Nasty comment made by Foreman

I don't think it was a reference to Ali, I think it was Foreman saying it as it is ! like old people tremble, he means old fighters..Thats how I interpreted it, could be wrong !

 

Dark humour is required talking about the realities of a long professional boxing career. I don't know if he meant Ali. If he did, Ali was a guy who stayed too long after going against medical advice. Why should George be more sensitive about a guy like Ali than say some poor journeyman with a losing record?

He said "boxers don't retire gracefully, they tremble away." Is it nice? Is it fair? It's probably true anyway. I guess George is allowed to say that. There are a thousand safer and more lucrative ways of making a living. Especially for the vast majority of pro fighters who will never be more than 6 round fighters.

 

It may not be in the best of taste but it's just about permissible from a former fighter,a "civilian "saying it would be infra dig ,imo.

 

That sounded to me more like self deprecation than anything else. I doubt "tremble off" was an allusion to Ali. When speaking off the cuff people say things all the time that have possible interpretations they didn't anticipate or intend.
The human brain just can't think quickly enough to obviate that in every single sentence we spit out.

 

I don't think he was talking about Ali. How many of his peers trembled off? Quite a few. It was dark humor. It's a dark business.

A funny thing I heard Foreman say about Frazier was - when Ali, Frazier, Norton, Foreman and Holmes were on tour promoting the Champions Forever video in the early 90s - Frazier started complaining again about Ali calling him a "Tom" back before their first fight in the early 70s. And Frazier kept saying during their video promotion tour he was no Peeping Tom. And Foreman had to explain to Joe that Ali wasn't calling him a Peeping Tom, he was calling him an Uncle Tom. Apparently, Frazier didn't know what Uncle Tom meant. Frazier thought Ali was calling him a sex pervert. Not that Uncle Tom was nice.

Still, people spent years talking about the lead up to SUPERFIGHT I and how Ali had called Frazier an Uncle Tom and insisted Frazier was the white man's champ and all that. But when Ali referred to Frazier as a "Tom," Frazier thought Ali was saying he was peeping in windows and jerking it to naked women. And, according to Foreman, that's what got Frazier so upset. (The Gorilla stuff came later during the Thrilla in Manila.)

 

Interesting that Big George was aware of McArthurs' statement that "old soldiers never die, they just fade away"
which actually came from a British WWI song but never mind.

 

With all the nasty things ali said, you pick this tremble away line and call it nasty? And think he meant ali? Even if he did, so what! Foreman always showed others respect, well, the comeback Foreman I should say. Foreman is a class act!

 

He didn't say anything nasty.

 

Foreman's allowed to say this; he's part of an elite club. He's talking about both himself and his peers. He damn well knows how lucky he is to have left the game with faculties intact. "Gallows humour" is a good way of putting it.

 

I think anyone should be allowed to say it.
It's the truth. Boxers hang around too long and many of them are trembling, shuffling, slurring casualties when (or soon after) they quit. Why shouldn't we be allowed to talk about it ?
It's the truth.