A TALE OF TWO GEORGES
RING GENERALSHIP The Foreman of the 1970s came out swinging as if he held a hammer in each hand. He was also competent at slipping and parrying, and he had a unique way of tipping an opponent off-balance. His trick was to put a glove on the man’s shoulder and keep him from getting set. This technique was put to great use against Frazier and created room for Foreman to throw those big uppercuts. But the young Foreman could be outsmarted and tire, as was the case in his dramatic losses to Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Young. And if an opponent showed some movement and counterpunching, as Gregorio Peralta did in their 1970 fight, Foreman was less effective. The 1990s Foreman was a different creature. Because of his age and extra weight, he became adept at conserving his energy, expending no more than was required. The later Foreman also developed a strong left jab, which had been absent in the old days. In the first of his many autobiographies, Foreman wrote that adding this jab was the difference between his previous self and the new. “If the new George were somehow to meet the old George in the ring,” he wrote, “the new George would win.” Foreman added, “I’d learned to pace myself and set up the knockout with precision instead of brute strength.” Indeed, the second version of Foreman was craftier than the powerhouse of the 1970s. Winner: 1990s Foreman MENTAL TOUGHNESS The young Foreman could grow flustered if things didn’t go his way. He was a bit of a head case in those early days, glum and petulant. The loss to Ali in 1974
seemed to ruin him mentally, and by his own admission he suffered the effects for a long time. Yet he showed some great courage against Ron Lyle in 1976, when he was dropped twice and badly hurt but came back to score a fifth-round KO in The Ring’s Fight of the Year. The 1990s Foreman entered the ring with unshakable conviction. Even if he was tagged and visibly stunned, he seemed like a mountain, unmovable. Alex Stewart hit him often in their 1992 fight and caused Foreman’s face to swell, but Foreman kept coming, earning a majority decision. Then there was the way he stayed calm and focused while losing nearly every round to Moorer, just waiting to bang home that decisive right hand. Such patience and determination were hallmarks of the later-period Foreman. This category is a close call. But while Foreman showed some incredible fortitude against Lyle in the 1970s, it was in his second incarnation that his mental toughness was fully realized. Winner: 1990s Foreman DEFENSE Hands down, 1990s Foreman was superior in this department. After all, when you’re knocking opponents across the ring, as Foreman did in the 1970s, you don’t think much about protecting yourself. That’s why young George found himself on the canvas a bunch of times. Foreman was never knocked down during the second phase of his career. A big part of his success in the 1990s was that he’d adopted the old cross-armed defense that had been used by Archie Moore, who was Foreman’s trainer for a time. Opponents had trouble cracking that shell. Winner: 1990s Foreman
Gerry Cooney was no match for “Big George,” who blasted him out in two.
64 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
RINGMAGAZINE.COM 65
Heinz Kluetmeier
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker