Your favorite boxing world reaction to Foreman winning his title back?

"IT HAPPEND!"

 

Perhaps my own.

It was something that had never happened before, and has never happened since.

 

I’d love to hear from someone who was around back then (I admittedly wasn’t born back then). What was the general perception going in? Was Foreman even given a chance,

 

"New and once again..." by Buffer just after KO.

 

Because Moorer was not considered a great heavyweight, Foreman was given a bit of a chance. However, that chance diminished considerably as the fight went on. The ease with which Moorer was winning the fight made the sudden knockout even more stunning.

 

u look nice

 

A lot of people thought it was farce …George had lost to Tommy Morrison the fight before

 

Foreman was chosen by Moore as a routine defence to make money as George was still a big draw. Oh how that backfired

 

One of the few fights i didn't stay up for back then (not sure why). I remember playing football the next morning and talking about it and a mate said "a jackhammer right hand" (which was from the 'Teletext' fight report I'd read as soon as I got up).

 

I don’t mean to **** on the parade or generalise too much but outside the US it wasn’t seen as a great moment, more a reflection of how heavyweight boxing had sunk so low.

A year or so earlier we had Bowe and Holyfield fighting for the world title (Holyfield having beaten Foreman clearly prior to that), then we had a split world title and a guy who lost to Tommy Morrison (who has subsequently been beaten in one round by Michael Bentt) beating a guy who had scraped by (with some serious cajoling from Teddy Atlas) an off-his-game Holyfield.

At that point in the 90s, the only way the era was being compared to the 70s was that a guy who 20 years ago had been upset by a seemingly over the hill Ali was now beating a gatekeeper titlist at 44. For Foreman, it was a remarkable achievement but it didn’t reflect well on the division and it also led to a situation where Tyson, now just out of prison, was being sold as the saviour of the division when he returned to the ring the following year. Plus, Foreman’s subsequent title reign was a disgrace that led to further splintering of the belts.

So I don’t have as fond memories of it as a lot of you will.

 

Not really. I was delighted for Big George. Sinking low? You can say that for lots of eras, especially when titles are split, like Leon Spinks being heavyweight champ after 8 fights.

 

Being delighted on an individual level for him and seeing it as a indication of a downward trend aren’t mutually exclusive - and I look at it slightly differently myself now than how I saw it then, anyway - it was a great moment for George and a remarkable achievement in its way but it didn’t reflect too well on the division.

 

But it shows what a good fighter he, and Holmes, were that they could still produce good performances against top 10 fighters. If the titles weren't split, like for most of the 1970s, then he wouldn't likely have been champion. A strong decade at heavyweight for me.

 

Yeah, the 90s overall was a strong decade and it definitely reflects well on Foreman (and Holmes) as you say. I just didn’t see it that way back then but didn’t have the perspective of what would happen later to see that victory in context either.