Why did the Holmes-Foreman fight never come off?

easy answer is foreman but there really was never a time when the fight would truly benefit either his career or his wallet

 

Not sure what time frame we're discussing, but if it was the talked about match that was being sited for around 1999, then it should have been billed as an exhibition rather than a sanctioned bout. Both men were either at or near 50 years of age, and neither had done anything meaningful as of late. I believe it was Foreman's decision to dissolve negotiations, but can't say for sure why. Frankly, I don't think the bout would have attracted much attention... Different set of circumstances than when George fought Cooney in 1990. The public was getting tired of resurgent ex-champs and aged contenders getting in the ring, whereas in the early 90's it was more of a novel concept.. By 1999, it had grown tiresome and seeing two fifty year old guys fight was about as droll as it was meaningless. If forced to guess, George probably felt it was time to cash in his chips and call it a career ( for the second time. ) Of course, I'm sure someone will dig up some article from some obscure source that gives one person's claim of a thorough breakdown, but I don't think it really matters what the reasons were... Those guys were both as rich as they were finished.... Nuff said..

 

Foreman ducked Holmes

 

In the seventies, there was only a narrow window for which the fight was feasible. Foreman was working toward a title shot and Holmes had not yet made the big time. Once Foreman lost to Young he retired and was out for the next ten years. In that time Holmes ascended to the championship, lost to Spinks and retired. In the late 80s both came back and had their eyes only on a title shot. Holmes was KO'd by Tyson and Holyfield outpointed both Foreman and Holmes in title fights. Then as we all know, Foreman upset Moorer to regain the title. The Holmes-Foreman bout would have been feasible in the mid-to-late 90s once again but for reasons unclear did not materialize. It is interesting and ironic that both men were about the same age, but their prime years did not overlap sufficiently to allow what could have been a classic bout to happen, and when it could have been a meaningful fight, both were in their 40s.

 

Both were serial duckers : Holmes in his "prime" , Foreman in his comeback .

 

Late in their careers.....both were business men.....and a Holmes-Foreman fight would have resulted in a couple of old men beating each other up with no true upside to the fight.

Holmes decisions Old, Slow Foreman...so what?

Foreman cold-cocks Old Larry real bad.....so what?

 

I think Holmes once turned down an offer to fight Foreman back in 1976 or 1977. Foreman was the marquee fighter and Holmes did not like the money he was being offered to fight that monster.

 

Well, two things... In the 1970's, pretty simply put, the way their careers were panning out, their roads never really crossed. Both Foreman and Holmes were hatched in 1949, but Foreman turned pro in 1969 and Holmes went pro in 1973... Foreman hit his peak as a ringer between 1972 to 1976... Holmes hit his peak in the ring from 1978 to 1982...

Had a young and green Holmes fought Foreman in '76, my guess is that Foreman would've gotten to Holmes by either a KO or decision... Had they fought in 1978, well, Holmes schools Foreman pretty easy and wins a lopsided decision...

The fight in 1999 never happened cuz the promotion sucked ass and in-spite of Foreman fighting in his backyard of Houston, Texas, only 5,000 tickets had sold in the Astrodome... That had bomb written all over it and to top that, a backer pulled out and Foreman and Holmes were looking at pay cuts... Foreman raised hell, but Holmes was willing to consider... Just a crappy promotion in 1999 Texas...

The rest is history...

MR.BILL

 

It was coincidental and ill timed, not ironic. Irony for instance would of been if the fight was made, but did not happen because one or the other were refused a licence to box on the grounds of age...

As for it not happening, well a number of times it came up, but one or both of them had better options at the time. For instance Foreman choosing to fight Morrison in 93 rather than The Black Cloud. If Holmes had edged McCall in their bout, I think the fight would of happened in late 95, but Oliver sneaked the decision, and that set up Bruno/McCall.

 

I don't think Foreman wanted it. I always figured he thought if Holmes beat him than it looked worse than someone younger beating him. What would be the excuse to losing to Holmes? Not age.

 

Holmes would've derailed Foreman's self-described "ballyhooing".