George Foreman: The Architect of the Most Successful Comeback in the History of Boxing

When George Foreman knocked out heavyweight champion Michael Moorer on a cold November night in Las Vegas in 1994, George made boxing history by becoming, at age 45, the oldest heavyweight champion in history. When the referee counted "ten" over the prone body of Michael Moorer and raised George's massive arm in triumph, it was the culmination of the most successful boxing comeback in the sport's history. There was George, all 45 years and 250-pounds of him, kneeling in prayer in his corner as the crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Casino erupted in jubilation. George Foreman, who had lost his heavyweight championship on a sweltering African night to Muhammad Ali in October of 1974, was once again the heavyweight champion of the world! Foreman's amazing triumph was a sharp rebuke to Father Time. "Age is not a death sentence," Foreman extolled before the fight, and he proved it at 2:03 of the tenth round when he turned the lights out on Michael Moorer with the most famous right hand punch ever thrown in a professional boxing ring. That right hand howitzer assured Foreman's spot in the Boxing Hall of Fame, and it elevated his name into the pantheon of fellow greats like Ali, Louis, Dempsey, and Marciano. Few could have predicted, upon George's return to boxing in 1987, that his comeback would ever result in George wearing a title belt again.

When George Foreman returned to boxing in 1987, he had not fought in 10 years. He knew very little about the boxing world. Upon George's 1987 return, a new man sat on Foreman's old heavyweight throne: Mike Tyson. With a surly attitude and prodigious punching power, Tyson reminded many people of the old George Foreman, back when Foreman was a scowling wrecking machine with dynamite in his fists. But upon his return to boxing, George Foreman, with a shaved head and a rather ample midsection, was a much more relaxed, content, and mature fighter and person. The scowl was replaced by a smile. Foreman had retired in 1977 after losing unexpectedly to the crafty Jimmy Young. Later that night, in his dressing room, Foreman had a religious experience and started hallucinating and espousing religious doctrine. Convinced that his dressing room experience was a message from God, Foreman soon became an ordained minister and spent the next ten years of his life preaching the word of God and attending to his small church in Humble, Texas. George even opened up his own youth center - The George Foreman Youth and Community Center - and began mentoring and serving as a sort of role model for the areas many kids. Everything was going fine until it became apparent that George, by way of his funding and supporting of his youth center and other charitable operations, was quickly going broke. With much of his boxing money gone from his first stint as champion, George looked towards the only place that he felt he could make much-needed money: the boxing ring!

When George returned after a ten year hiatus from boxing, he was met with an assortment of laughs, snickers, and contempt from those in the boxing world. Here was George, all 38 years and 267-pounds of him, fighting his first fight in more than ten years against an unranked nobody named Steve Zouski in Sacramento, California. Foreman, it was said by a local journalist, "moved like the Queen Mary trying to find a berth in the harbor." George was too old, too fat, and too slow to be boxing again they said, but George had other ideas. And George was persistent. He fought often, sometimes twice a month, against an assortment of "schmear cases" and "no-hoper's" who were largely under-skilled, undersized, and brittle of chin. Many of George's opponents at the time were derided as being "fall down experts"! But George, explaining his rationale for selecting his opponents, reasoned that he had a lot of ring rust to work off, and it wouldn't make sense to dive right in and fight the best of the division. The term George coined for his fights against his opponents was "puddle hopping," which meant George was fighting often against limited opposition in order to build up his skill and confidence in the hopes of landing a big money fight. But the more George fought, the more he was criticized and ridiculed. They made fun of his slow punches, which they said you could time with a sundial, they poked fun at his less-than svelte shape - George's fighting weight ranged from 245-267 pounds - and constantly mocked his choice of opposition. By 1991, however, George had racked up over 20 fights, winning all of them except 1 by knockout. And George was soon rewarded for his efforts!

Evander Holyfield, after knocking out the fly-by-night heavyweight champion, Buster Douglas, was now the big man in the heavyweight division. Due to Foreman's popularity and his immense fan base, Holyfield elected to make his first title defense against Foreman. The date was set for April 1991, and the fight was dubbed "The Battle of the Ages". Here was Evander Holyfield, 28 years old and 208-pounds of rock-hard steel, fighting George Foreman, 42 years old and 257-pounds of bulk. Most boxing experts predicted that Foreman would meet a quick and decisive end in a fight that most didn't expect to last more than a few rounds. George, they said, had faked his way into a title shot by avoiding any decent opponents on the way up. Foreman had talked his way into the fight, not fought it, they said, and he was now going to meet a real fighter who could fight. Holyfield, taking an easy fight as is customary for most new champions, figured to end the Foreman charade once and for all. But a funny thing happened on fight night: George Foreman came to fight!

As the bout started, it became apparent that Evander Holyfield was the much quicker fighter. His hands were blazing with fast combinations and razor sharp punches, and George, as is his customary fighting style, plodded forward in his deliberate, big man way, throwing his heavy jab and clubbing shots. Holyfield, utilizing his huge edge in hand and foot speed, was winning the fight, but George kept coming. Every once in a while, George would get through and land a heavy, clubbing shot, and Holyfield, momentarily stunned and surprised, would have to step back and regroup. A few times Holyfield caught and hurt George with a combination of punches that would have stopped most other fighters, but George managed to weather every storm and continue plodding forward. The crowd in attendance was mesmerized and appreciative of Foreman's tenacity and resiliency. The fight went the full 12-round distance, and Evander Holyfield won the fight convincingly on the judges scorecards. However, George Foreman, showing tremendous courage and tenacity throughout the entire fight, was applauded at the end for his showing. Even his harshest critics before the fight were impressed by George's performance. As George walked back towards his locker room, it appeared that the George Foreman comeback was over. He had worked his way back into a title shot, and he was rewarded handsomely for his effort - $12.5 million. George could now retire and enjoy the rest of his life. But George had other ideas!

George Foreman wanted to be heavyweight champion of the world again. He had come close against Evander Holyfield, but his goal was still not attained. George decided to bide his time and stay busy, hoping that he might once against be granted a title shot. George fought a few fights over the next few years and was still a heavyweight contender when Michael Moorer won the heavyweight championship of the world from Evander Holyfield in 1994. Michael Moorer, the first left-handed heavyweight champion in history, was a skillful, powerful fighter with a suspect chin. Moorer had been knocked down numerous times over the course of his career, and he had been severely hurt on a number of occasions. But that didn't seem to matter when Moorer and his management selected George Foreman for their first title defense. George was old - he was now 45 - and after the tough fight with Evander Holyfield in 1991, how much did George figure to have left? Moorer, it was reasoned, would be able to pick up a quick, easy payday in a relatively safe fight against George Foreman. What more could a new champion ask for? The date was set for November 3, 1994, and most experts figured the fight would be a travesty; many worried for the personal safety and health of George Foreman. But as it would turn out, George Foreman would be alright; he would be more than alright actually, he would end the evening as the heavyweight champion of the world!

Through the first nine rounds of his fight against champion Michael Moorer, George Foreman looked his age. He was slow, and Moorer was outpointing him handily. George was hanging tough - he managed to stun Moorer a few times - and he was constantly pressuring Moorer. But as round ten started, it looked as if Moorer just had to keep doing what he was doing and he would end the night with a win. But then George came alive. As Moorer stopped moving as much as he did earlier in the fight, Foreman started pouring on the punches. A left and a right landed flush on Moorer's chin, and Moorer, visibly shaken, stepped back as if to regroup. That's when Foreman repeated the same punch sequence - left and a right - and that's when Moorer dropped to the canvas as if he had been pole-axed at the knees. Moorer was down, he was hurt, and he showed no signs of being able to beat the referee's count. And he didn't! George Foreman, at the age of 45, had regained the heavyweight championship 20 years after he had lost it. In a comeback that started quietly in 1987, a comeback in which George was teased, ridiculed, and written off as just a crazy, out-of-his mind ex-champion, George Foreman now stood as the king of the heavyweight division!