Rumble in the Jungle 47 years ago

Re the use of the jab contributing to knockouts, I'm going to take a punt and suggest that this strikes me as being a Liston-esque formula.

 

It’s true that some of the better chinned HWs, in possession of a decent sized neck, don’t experience as much head spin or snap even when they are hit very hard. Among others, George Chuvalo might be a good example.

As for George Foreman, punishment taken over a career is one thing, taking it at the age he was, even without punishment prior to, can be perilous due to natural loss of resilience due to ageing.

Big George seems fine and I hope there are no latent issues. As with Chuvalo, sans scans, how would you differentiate normal age related dementia from pugilistica dementia or the like. Incredibly, George Chuvalo was fully cognisant and lucid for the longest time.

 

No I do not recall the talk you refer to, nor Foreman ever accused of becoming punchdrunk. Whaaa?

 

Chuvalo no longer has all of his marbles at 84?

 

Unfortunately, he has been in cognitive decline for several years now.

 

It's the only answer.

 

The funny thing about the subject of the Rumble in the Jungle taking place 47 years ago is that it really doesn't feel that long ago to me. My Dad and I going to see that live on closed circuit was such a spectacular event that I must be compartmentalizing it. To put it in its perspective I thought of what may have taken place 47 years before that and envisioned someone saying to me, "The Battle of the Long Count' just doesn't seem that long ago to me."

 

He allegedly trained his neck everyday during his comeback with various things resistance bands, neck harness, weights ect.

Could you tell us about the encounter?

 

George Foreman was one of the few fighters that won in life. He had brawn but brains too, which is why he is now left with both health and wealth. Respect to this man.

 

My wife, GrandDaughter, and I had attended the Foreman - Holyfield fight in Atlantic City. We were still living in New Jersey at the time, but, after the fight, we went with my GrandDaughter to Maine to check out a college she was considering. In order to fly there, we had to first take a short flight to Newark, New Jersey and then on to Maine. George was on the Atlantic City to Newark flight, wearing sunglasses after his encounter with Evander. I only spoke with him briefly. I got to ask him one question. "Where does all that power come from?" George said: "It comes from the bottom of my feet. It's how I'm made." As you can imagine he created quite a stir on that flight, and fielded quite a few questions. He seemed pretty energetic for a guy who just went 12 with the Champ. I have no idea where he went after we landed in Newark. I assume he took a flight somewhere.

(I scored the fight 116-112, Evander. My GrandDaughter had it 115-113, Evander, which was, in my opinion, partly because she was rooting hard for Foreman, but then so was I, even though Holyfield's my favorite fighter. 115-113 is probably the best possible score for Foreman in that fight.)