George Foreman, a career of unfulfilled potential?

Interesting. He spent a lot of his career, both parts, coddled and carefully matched. Maybe he was an, in fact, an overachiever.

 

Foreman was a different fighter after Ali; he was nowhere near as confident, arguably more clumsy, self-conscious about being aggressive. A stuttering force.

The Rumble in the Jungle wasn't so much of a career detour as it was a change of character. Trying to hypothesize his success in the late '70s is tough because Foreman at that point was a caricature of what was.

Now had Ali not been there to stop the first incarnation of George, the same guy who cold-clocked a pedestrian for absolutely no reason, what would have stopped him? That is the real question.

 

I don't know, his career is so unique and unusual. I would say that his 10 years away from the sport helped his legacy. No one had made a comeback like that before. He was reasonably competitive with an undefeated great in Holyfield, and won the legitimate Lineal HW champ against undefeated Moorer.

Now it's true that Foreman was careful about his opposition in his comeback, and Moorer is not one of history's better lineal HW champions. But still, it was very unique and still remarkable that someone his age could do what he did.

Also, let's say he continues fighting after the Jimmy Young fight. I personally don't think he gets past Holmes. The best he would be is the WBA champion. Maybe it would have helped him to stay defending that belt and not facing Holmes for awhile, he could chalk up more title wins to his credit. But I have a feeling he would be looked at as "merely a paper champ" if that had happened.

His career at a high level probably wouldn't have lasted as long as he would have taken more punishment and wear and tear to his body, so I doubt he becomes the oldest HW champ ever.

 

If Foreman wouldn't have retired in 1977, I could have easily seen him and Holmes kick ass and rule the division, until Tyson took center stage in 1986..
With the exception of Holmes, I think George would have whipped everybody!! gutted Weaver like a fish, KO'D Dokes, Snipes, both the Spinks bros, bonecrusher Smith, etc..

 

If he came back today he would knock out p4p #1 Floyd Mayweather Junior. Of THAT you can bet upon.

 

Maybe they were protecting him for good reason. Maybe careful matchmaking flattered his potential rather than thwarted it.

 

That's a good open ended question. During the year and a half before Frazier who do you think should have had a shot at George? Quarry is the biggest name on the list and I think George would have pounded him with his jab as long as Saddler trained him strictly. Peralta, Chuvalo, and the previously undefeated Kirkman were the names on his resume going into the Frazier go and the Peralta wins brought up more questions then they answered.

 

Can never make up my mind with this guy.
Had a long list of mostly no names before taking on frazier for the title..frazier had health issues ie, virtually blind in one eye and high blood pressure...people who had Joes interests at heart wanted him to retire..George beat him and Norton but then blew the big one with Ali.
Apart from the Lyle win he added nothing to his "cv" before retiring after the Young loss.
His comeback wasnt notable for outstanding performances en masse, more for decent efforts that looked great because an older fighter was doing them.
His persona outshone the facts in his comeback although nobody could deny what a great effort the whole thing was.
His first career stalled in Africa and for me never really got back on track.
After Norton though he was seen as invincible.Ali easily outboxed him.
George is a conundrum.

 

Underachiever, his retirement made the 80s a much weaker heavyweight era. Between Foreman retiring early, Teofilo Stevenson never turning pro, and Holmes ducking the best contenders we never saw the best fights that could have made the 80s as good as the sixties, seventies, or nineties.

 

I think Foreman was mentally ruined after RITJ, moreso than any other great ever.

I feel Young Foreman was mentally weak if/when things didnt go his way. Look at his change after the Ali loss and then the fact that he retired after the Young embarassment. I dont think Foreman retired due to 'religious' reasons, i think he just couldnt hack another loss. The long layoff gave him the mental strength and he returned a much wiser and mentally stronger man.

I think Tyson did the reverse, he was mentally very strong pre prison, but returned to boxing as a very mentally weak individual who didnt have the fighting guts anymore and this was exposed the first time he was taken into the trenches (Holyfield).

Foreman pre rumble however, was a monster. Take Ali out of the equation and that Foreman rules for a number of years until boredom/old age/distractions set in. Guys that base their style on fire and fury, ala Tyson, Frazier etc, theyre fire sizzles out after a while. Guys who rely on their boxing skills like Ali, Lewis, Wladmir, Holmes, these guys are around for a longer time.

Foreman definitely is an underachiever and thats mainly blamed on his mental weakness after the Ali loss. Just watch the video of Foreman vs 5 guys in one night, watch that and tell me Foreman was mentally strong.

 

A career of unfulfilled potential?

George Foreman was the oldest heavyweight champion of all-time. He could brawl or box. The only person who truly defeated him in his prime was Ali (no shame). He lifted Frazier off the ground with an uppercut. He had a short but brilliant amateur career, winning a Gold medal at the Olympics.

He was successful outside of boxing being an entrepreneur along with having 12 children, 6 of them also named George (BEAST MODE). He pulled trucks, chopped trees, and lugged deer on his back when he trained. BIG George.

I think not.

 

Foreman only had 25 amateur fights, and did not face a tough group of heavies when he won gold in the Olympics.

Essentially he had two careers, and two very different personalities.

The younger Foreman was a destroyer, but he lacked poise, patience, and ring generalship.

The older Foreman did not hit as hard, but was more relaxed, mentally tougher, learned how to use his jab, and fought at a pace which his body could go the distance.

I think Foreman's second career hit his full potential, but his first career went south after Ali knocked him out, Lyle had him in serious trouble, and Jimmy Young floored him and beat Foreman on points.