George Foreman's second career 'makeover'

I think George became a lot smarter as a fighter as he got older. He had to, or he would have had no chance at all. Look at the sustained beatings he took, even at the hands of Moorer he was getting a good butt licking before landing that shot.
I think he remained pretty arrogant overall, but as a fighter he matured, and yes I think his persona changed to meet the mood of his comeback. He became a preacher, and a do gooder, he couldnt comeback as a snarling animal.

 

he is a SOB and is very moody and has that "i'll do it myself then" attitude also calling all your children george....please. he was a business man by now and he knew what sold being a grumpy old man wouldnt work. in the bowe golota riot you can tell that george was ready to rumble.

but he was more mature as lefthook said. he wasnt as insecure like before.....but was insecure to get back in the ring again

 

I've heard a lot of rumors about George being a really short-tempered, sort of mean guy when the cameras are not on him. I wouldn't be surprised. I think Foreman was so motivated by his dire financial straits (pre-comeback) that he made a conscious, herculean effort to present the kind, jovial, cuddly image that basically endeared him to fight fans (which made him a major draw) and sold out arenas, which allowed him to get opportunities (title shots, mega paydays) based on his popularity........Foreman was all but broke in 1988 when he came back. So, I think he was more than willing to slip on a "nice guy" mask in order to increase his chances of making a lot of money.

 

I think the main thing is that Foreman became a much better businessman during his comeback than he was at a younger age. Foreman had his product (himself, his comeback) to sell. George admitted in a video on youtube that during his first career, he was too arrogant and caught up in his lust to dominate opponents to ever really enjoy his championship run. He said during his comeback, he was too preoccupied with figuring out how best to sell his product (his comeback) to really, truly relax and enjoy himself.....

 

In recent years on some TV talk shows I've seen Jovial George start to get a bit peeved when he was asked some not so softball questions, but he catches himself early, applies the brakes and reverts again to Jovial George, probably for successful business purposes.

Maybe George has truly mellowed a little compared to the way he was 35 plus years ago, which often happens as people grow older but he probably has a basically sullen nature that he has to work at to supress for money making reasons.

 

Witness how nasty and surly Foreman became between rounds of some of his more painful fights, most notably Stewart and Schultz. He was telling his cornermen to shut up, not to touch him, and generally being just an all-around a-hole.

 

I dont think he was ever a surly moody man like he made out when he was champion first time. That was just as much of an act, and very temporary anyway.
I've seen him in interviews when he first turned pro and he wasn't actually acting like "another Sonny Liston" (Liston, I think was just shy and mistrustful more than anything, and maybe a true badass but he never really acted that up).
And then in the post-'Zaire 70s fights and that "fight five men in one night" exhibition thing he seemed to portray a confused image, not exactly moody, more a showman and a man at least acting happy.

So, he was always a man of various images, uncomfortable acting any role probably, in his youth, in the 70s.

For the 90s and beyond he may have been acting but it was a role he could play, and continues to play. Let's face it, when you are in the public eye you need to act a role to some extent. No one will forgive you or let it pass if you have a bad day.

 

Somewhere in the middle. No one is 100% jovial, and I'd doubt one of the most fearsome heavyweights of all time would be either.

 

The man did become a preacher and had a religious reawakening, so I'm sure at least some of his change was genuine.

With that said, no one entirely loses their underlying personality, so I'm sure there were traces of his previous moodiness.

Didn't he come back to make money for his youth center?

 

Bigfoot Martin outright accused him of being a fake in the build-up towards the Moorer match. In fact, during THAT build-up, Teddy Atlas went to great pains to force George to snap and show his true self - to both the public and especially to Moorer, who Teddy felt needed to be aware that he was in with a grand conman.

I have no doubt that George has a good heart, but make no mistake about his ego or killer instinct - especially towards business - both in the ring and out.

 

cos a guy is moody doesnt mean he is a bad man. i have seen 70's interviews with george and he come across as nice and pleasant

i think he was more comfortable with himself and life when he made is comeback in 1987

 

It can be hard to know for sure what sort of personality a public figure really has. Like most human beings George Foreman appears to be a mixed bag. Early in his boxing career young Foreman at the 1968 Olympics was a praised patriot and a condemned Uncle Tom for his display of a small American flag. I think he was about 19 years old at the time and it must have been difficult for him to deal with. It had to influence the kind of moods he presented to the public for the rest of his life.

But the young and scary George also had a subtle sense of humor. In Africa shortly before the fight with Ali a scrawny journalist was captured on film asking George about possibly losing to Ali. George with a menacing voice and look said something like " I beg your pardon " and the question was repeated. Big George again begged for pardon and it looked a bit tense for a few seconds until everyone including George broke into laughter. And when George was asked if he would do like Ali, who said he planned to use some of his winnings to build a hospital, George without missing a beat said that Ali might need a hospital. Pretty funny even if it wasn't in the same league with Ali's rapid fire belly laughers.

 

It was and is real. The man obviously found peace and has thus been able to get a hold of his best qualities to attain success in and out of the ring. On the public image front, he had the chance to learn first-hand from the best in Ali and on the revival trail as a preacher.

The horror tales? I don't doubt them one minute. But, as said above, everyone has bad moments. But George's astonishing metamorphosis should be celebrated as a fascinating boxing story of a wayward kid who made good.

 

I think I admire Larry Holmes more as a person because he seems to tell things like he sees them. Yes, he tends to ruffle feathers and offend people, and I have often been turned off by Holmes' arrogance and posturing, but at the end of the day, I think Holmes is more genuine than is Foreman. Foreman always strikes me as a guy who tries very hard to say the right things and act in the "right ways" in a given situation. Politically correct -- yes; phony -- yes!