The passing of George Foreman got me thinking about how boxing has changed from back in the day (1960s/1970s). Back then we used to watch Friday Night Fights pretty regularly - that tailed off in the 1980s as we all lost interest. It just didn't seem as exciting as it had.
There is a great podcast episode on Dan Carlin's Hardcore History about this: Boxing with Ghosts (free download and highly recommended if you ever watch Friday Night Fights). In it Dan interviews longtime sportswriter for Ring magazine Mike Silver about how boxing is really just a shadow of its former self (and why).
But in this episode Dan tells a George Foreman story that illustrates why boxing was so great in those days. The story is from when Foreman was going for his comeback world championship in a bout against a much younger Michael Moorer. Foreman lost each of the first 9 rounds (unanimously). Entering the 10th round it was like a football game with a minute left when he was down 99 to nothing. A friend of Dan's left and went to the bathroom because the "fight was over". Then two quick punches finished Moorer off in a KO and Foreman was champ again.
There is a lot to admire in Foreman's life, but we remember just what a superb fighter he was. Rest in peace.
4 comments:
Peach? Is Mr Foreman going to be buried in GA?
May he Rest in Peace!
juvat
Juvat, thanks. Fixed.
I watched that fight with Moorer live with my dad. Shocked is an understatement. Also, Dan Carlin rocks. He's an automatic listen any time he puts out a new podcast. He has gotten slower and slower over the years to the point now where it's around 2 podcasts a year, but they're usually fantastically researched and around 4 or 5 hours long. I've had some concern about how long he goes before he hangs it up for good. I can recommend any of his multiple episode series without hesitation. My own personal favorites are "Wrath of the Khans" and "Death Throes of the Republic".
And Mr. Foreman appeared to be a decent human being as well!
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