RSSGeorge Foreman
Monday, August 27, 2007
Who’s Your Daddy, Part I: Foreman vs Frazier
This is a series on fights where one fighter seemed to “own” the opponent.
What better series to start with then George Foreman and Joe Frazier. If there was ever a better example of styles make fights, I missed it. As great as Joe was and believe me he was great… He could have fought George a hundred times and never beat him. Joe was able to bull and back up the likes of good fighters like Oscar Bonavena, Buster Mathis Sr., Jerry Quarry, Jimmy Ellis and a great one named Ali, but he could not budge Big George. Against Foreman he ran into a brick wall. He could not move George but boy could George move him! It was simple arithmetic… Power versus power divided by size equals KO to the Big Guy. A case of pure and simple ouch! In their dramatic first fight in Kingston, Jamaica in 1973 the astute, revered and sometimes hated Howard Cosell added to boxing lore with his famous “down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier” call on the fight. Truth be told George bounced a game but over matched Frazier around the ring like a rubber ball. It was a shocking sight for those of us growing up at that time.
Well as history shows us George lost the title to Muhammad Ali. As he attempted to come back he met Frazier again. Joe looked different - shaved head - and he fought different - he tried to box and move. It did not help. It only prolonged the inevitable. George caught up to Joe in round five and destroyed him.
George proved then and forever that he was the superior fighter when facing Frazier.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Fights I Would Have Liked to Have Seen
Superfights. It is a very over used term these days. Some of the PPV “superfights” of today would have been nice Saturday afternoon feature bouts on ABC’s Wide World Of Sports in my day.
There were several bouts from the late 1960s to the early 1980s I wish would have been made. These are bouts that actually had been rumored in the making or someone’s wishful thinking. If some of these bouts had taken place it could of altered the history of boxing forever. In January of 1973 big George Foreman disrupted the plans of an Ali-Frazier rematch. George gave Joe as one sided a whipping a you’ll ever see. One month later a “washed up” Jerry Quarry derailed the Ron Lyle express to the championship. Then in March Ken Norton broke the hearts of Ali fans while cracking the jaw of “the greatest”. Just like that, in a span of three months the whole top tier of the heavyweight ranks had been seriously shuffled. Ali and Frazier were no longer the kings of the hill. There was a couple of new kids on the block named George and Kenny. Also a grizzled old veteran had returned to town.
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Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Foreman Drugged Before Ali Fight?
Apparently that’s what George Foreman is saying in his recently published memoirs, “God in My Corner”.
Foreman states that he may have possibly been drugged just moments before his fight against Muhammad Ali in 1974’s famous “Rumble in the Jungle” when his trainer gave him a drink that tasted like medicine:
“I almost spit it out ... [I told my trainer] ‘Man, I know this water has medicine in it,’” Foreman wrote. “I climbed into the ring with that medicinal taste still lingering in my mouth.”
“After the third round, I was as tired as if I had fought 15 rounds. What’s going on here? Did someone slip a drug in my water?” he wrote.
We will definitely have more on this story as we gather the information…
Update 7:30 PM: Here’s an ESPN Motion clip where Foreman discusses the incident in detail…
Friday, April 20, 2007
EEC - April 20, 2007
Weekend Fights:
Friday -
Mike Arnaoutis vs Kendall Holt - Atlantic City, NJ - WBO Junior Welterweight Eliminator (Showtime)
Mike Marrone vs Malachy Farrell - Atlantic City, NJ - Heavyweight (Showtime)
Malcolm Klaasen vs Mzonke Fana - Khayelitsha, South Africa - IBF Junior Lightweight Title
Some Good Reads:
Boxing Scene: Larry brought substance, eloquence and honesty
Eastside Boxing: Dream Fight Article - Foreman vs. Tyson: If They’d Met In 1990!
Friday, January 26, 2007
EEC - January 26, 2007
It might be the weekend but it’s certainly a slow one in terms of boxing…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Muhammad Ali and his wife have bought a $1.8 million dollar home in Louisvlle, Kentucky…
While the reason for the move has not yet been established one of the main reasons was given by the president of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Mike Fox, who stated that the Ali family tries to come visit the center every other month but the length of the travel is becoming more and more difficult each time for Muhammad.
Ali also owns residences in Berrien Springs, Michigan and Phoenix, Arizona.
- Ulises Solis successfully defended his IBF Junior Flyweight Title last night when his opponent, Will Grigby, failed to answer the bell and get up from his stool when summoned just before the 9th round was to begin.
- Evander Holyfield has dropped M&M Sports as his promoter and signed on with Main Events, the promotion he originally started his career with.
The main reason for Holyfield leaving?
Because the pay-per-view lost so much money due to the poor buyrate and live gate figures, most of the undercard fighters, and Fres Oquendo, were initially stiffed or received checks that bounced. Lou DiBella, who promoted Oquendo at the time of the fight, was close to filing suit against Muhammad.There was a rumor that even Holyfield received a check that bounced, but it was never confirmed. Ironically, while fighters were being stiffed, Muhammad was offering IBF champ Wladimir Klitschko $20 million dollars to face Holyfield.
The New Jersey Herald-News is reporting that Holyfield’s first fight with the promotion will come this spring.
- Joe Calzaghe believes he is the best fighter from the UK, not Ricky Hatton…
“I saw the Hatton fight and it makes me think I could do better,” said Calzaghe. “Hatton looked good for the first four or five rounds, but, for whatever reason, he tired a bit. He won the fight comfortably, but it wasn’t a great fight to watch. I believe I’m the No 1 fighter in the country - and I want to prove myself over there (in America).”
Weekend Fights:
Friday -
Richard Gutierrez vs Teddy Reid - Uncasville, Connecticut - Junior Middleweight
Saturday -
Kelly Pavlik vs Jose Luis Zertuche - Anaheim, California - Middleweight (HBO)
Jorge Arce vs Julio Roque Ler - Anaheim, California, Junior Bantamweight (HBO)
Victor Oganov vs Richard Grant - Anaheim, California - Super Middleweight (HBO)
Zsolt Erdei vs Danny Santiago - Dusseldorf, Germany - WBO Light-Heavyweight Title
Some Good Reads:
Eastside Boxing: What if George Foreman had beaten Jimmy Young?
MaxBoxing: Barrera vs. Marquez: Better Late than Never
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Wednesday, January 17, 2007
EEC - January 17, 2007
I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday. This is the slowest week ever, probably because I’m looking forward to this weekend’s heavyweight title bout. Oh wait, it’s not televised I forgot, rat bastards…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Despite his recent arrest that we all know about, HBO has announced that Jim Lampley will be one of the broadcasters for the network’s showing of the Hatton-Urango bout this weekend.
HBO had actually considered taking Lampley off of the show but reconsidered once the media coverage of his arrest died down quite a bit. Lampley didn’t say much to the media about the charges but he did express his excitement about being able to help call the fight on Saturday…
“I am pleased that HBO recognizes there is no reason for me not to be working this weekend,” Lampley said. “This is my job, this is what I do. This is business as usual. I am really looking forward to covering Ricky Hatton’s first fight in Las Vegas and a fight at the Paris for the first time. I feel like even though it’s only been five weeks since I’ve called a fight, it feels like it’s been a long time. It will feel good to be back at ringside calling the fights.”
- The Philippines-Mexico World Cup of Boxing has been postponed to later this year according to promotor Sammy Gello-ani. Gello-ani said that the event was postponed because agreements with the managers of Daniel Ponce De Leon and Johnny Gonzales were unable to reached in time for the original date of March 4th.
The postponement will also allow Oscar De La Hoya to help promote the event since it will not fall during his traning for his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
- Danny Williams will take on British Heavyweight Champion Scott Gammer on March 2nd in very well might be the last bout of his professional career.
Gammer actually turned down an offer to fight Audley Harrison who recently defeated Williams. Gammer rejected the offer because he is hoping to take on the winner of a possible bout between Harrison and Matt Skelton should he defeat Williams in March.
- Calvin Brock unveiled his new online travel agency today.
Seriously, is boxing not paying anymore? Brock starts his own travel agency, Foreman travels around the world to sell his grills, Tyson is willing to do anything in this world to make money, Klitschko ran for mayor… There’s so many things. I’m not taking boredom after retirement as an excuse anymore either. We need to get to the bottom of this…
Anyway Brock said that he learned about the business through a friend and soon decided that it would be an interesting venture for him to start.
“The online travel industry is growing fast,” said Brock. “More people are comfortable booking their own travel and getting cheaper prices than using a traditional travel agency.”
I guess we will find out over the next year how fast the travel industry is growing won’t we Calvin?
- Tomorrow is Muhammad Ali’s 65th Birthday and I’ll be sure to gather up all of the articles and various things being thrown out there in a post tomorrow morning…
Some Good Reads:
ESPN: At 32, Bailey goes back to basics of sweet science
Doghouse Boxing: Is the end drawing near for Urango?
Seconds Out: Ricky Hatton - The Hard Sell
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Tuesday, January 16, 2007
EEC - January 16, 2007
On the heels of Tommy Morrison testing negative, we have Mayweather and Hopkins speaking up, George Foreman traveling, the return of a former heavyweight champion, the pro boxing debut of a former UFC heavyweight champ, a major fight announcement and much more…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- What is it about English fighters that people find so intriguing? I mean really, if you followed this site over the summer, you would see how much media coverage both Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe got. They were always calling out the big names, always changing their minds about who they wanted to fight.
These days it’s the exact opposite with the elite American fighters wanting a piece of them.
Bernard Hopkins has shown interest in Calzaghe, hoping that he will move up a weight-class and fight him later this year:
“After Jones I hope he’ll come up to light-heavyweight to challenge me.” said Hopkins.
Calzaghe also met with Sylvester Stallone this past weekend at a boxing gala event as Stallone was making a trip over to the UK and Calzaghe was one of the people he wanted to meet the most.
Calzaghe said of the meeting with the famed Movie star:,“Sly was great. He’s just a normal guy. He turned up for the dinner by himself. There was no entourage. He said he wanted to meet me after seeing my recent win against Jeff Lacy. He said he was a fan of mine and had seen me fight many times but I told him I had seen him fight a lot more in the movies.”
Calzaghe added: “I value Sly’s opinion. He’s in great nick for a man of 60. He has the body of a 30-year-old. It was great to hear him tell us about Hollywood.”
Apparently calling out Floyd Mayweather Jr. 1000 times is going to pay off for Hatton as Pretty Boy Floyd will be ringside for his fight this weekend against Juan Urango. Even better, he’s going there because of him…
“I’m looking forward to getting an up close and personal look at Hatton so that I can make my mind up on whether I might want to fight him.” explained Mayweather.
- Former heavyweight champion Lou Savarese will continue his comeback this Thursday when he takes on MMA veteran Travis Fulton in an event promoted by himself and his business partner Cameron Park.
- On the same card as Savarese and Fulton, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez will be makig his pro boxing debut.
- DRL Promotions has announced that WBC Lightweight Champion Joel Casamayor will defend his title in a rematch against Acelino Freitas. Freitas won the first fight between the two in 2002 by a close split decision in a fight that Casamayor would have won if he didn’t have two points deducted during the fight for illegal blows.
There is no date set for the fight as of yet but it is expected to be televised on HBO…
- George Foreman is reportedly traveling to the Middle East to promote his famous George Foreman Grill machines. He will be visiting the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai to do an expo on his product.
Some Good Reads:
The Sweet Science: Looking Forward To More In The New Year: Part II; Brooklyn southpaw Luis Collazo is ready for Pomona’s Sugar Shane
Eastside Boxing: Big Name Heavyweights James Toney Could Still Defeat
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Thursday, November 16, 2006
Tyson Wants Own Reality Show
The New York Daily News is reporting that Mike Tyson is interesting in having his own reality TV show featuring him and one of his daughters.
Former heavyweight champion George Foreman already has a reality show on TV Land that will be debuting next year...
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Foreman Explores Racing
Former heavyweight champion George Foreman spent time with the Andretti family on Friday, discussing the possibility of becoming involved with the sport and the team.
“We are exploring starting a team. I wanted to meet everybody first of all,” Foreman said. “I want to win. I like to win. I’d like to be associated with some good drivers and see them cross the finish line first. I have a lot of fans and they can’t find me in the ring any more, so this would be a place where they could find me.”