George Foreman is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
Foreman’s professional career stretched across four decades between 1967 and 1997, where he became the world heavyweight championship on two separate occasions.
He held that title for the first time in January of 1973 when he sensationally knocked out Joe Frazier in the second round of their clash in Kingston, Jamaica.
Foreman made two successful defences of his crown before he was dethroned by Muhammad Ali in ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’ in 1974.
After suffering an upset defeat to Jimmy Young, Foreman would go on to retire and take a 10-year hiatus from the sport, returning in 1987 when he experienced a number of financial difficulties and a desire to recapture the crown.
His second world championship triumph came in 1994 when he defeated Michael Moorer to win the unified WBA and IBF titles at 45-years-old, becoming the oldest heavyweight champion of all time in the process.
His career came to an end in 1997 when he was controversially outpointed by countryman and former WBO world heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs, drawing the curtain on his long and storied tenure.
However, Foreman was due to make yet another comeback to boxing before the turn of the millennium, with a fight between himself and fellow heavyweight legend Larry Holmes was made official and set to take place in January of 1999.
This did not come to fruition however, as revealed by George’s brother Roy Foreman in a historic interview with the Associated Press, where he revealed George did not receive a scheduled purse payment in the weeks leading up to the fight.
“George says it’s off. They were supposed to have the money last week and they didn’t have it. George gave them an extra week and they still didn’t have it.”
Holmes was a WBC and IBF heavyweight champion, reigning from 1978 to 1985 and successfully defending his title 20 times and cementing his legacy with one of the greatest jabs in boxing history. He was, like Foreman, well past his prime when that deal was on the table, but did fight on until 2002.
‘Big George’ would remain in retirement, shifting his focus to his career as a church minister and businessman up until his death in 2024.
