96-94 for Stewart here, counting the point deduction. Pretty disgusting considering this could have been the fight where Alex Stewart silence his critics, and demons. That he had no heart, no desire, so on and so forth. Loved seeing Foreman get the **** beaten out of him as well, in return for those low blows he landed in round 2. Two VERY hard low blows, you could hear the damned things. One set up a knockdown, Stewart paused whether in pain or figuring jackass Richard Steele would do something. Then, bam. But he rose from those two knockdowns within a round and really beat Foreman up. Foreman refused to sit down on a stool so his corner so they could work with the enswell. On top of this idiotic move Foreman was telling his cornerman to shut up and be quiet as well. Real smart moves on Georges part. He hit Stewart in the balls with another wicked lowblow later on, thankfully he got a point deducted. I love instant karma, doing something like that and then getting what you deserve in return.
Foreman did fight dirty in that fight, and those two low blows in round two were very hard and very flagrant low blows. Having said that, I actually had Foreman winning the fight by about 1 round I think. Foreman won the first round, won the second round big, won the third, and won the eighth round big thanks to those two big uppercuts! Foreman would have lost if it weren't for those two knockdowns in the second - the second of which was set up by that last low blow. Then Foreman has the arrogance to say in the post-fight interview that he felt that he outboxed Stewart the whole fight! What a mean-spirited phony!
I don't have my card but thought Foreman deserved the 94-93 nod, all thanks to winning about four of the first five rounds and those two knockdowns. No denying George got badly beaten in the second half, and if it was a 12-rounder he'd be the loser, but by the smallest margin I thought he got it. It's a bit like Riddick Bowe vs Billy Zumbrun, though that doesn't compare in terms of action or drama or stature or anything like that. But there too many thought Zumbrun was robbed while I, due to Zumbrun getting floored in the fourth and the point deduction late on, thought Bowe actually did deserve the narrow win.
The criminal part is that Foreman got $5 million for that fight. I've never seen the fight in it's entirety, but I've read about four or five contemporary reports, and the general feeling was that a draw would have been a fair result. Stewart was rightly praised for a gutsy and spirited performance and Foreman looked like a gargoyle after the fight. I've always felt Stewart was a little unappreciated as a fighter. He was a solid if unspectacular type who, contrary to what the spiteful and vindictive press said, had plenty of courage. He gave George a battering (even if he officially lost) and gave Holyfield a war in their first fight. It always flabbergasted me how the press, most of whom have never had the guts to step into the ring themselves, have had plenty to say about the guts (or supposed lack thereof) of Stewart, who fought for a living, and fought some of the best fighters of his era.
Foreman: 10-9 Foreman: 10-7 (Stewart knocked down twice) Foreman: 10-9 Stewart: 10-9 Foreman: 10-9 Stewart: 10-9 Stewart: 10-9 Foreman: 10-9 Stewart: 10-9 Stewart 10-8 (Foreman loses 1 pt. for low-blow) ---- Foreman: 94/93
No, I had the eighth round a 10-9 for Foreman. Foreman won it big in the sense that he rocked Stewart pretty good and had him staggering around.
Yeah, Foreman the businessman took the fight thinking it would be an easy way to pick up $5 mill. It was criminal that Foreman was earning that type of money to fight guys like Jimmy Ellis and Alex Stewart. For all of Foreman's positives as a person, I think he was more than just a little greedy and money hungry. Fighters with far more talent and skill were earning only fractions of what Foreman was earning.
That 8th round basically saved Foreman's bacon. All the momentum was with Stewart but the right punches at the right time did it for him. As for Foreman's cash, well, in cold terms it's supply and demand. What he was selling the people loved, and it was easy to get caught up in the 'cuddly burger-chomping Uncle George' routine. He'd openly admit to ducking certain fighters, joke about it even, and no-one really minded. He freely said that he wouldn't rematch Stewart because he was far too much trouble. He led Michael Moorer on a hell of a merry dance trying to get a rematch, twiching the bait further and further for a good couple years until it wasn't really relevant anymore. Anyone else would've been crucified. But Uncle George, also partly because he was a man in his mid-40s, could get away with it. Got to admire that in a way.
if you ever wanted to see foreman get beaten up badly this is the fight...i honestly thought foreman won only like 3 rounds...stewart fought the fight of his life and was the winner IMO..track down this fight..you wont be disappointed
Yeah, I think you are right. George sold a product that people loved, and bought! I was one of them, until I became a little older, wiser, and inherently more skeptical about things in general. But just for the sake of discussion: How much of the "public" George do you think was the "real" George? And, if a large part of Foreman's public persona was fake and/or just a put on, do you think there is anything wrong with that? Is it ok for a person to slip on a social mask in order to sell a product or to achieve some type of success when in reality that social mask is not an accurate self-representation? I think everybody wears a social mask to a degree, but I guess there are just differences in the circumstances and/or motivations........But I find human behavior fascinating, especially the motivations that underlie it!
Anthony, I think George is a good person. If you're not, no matter how much you act, people will inevitably expose the charade. However, George is also as fighter, so he obviously has a mean streak too, no matter how friendly and cuddly the old guy appears. Foreman's intentions initially I think were noble...the youth centre and all that. After all, there is no way of knowing how people would react to him. He could have been a bust as a fighter and as a pr type guy. The thing is (and this is purely my impression) I think when George saw how people warmed to him, and as he won more fights, he could clearly see that there was a hell of a lot of money to be made. If George was a little cynical and ruthless, I can't really blame him. The business side of boxing can chew you up and spit you out very quickly if you don't protect yourself. So all in all I think George was mostly sincere, but there is no doubt he was an excellent salesman as well, and sometimes a rather hypocritical one.