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George Foreman regrets fighting Ali
- Thread starter Luke Thomas Rockhold
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This is nothing new, Foreman's said this for years.
Though fighting Ali was probably good for him. It humbled him, made him a better person. Plus old man Foreman making a comeback after 10 years knocking everybody out and winning the title at 45 is nothing short of amazing and might not have happened if he continued throughout the 70s
Though fighting Ali was probably good for him. It humbled him, made him a better person. Plus old man Foreman making a comeback after 10 years knocking everybody out and winning the title at 45 is nothing short of amazing and might not have happened if he continued throughout the 70s
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He went crazy and saw ghosts and shit. That loss broke him.
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Yes that breaking lead to him finding religion and changing his life around. It wasn't an easy betterment but it seemed to be for the best, unless he's secretly awful and I don't know about it.
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at least he found his way back, a lot of men don't. i don't see how he could have avoided ali and stayed respected. George had so much ability and with the right strategy he could have pulled off a win but he would have had to use more brain and less brawn. Ali was a master ring general but he was older.
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I think it changed him to be a better man in losing to Ali. He came off arrogant and cocky during that time period. But once he lost to Ali it was like an awakening for him. He became this gentle giant. I don't see why he should regret what he became because of that loss.
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he became mentally tough, which he wasn't when he fought ali. lots of people think he actually tanked it in zaire. I know how he feel, when you lose and you know you should have won it's a terrible feeling, leaves scars, in my case, i'm glad it happened but most fighters don't come back from devestation, George did.
You guys don't start mixing up the facts. His crazy moment was only after the Jimmy Young fight. That's when he had the visions and retired.
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Foreman's humility is unreal. Usually guys that know they can rumble, and are honest with themselves, know they have nothing to prove.
Edit: noticed my use of the word "rumble," and, no, in Zaire he could not that night. But on most nights, yes, he could!
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Right, because he had been mentally broken from the Ali fight. Pre Ali Foreman wouldn't have lost to Jimmy Young. He was already mentally ruined by that point.
Well...not quite right, that's just your opinion regarding why he quit after Young. Foreman, definitely given a new mental state from his loss to Ali, no question there. But he didn't just go crazy then. He boxed another three years winning his next 5 fights in a row, not including the 5 guys in one night in Canada (lol).
In fact his second fight with Frazier was very impressive with George tightening up his punches and being much more compact.
He was humbled by Ali, he still fought well another three years but eventually, he said God gave him a vision and he quit boxing. If Ali did that to him he would have gone crazy three years previous. He actually improved his technique a lot ‘after’ losing to Ali.
Seano - I know you probably know all this already, LOL. Just forum sharing.
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I'm aware. The craziness started after the Ali fight, where he claimed a shaman put a spell on him or something like that.
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that loss to ali had him obsessed, he is still obsessed by the man, watch or listen to him he'll mention him out of the blue like a bad assed kid who's daddy came home after a long time away and set him right. I'd go so far as to say he even had an identity crisis, he wanted to become ali, dancing at certain points after zaire, very badly i might add.
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last night i was wondering how foreman could possibly beat ali in that era, i'm not really sure if he could. George wasn't a volume puncher at any time in his career, he did learn how to cut off the ring, in ali's estimation, better than anyone he'd ever faced but he couldn't really hurt Ali, I'm not even sure if ali was hurt one time in that fight, if he was, he never staggered or showed it. It's styles, big guys just never gave ali problems, all that extra time it takes to deliver punches to move in was just not quick enough for Ali, even the super quick big guys. So, it's hard to see a scenario he could have won in, he wouldn't have kayoed him because no one kayoed Ali, so how would he outpoint him? He had a great jab that he could have maybe used better, i don't know, Ali was about the smartest man to ever enter the ring so it's hard to see.
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I love George, but he is known to say some weird shit from time to time. Its kind of hard to know his true thoughts. He is conscious of how the public views him and clearly wants to be seen as a humble and nice guy. For example, he said he was terrified of Joe Frazier and was shaking during their stare down. But go back and watch that stare down and that fight, he sure didn't seem scared of Joe Frazier one bit. George has said a lot of things about the Ali fight over the years, he was drugged, he was up at 8, etc. He has made it seem like he feels he was robbed but also has shown reverance and respect for what Ali did that night. I think its hard to know how he truly feels. He has a public face, and a way of answering these questions, but I do wonder if he feels much different privately.
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that's all true, the one thing I say is he was and is obsessed by that man, just think of the fact that he was wearing the same trunks he disgraced himself in when he won back the title twenty some years later. Ali had a way of getting into guys' heads.
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and in terms of foremans magnanimity as he got older, I think it was a bit of a con, he said Kenny could have beaten him too, that's nice of him to say but I agree with Teddy Atlas who thought foreman was a conman, which he was to a degree. A good man I think but he definitely learned how to schtick it up from Ali, the master con.
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I was watching George’s fight against Frazier the other night, the one before Rumble In The Jungle, that was Fucken brutal.
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It's been said by many of the greats not just George, that they're scared stiff before.. its normal. But most of em' George including had a hell of a poker face. Same when they get hurt
