Big George Foreman has sadly passed away, but he will forever remain a legendary figure in boxing history. Foreman was a bona fide all time great, and he was an inspiration to millions of people.
Age is just a number – that was the ideal the Big George embraced when the former heavyweight champion made an unexpected comeback in 1987. Foreman was 38 years old, had lost the heavyweight championship against Muhammad Ali back in 1974, and George had not fought in 10 long years. The comeback was initially not taken very seriously. It was widely perceived as a money making gimmick. Foreman’s goal to regain the heavyweight crown seemed like an unrealistic farfetched fantasy.
But Foreman was fighting regularly, shedding weight, getting sharper, and working himself into better fighting condition. Before you knew it, a little over 4 years later, Foreman was a perfect 24-0 on the comeback trail, with 23 of those victories coming inside the distance. This earned Foreman an opportunity to challenge the undefeated, undisputed world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield. The fight happened in April 1991, and Foreman put forth an admirable effort, but fell short. It appeared this was the end of the road for Foreman, but he boxed on. A few fights later he lost a lopsided decision against Tommy Morrison, at which point Foreman was written off as a serious contender.
In November 1994, after being out of action 17 months following the Morrison loss, Foreman got a chance to challenge the new world heavyweight champion, Michael Moorer. Few observers were giving the 45 year old Foreman any chance at all against the undefeated 26 year old heavyweight champion. The fight largely unfolded according to expectations, where Moorer was simply too fast and too athletic for old George. Moorer was winning the fight decisively, but in round 10, Big George landed the big one-two that made boxing history, when he knocked out the champion.
The history-making victory marked Foreman as the oldest man to ever win the heavyweight championship. The previous record was held by Jersey Joe Walcott, who won the heavyweight crown at age 37. The victory also made Foreman a 2-time heavyweight champion. Amazingly, Foreman’s two championship reigns were separated by more than 20 years.
Big George was one of the most extraordinary boxers during the long rich history of professional boxing, but above and beyond that, he was an extraordinary human being who entertained and inspired millions of people through his words and his actions, where he exuded unwavering heart, determination, and self-belief.
This edition of Rummy’s Corner will provide a quick review of George Foreman’s inspirational comeback which culminated when Big George became the oldest boxer in history to win the heavyweight championship at age 45. This is Rummy’s Corner (produced and narrated by Geoffrey Ciani).
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