At the height of his career, George Foreman was the most formidable heavyweight on the planet.
‘Big’ George entered the professional ranks in 1969, just 1-year on from his Olympic Gold Medal triumph at the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City.
He would go on to box 37 times in four years before he clashed with the legendary Joe Frazier in 1973, dethroning ‘Smokin Joe’ in the 2nd-round to capture the world heavyweight championship for the first time.
Foreman made a couple of defences of his crown before he tasted defeat for the first time when he locked horns with Muhammad Ali in ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’ just 18-months on from his victory over Frazier. Ali put his infamous ‘rope-a-dope’ style into practice to stop ‘Big’ George in the 8th-round of their showdown in Zaire.
in a resurfaced interview with Boxing Scene, Foreman, during a conversation about fighters taking unnecessary risky fights, said he had come to regret signing his showdown with ‘The Greatest.’
“It is just like when I decided to fight Ali. I just don’t know why I chose to do it. I really shouldn’t have done it. I took the fight to Ali round after round but then the next thing I knew, I was on the floor.”
Ali went on to make a number of defences of his crown, defeating the likes of Ron Lyle, Ken Norton and Earnie Shavers along the way. He was beaten by Leon Spinks in 1978 to lose his titles, but was successful in their rematch 6-months later.
‘The Greatest’ fought on two more occasions before retiring from the sport in 1981, suffering back-to-back defeats against Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick respectively. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 74. This month, tributes poured in for Foreman after his family announced that the 76-year-old had died surrounded by his loved ones.
