Folks, I thought Foreman and Savarese fought a great fight on HBO back in 1997. Yes, the fight was close, but I gave the nod to Foreman after 12 damn good rds of boxing. Foreman was well tuned, as was Savarese. I thought the fight went over with the crowd and the fans rather well.. Okay, yes, despite that Foreman was in-shape and the lineal title holder in 1997, he was severly tested by Savarese on HBO... Foreman's strength was still there in 1997, but his leverage and power had driven south a bit... No longer Foreman could guarantee a KO anymore.... GOOD FIGHT! MR.BILLthumbsup:hat:bbb
It was a good fight, and Foreman, despite being nearly 50 years of age had a decent work rate... While I gave the fight to George, it was a very close outcome, and can't rate it as a decisive win, but he certainly deserved the nod marginally. Savarese would never amount to much in hindsite, but he was a 30 year old man in his prime, with a fair amount of size and a 36-0 record... I can remember him rating Joe Louis as the greatest fighter of all time when interviewed before the fight... Its unfortunate, that some use this fight to downrate George rather than appreciate what he was still capable of at near senior citizenship.
I remember watching bits and peices of this but I never sat through the whole fight I agree I remember Saverese fighting back as well but george was kind of faded in 97' the 91 version was probably the best version of the comeback george
I really enjoyed this fight. I watched it live back then on HBO.....I was really impressed with George Foreman's conditioning and workrate in this fight; he fought a spirited, action-packed fight against a good, solid heavyweight. Savarese was not a bum like the majority of victims that Foreman feasted on prior to fighting HOlyfield -- Savarese was big, strong, durable, and moderately skilled. I was suprised at how many big shots Savarese took from Foreman. But, it was a combination of Foreman's power being overrated (at that point at least) and Savarese having a decent chin. The Savarese fight and Foreman's next fight against Briggs were both very good showings for a 48-year-old fighter.
I thought it was the best performance of all of Georges comeback. He was matched with a guy who had about the same skill level as him at the time only younger, and George outwilled him and outfought him. A tremendous performance for man of Georges age.