George Foreman's Comeback. What does it mean?

Foreman was mocked mercilessly by the east coast boxing press.They tried to give him as little coverage as possible while mocking him when they did.......bear in mind there were 7-8 international boxing magazines in those days and a lot more daily press coverage...what foreman did had never been done before......and its after effects have been felt in all sports since than.....not just boxing

 

When Foreman came back he had incredible desire and determination....ironically money was a motivating factor initially as he hoped to raise enough money to save his church and youth centre.

Foreman put together a great team ..inc archie moore

He approached his comeback as if it was an entirely new career....he did not rely on past reputation and in fact went out of his way to dismiss it.....he learned to relax more in the ring....his stamina was far superior...he learnt a fantastic new cross arm defence...his power and speed wasnt the same but he still carried murderous power....overall what he achieved speaks for itself......and 40 even 45 are no longer viewed as ancient in sports ...we have seen ufc and world boxing champs....tennis champs into the 35 age range....t20 cricketers...even sprinters have gone up in age....foreman opened a new world

 

Above all he showed the power of the mind...the comebacking foreman in the course of his 11 year second career showed one of the greatest chin and heart in boxing history...lest we forget he went in with noted punchers like alex stewart,gerry cooney,michael moorer and tommy morrison...none of them came close to hurting him.

In essence he reinvented himself inside and outside the ring.he became the oldest hw champion of all time at 45 and made $40 million in the ring and another $150 million out of the ring with his grill machine

 

Speaking of personal experiance ive got better in my 40's than at any time.Talikng about athletic ability.( dont tell me my shyte either i ran a 4:15 mile at 38...(WITHOUT proper running training) .etc....

What foreman had was ring smarts and developed a style he could adjust to better ...Absorb more punishment to land his own. Is this better? Well he wasnt fast but he was still experianced and a well put together 240 plus Hw at that time ,as much as 260 or so......Foreman himself reinventeed himself with weights/strongman training ( i know you guys dont want to hear that)...well the end of the day a smarter/bigger stronger was better..he SELF admitted that to ME( i was a complete package in my comeback) .

Foreman preceeded to fight the bigger stonger 90's guys and made a good account of himself...deal with it....lol


i think the age itself gave him confidance,he dragged his feet though in the late 80's fighting bums...really left alot open to desire with other fights...Tyson/ Holmes?

 

What Foreman accomplished was the greatest in all of sports. What allows Foreman to do so?

He retired young so never became a shop worn fighter.

He was an ATG fighter although no one knew him as such. He had the desire, courage, durability, will to win that denotes an ATG fighter.

He still maintained a devastating KO punch.

He came back in an heavily diluted era where multiple paths existed to win the championship. Incredibly he won the championship that really counts.

His motivation was money. After so many years he was running out of it. I remember that he said he had multiple roles Royce cars and sold one after another as he required cash. Once he ran out of cars to sell he decided the only way to survive would do what he did best...fight.

 

"Age forty is not a death sentence at all!"

Lol! I just remember hearing him say that after every fight. He was a joke initially. The press laughed but I can remember seeing guys like Pinklon Thomas smirking when being asked about George. When he blew away Cooney, it gave him credibility. It wasn't just that he beat Cooney but they way he put him away. It was pretty impressive.

I think he showed the importance of being active when attempting a comeback. He fought regularly & even when the opponent wasn't the best, it gave George work. How much would 90's Tyson have benefited from fighting a series of "stiffs" just to get his timing & confidence back?

Clearly despite all the weight jokes Foreman was in shape. Guy never sat down and while he never fought a fast pace, he was always consistent. I remember him looking trim before Holyfield but then he gained weight back. He preferred being bigger.

Despite changes in his defense he always fought like George Foreman. Always, stalked looking to land big shots. He never veered from looking to impose his will on his opponent.

 

Look at post prison Tyson. Every fight he had was a big event. He should've fought a few more McNeeley types just to reacquaint himself with the ring. Ali followed the Foreman method back in the early 70's by staying active & building stamina & getting sharp. I think staying active helped Foreman become comfortable in the ring again.

 

"When Foreman came back he had incredible desire and determination....ironically money was a motivating factor initially as he hoped to raise enough money to save his church and youth centre". I saw this "Big Ol' man Pastor George Foreman out on the streets in Houston trying to raise money for his church in the mid-eighties. Then in the mid-90's, Hvywt Champ Foreman & and his son "George", had a book signing at a book store in Dallas. Big George's hands & fists are like "ham-size" when you shake them.

 

Im really suprised by all these idiots that laughed at his comeback. I mean how dumb are they, in his prime George Foreman was the most powerfull boxer that has ever existed. Did they really think that someone with so much power wouldnt stand a chance at a good comeback like other ex champions? Its so ignorant.

 

Not ignorant at all really. Fighters fighting at the age he came back typically are not successful. In fact they typically end disastrously

 

For many beating Cooney sems to have given Foreman credibility but for me it was when he put in a respectable showing vs Holyfield.

 

I think the return of Foreman was mostly about the money, but have no doubt he wanted to make up for what happen against Ali. I believe he was always a warrior and that was shown when he won the title again Moorer. He might not have been as powerful or as fast as he once was in his younger days, but he did what was impossible in his second go around. I am really happy he found peace in life and no way in hell will that man be forgotten in the boxing world. Foreman beat legends like Frazier and Norton, but what he did against Moorer at that age was unprecedented. The fat old man took punishment round after round and become the oldest heavyweight Champion in history