Even in the midst of what the leaders and supporters of the major political parties may consider a life-and-death struggle for election ascendancy, there is time and space to recognise the passing of American “Big George” Foreman, one of the greatest ever heavyweight boxing champions of all time.
Described by many boxing enthusiasts and fighters as one of the most dangerous punchers ever, Foreman, 76, emerged from Marshall, Texas, first as a gold medallist at the 1968 Olympic Games and just five years later, he knocked down then-champion “Smoking Joe” Frazier six times in two rounds in Kingston, Jamaica, to take the world heavyweight title.
Like one of his mentors, the brutal Sonny Liston, Foreman put terror in the hearts of many and threatened to dominate the heavyweight division for an indefinite period. It was the era when two of the greatest pugilists of the ring, Joe Frazier and Muhammed Ali, had their trilogy of fights.
Foreman only released his hold on the crown for the first time to the “greatest of them all” – the garrulous Muhammad Ali. The fight, billed as the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire. The fight was not so much the trading of heavy punches with Ali, but that the older, wiser, far craftier fighter outwitted "Big George" and put him on the canvas in the eighth Round.
But to most others in that period, Foreman was all but invincible; his phenomenal punching power made him a “dread” in today’s terminology.
As with many of the great American fighters in several divisions of the sport, Foreman had a troubled past in which he got into difficulties with the law in his youth. Fortunately, he eventually took to prize-fighting and so expended his energies lawfully in the ring.
Overall, Foreman had 81 fights, spread intermittently over a 30-year period and recorded a 76-5 win-loss record, 68 of his victories by the knockout route. After retiring for the first time in 1977, he made a comeback in 1987 at age 38 and after retiring again, Foreman staged a dramatic return in 1997 at age 45 and completely against the odds, knocked out the seemingly invincible Michael Moorer, who had been leading on points, to retake the heavyweight title.
Foreman’s “Rumble in the Jungle” (Zaire) against Ali, although he was knocked out, was recorded as one of the greatest ever heavyweight battles and solidified "Big George’s' place in boxing history.
The ring, however, was far from the last national environment in which the man from Texas performed with distinction. He became a “Bible Toting” ordained pastor in Houston, a businessman who marketed the George Foreman Grill and as a great encourager of young boys and girls attempting to make their way out of the difficult ghettos of the inner cities of the US. In that role, Foreman gave practical assistance and hope to young boys and girls to grow and develop their lives in a positive manner.
The T&T Guardian celebrates the life of one of the boxing giants of the last 50-plus years. Farewell Big George Foreman for pugilistic power and skill and for being there in an important and instructive role in the lives of many young people, who could easily have gone off the rails into unsavoury and non-productive lives but for your intervention.
