Perception of Foreman in 1978

He was perceived as a head case who was demoralized by his losses to Ali and Jimmy Young.

 

I think Foreman was largely reinvented and to a point over romanticised because of his glorious comeback run. This is a very interesting post because I wonder if Foreman would be remembered as much more than a massive punching champion with a brief reign if he had not had his comeback. I'd never really thought about it but I doubt George would be remembered much differently than Kenny Norton say, and he'd not be in many top ten or twenty ATG heavy lists....


OK, go, I'm ready for the abuse......

 

And he should have been given the L against some non-top fighters like Morrison, Stewart and Schulz.

 

Morrison DID beat him...

 

Yes, poorly worded.

 

I wasn't around then but looking at the facts you'd still have to consider him a better neo Sonny Liston.

If mental health was a bigger deal back then there would have been a lot of noise about Foreman in those spaces with the sports psychologist types.

 

And he got a possible record for having three title shots in the 90s without beating a top ten contender.

 

I think up until the time of his loss to Ali, it was thought he was on his way to becoming one of the all-time greats among the champions. Afterward, his tough outing against Ron Lyle and his loss to Jimmy Young reduced his standing to a very good fighter who lacked heart and mental toughness to realize his full potential.

 

I think he was seen as as a bit of a what if . Cutting short carrier that promised just more

 

I remember a show with Larry Merchant and Curt Gowdy discussing the big heavyweight punchers sometime after George’s first retirement abd before his comeback.

He was considered an awesome puncher and physical specimen with flaws. He was seen as bad news for the Marciano and Dempsey types but vulnerable to durable boxers like Ali and Young. A pretty apt description at the time.

The comeback answered questions about his heart and chin. Tyson and to a lesser extent Ali were seen as poorer fighters after a 3 year layoff yet Foreman actually enhanced his legacy after a 10 year layoff and deservedly so. He was competitive with a completely different generation of boxers past his physical prime and actually won the lineal title for a second time. People down grade his comeback now with revisionist bias but in real time (and in reality) it was a fantastic comeback.

 

Very interesting to see George's comeback being defended against the quite common slander. Foreman was meant to be a grandpa and a danger to himself, but as he chased the impossible dream, the goalpost kept moving forward.