Older fans, what was the reaction to Foreman’s comeback

He was not taken seriously based on i heard.
When he knocked Cooney out in 2 rounds the people was changing their stupid opinion

 

The delusional old fool was going to get himself killed!

 

It was 1988 and I was 20. I was a great Ali fan, so I had lost interest in boxing after his retirement.
A colleague at work told me Foreman had started fighting again.
At first I couldn't believe it.
Then I thought it was a joke.
Third thought was: That is hilarious.

Never had heard much about him in Germany after the Ali debacle.
More than 10 years seemed like a very long time to me, so I assumed that Foreman must be very very old.
Tyson ruled the division by now.
I didn't take it seriously.

 

If you want a good picture on how George's comeback was perceived, watch the broadcast of the Foreman - Adilson Rodriguez fight. Larry Merchant is at his snarky best (or worst) and thinks Foreman's comeback is absurd.

One of my co-workers was friends with Charles Hosteler, Foreman's second comeback opponent. After Foreman knocked him out in three, my co-worker was like, "Charlie ought to be ashamed of himself, getting knocked out by that old man."

Foreman's comeback wasn't taken seriously at all. They said Qawi was way overweight and old, while Bert Cooper was out of it on drugs. It wasn't until the Gerry Cooney fight, believe it or not, that George started getting some respect. The Foreman - Cooney fight was a big deal at the time. It was billed as "Two Geezers at Caesars" when Cooney was all of 33. The Holyfield fight cemented that respect.

 

This about sums it up.
The guys he started out fighting, you could see they weren't up to much, I had the feeling that once he stepped up he'd be knocked about. That's how most heavyweight comebacks go. Beating Cooney didn't impress me that much, seeing as he'd been out of the ring years and hardly fought. When they announced the Holyfield fight, my prediction was Holyfield to stop him some time around the 8 th.
A painful fight for George to send him back to retirement!
So, him actually going the distance with Holyfield, the much younger man, made me sit up a bit and think, maybe Foreman s still got something about him.

 

It was taken as a joke for quite some time, not just because of his age but because of his SIZE.

 

not seriously at all. The curiosity factor was the ticket seller. No way in your wildest dreams was a man of 38yrs old (he may as well have been 48) gonna do any damage. Thinking back now, and watching him a year or so into his comeback, he was not this big fat bald old guy trying to raise money for his church, an image that he loved to project to the fans. He was actually in pretty good shape. Anyone who did think he was gonna win a world title was either a liar, deluded casual, or the best judge of boxing the world has ever seen

 

i remember there being a huge buzz about when he came to england to fight terry anderson. SKY showed it live along with a 24/7 build up with the same intensity like a both prime joe louis was meeting Ali

 

I've been telling the younger generation I was born in the 1970's lately. My reaction at the time was Foreman needed money, and was too heavy to be anything but a very interesting act. Slow, but still powerful, he had the punchers chance. Stars aligned for him.

To Foreman's credit, he transformed his act. He was sulky in his younger days. Suddenly he was cheerful and funny. People liked him.

I also didn't fully understand how many 40 + year older men were pulling for him. Those who passed 40 will know what I'm talking about. Most men in this age " think " or like to pretend they can still play sports at a level close to the level they were in their prime. 99% of the time, they cannot. At his age, your hand speed and reflexes diminish. Your stamina isn't the same. Your legs aren't the same. It's just the way we are made.

Yet this age group at one point in time held the heavyweight championship of the world. Maybe a person born in the 1950's -1960's can comment on this topic. It didn't matter what ethnic group you were, the men I knew who liked boxing in their 40's during Foreman's comeback had that bond. A goofy nod of the head and smile when talking about him. Foreman was their hero, he could still do it and in a sense it gave them a boost that they could too. Whatever the topic was.

 

Excellent bud! Captured it!!

 

I thought at the time the comeback was largely a gimmick, but also thought GF would do reasonably well as long as he stayed away from Tyson in his prime. I didn't think George would take over the division at over 40 plus years By the middle of '89 though, it was clear to me ol' George was shaking off the ring rust and was still formidable. All in all, a very successful return by Foreman at the end of it.

 

At that time there wasn't a long track record for guys fighting effectively into their 40's especially after a 10 year layoff. Most folks were worried about him taking a beating like Ali did against Holmes or Louis did against Marciano.

 

As others mentioned, it was seen as a joke or gimmick, especially when you saw the pics of what he looked like in his first bout back against Zouski. I thought he needed money or was trying to get publicity for himself or his church or something. I took it no more seriously than anyone else.