Did Foreman 22.XI 1997 deserve to retire as Lineal HW Champion?

That's why he should've retired after Moorer.

 

I have never seen the Schulz fight in full but everyone says Foreman got a gift.

So going by unofficial scores, even if you thought Foreman beat Briggs (I had it 8-4 I think for George), most would agree that he should have lost to Schulz.

Going by the official verdict, then still the answer is no. He officially beat Schulz and officially lost to Briggs.

He avoided tough competition as champ, but that doesn’t mean he is no longer the lineal champ. It just shows that being the lineal champ, just as being an alphabet champ, can be misleading at times if you try to look too much into the title and not into the situations.

 

There were 7 disputed rounds out of 12 and Foreman got 3 of the 5 unanimous rounds. You can get to 8-4 from that either way. The majority of the judges got to 7-5 Foreman.

Besides the Foreman bout Schulz's other world and EBU title fights were in his native Germany. If it was a robbery he was compensated for the robbery with 2 title shots in a row and lost close fights there too.

 

It was a robbery every boxing fan I've seen comment on the fight has it very clearly for Schultz.

Make a poll and see how many people on this forum think Foreman won it.

 

The point I was making is he was treading water waiting for a big fight like champions often do and one wasn't on the table until Lennox if he'd beaten Briggs. People act like the 90s HW division was Lewis's, Tysons and Bowes oh my and it just wasn't that. Lennox lost to McCall. Holyfield lost to Bowe. Bowe wasn't champion and had the Golota fights. Golota lost to Lennox. Tyson lost to Holyfield. Moorer was the most stable other champion and Foreman tried to make the rematch and it full through.

Grimsley was possibly the worst HW title contender in history but the blame for that is on the WBA and WBC not Foreman. Grimsleys resume was 94 wins under .500 and the WBA ranked Grimsley 9th. The WBC gave Grimsley minor regional belts for beating guys with 0-7 and 11-34 records. For comparison Briggs would later fight a 21-0 guy for that same minor title.

Foreman had been waiting 18 months for a fight and was just looking for a tuneup with anyone. Foreman handpicked Grimsley but the alphabet bodies put him on the menu.

Savarese was USBA champ and had beaten Mathis Jr who Tyson also got a title shot for beating. Major regional champs getting title shots is standard practice.

 

We can all agree on that much.