The late George Foreman was a fearsome heavyweight in his day, proving on many occasions that he was one of the most devastating punchers the sport of boxing has ever seen. He was also extremely open, not afraid to give credit to his rivals.
‘Big’ George famously recaptured the heavyweight world title at the age of 45 to become the division’s oldest champion in history. In that era, Foreman was known for his methodical punching from patience, fighting a little smarter than he had in first stint as a titleholder.
During his rise and first reign, Foreman was fast, aggressive and always on the hunt for an early finish. 20 of his first 23 wins came inside the first seven rounds. He looked to fear no man but, while that may have been true, he was later candid in admitting he avoided one rival.
Jerry Quarry is regarded as one of the best heavyweights to never win a world title. He attempted to do so against Jimmy Ellis, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, who began to beat him so badly that he urged the referee to step in.
However, those losses certainly don’t define him as a boxer. Quarry had impressive wins over Floyd Patterson, Earnie Shavers and Ron Lyle. He was an extremely durable fighter who had the ability to punish any rival who wanted to stand and trade. Looking for a stoppage against Quarry was not advisable, and Foreman agreed with that when discussing him on social media.
“Quarry was a master counterpuncher. Ali beat him. He would’ve set traps for me. We actually dodged Jerry. I’m not ashamed of it either.”
After over 200 amateur fights, some wars with top heavyweights in the paid ranks and two comebacks that were years apart, the sport of boxing took a lot from Quarry. He ultimately retired in 1992 with a record of 53 wins from 66 fights. He passed away seven years later.
