreman says. The truth definitely comes second to a good story for George, and that's a pattern that fans should be familiar with by now. He's exaggerated things a lot, added on lots of details, but I have no doubt that there was a strategy going in to extend Moorer, let the punishment accumulate, and take him out later after Moorer had become complacent and would come to George rather than George having to chase him.
Good post! Yes, Foreman's determination and grit allowed him to win. Many other fighters would have given up. Foreman did come out strong for the 10th round - he came out blasting and really winging big shots at Moorer, especially the left hook.