Posted on 10/28/2009 6:16:43 PM PDT by Saije
The reminder that yet another anniversary is here had George Foreman thinking that maybe it's time to visit an old friend.
They once had their differences, once came to blows. Time, though, is a great healer.
"Maybe I should go and see him," Foreman said. "He's like a brother. We're that close."
They weren't 35 years ago, on an early morning in Africa when all Foreman had in mind was dealing some serious hurt to Muhammad Ali. He had been in Zaire way too long as it was, and the big, brooding heavyweight champion was in no mood to take any nonsense from anybody.
That included Ali, whom Foreman saw as little more than his next knockout victim.
"I figured no one could stand up to me," Foreman said during a recent telephone interview from his home in Houston. "I went out there to knock him out."
Ali had other ideas. Ten years had passed since he shocked the world by winning the heavyweight title against Sonny Liston, and he knew a thing or two about beating a bully.
The great trainer Cus D'Amato had given him a piece of advice for the fight: Hit him as hard as you can with the first punch, Cus said, and let him know you're there.
Others had tried it, others had failed. But none was Muhammad Ali.
In Foreman's dressing room before the fight, the mood was as dark as the African night. This wasn't going to last long, and the price Ali would pay would be dreadful.
"There's death in the air," a Foreman camp member kept shouting.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
George has something that Ali can’t buy...his health.
I met Foreman in Vegas about 10 yrs ago - Big Big guy and very polite and kind.
George:
Muhhamed Ali has Parkinson’s disease. He is going to die a miserable suffering Muslim.
You have 10 kids (5 named George), Meineke and the Lean Mean Grilling Machine (all pretty good products).
Who’s better off?
Forget that coming-to-terms-with-it nonsense . . . I say George should challenge him to a rematch!
George has class, for one thing.
Interesting what I was saying about class. He certainly showed it in the last line of this article:
"I don't call him [Ali] the best boxer of all time," Foreman said, "but he's the greatest human being I ever met."
*I* wouldn't have said that about Muhammad Ali! Lol.
I agree.
I wouldn’t call ali the best of all time either. The best since color television maybe.
Joe louis
jack dempsey
Sugar ray(the first one)
These guys were better than ali. But ali certainly was the most unusual, most entertaining, most surprising, most exciting, and most charismatic.
I watch old movies of ali’s fights over and over and I still can’t believe he wins them. It really is amazing. The guy is a miracle in the ring...a real life pretty boy that fights big tough guys using his brain...AND FREEKING WINS! That is a favorite storyline in movies, but in real life it never never almost never ever happens. It just doesn’t.
And yet, with ali, it does.
I honestly think that had ali never been born, boxing would’ve died out 25 years ago or more. It would’ve gone the way of bowling.
It has been dead almost that long. Aside from Tyson stories, when is the last time you saw popular culture and media cover boxing?
And Foreman knocked out Ken Norton. Norton was a great fighter. Ali broke his jaw but he still finished the fight. Big George was simply too angry. He was sullen. But I was pulling for him. I couldn’t stand Ali’s big mouth even though it was an act.
As for Frazier, I’ll always believe he beat Ali twice. I thought Foreman would kill Ali. A lot of us thought that.
I loved watching the fights on ABC’s Wide World of Sports on Saturday afternoons. I watch the Ali - Ron Lyle fight. Lyle had him whipped and the ref stopped the fight and gave it to Ali. I’ll always believe that and Lyle always believed it. And the announcers were shocked that the fight was stopped.
Oh, how I long for the good old days. Three T.V. channels so after the fights we kids had to use our imaginations to have fun.
Ali gave George a gift, humility.
I’ve met George Foreman and had a few brief email conversations with him and he’s a wonderful man. Full of joy and goodness and love toward mankind. I treasure a picture I have of Mr. Foreman holding my elder kid when she was about 2 years old. What a guy!
The world could use more people like George Foreman.
I won’t watch this UFC crap. It’s nothing but animals. But I would love to see one of those “bad asses” get in the ring with Big George in his prime. One punch from that huge right hand and it would be over.
Too bad that gift wasn't passed on to Tyson.
Tyson has no redeeming qualitites, George Foreman did and does. It would be like asking that the Chairman be instilled with patriotism. Some things are not possible.
One of my favorite pics from The Onion.
Maybe you didn’t read the end...””I don’t call him the best boxer of all time,” Foreman said, “but he’s the greatest human being I ever met.”
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