George Foreman (Boxer) : Stronger Than Before

George Edward Foreman (Born January 10, 1949) Is An American Two-Time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. He Is The Oldest Man Ever To Win The Heavyweight Title (At 45, When He Ko`D The Then 26-Year Old Michael Moorer In The 10Th Round), And Also Has Been Named One Of The 25 Greatest Fighters Of All Time By Ring Magazine. Nicknamed "Big George", He Is Now A Successful Businessman And An Ordained Christian Minister Who Has His Own Church. In The Summer Of 1974, Foreman Traveled To Congo (Then Zaire), Where He Lost To Former Champ Muhammad Ali, .. The Rumble In The Jungle. When Foreman And Ali Finally Met In The Ring, Ali Started On His Toes, Dancing Around As Advertised. Such Was The Intensity Of Foreman's Attack, Though, That He Was Soon Driven Into The Ropes. The Ring Ropes Were Looser Than Normal, Allowing Ali To Lean Back And Away From Foreman's Wild Swings, And Then Maul Him In A Clinch, Forcing Foreman To Expend Extra Energy Untangling Himself. An Increasingly-Confident Ali Taunted Foreman Throughout The Bout And By The Eighth Round Was In Control Of The Fight. Late In That Round, Ali Sprang Off The Ropes With A Sudden Flurry Of Blows To Foreman's Head, Punctuated By A Hard Right Cross That Landed Flush On Foreman's Jaw. Foreman Staggered, Lurched, And Collapsed, Overcome As Much By Exhaustion As Ali's Punching Power. He Managed To Regain His Feet, But The Referee Stopped The Bout. It Was Foreman's First Defeat, And Muhammad Ali Would Remain The Only Boxer To Defeat Him By A Knockout Throughout His Two-Phased Career, Although Ron Lyle And Jimmy Young Did Manage To Floor Him In Later Bouts. In A Later Match, Foreman Became Ill In His Dressing Room After The Fight. He Was Suffering From Exhaustion And Heatstroke And Believed He Had A Near Death Experience. He Claimed He Found Himself In A Hellish, Frightening Place Of Nothingness And Despair. He Began To Plead With God To Help Him. He Explained That He Sensed God Asking Him To Change His Life And Ways. After This Experience, Foreman Became A Born-Again Christian, Dedicating His Life For The Next Decade To Christianity. Although Never Formally Retiring From Boxing, Foreman Stopped Fighting, Became An Ordained Minister Of A Churc In Houston, Texas, And Devoted Himself To His Family And His Parishioners. He Also Opened A Youth Center That Bears His Name. In 1994, Foreman Once Again Sought To Challenge For The World Championship After Michael Moorer Had Beaten Holyfield For The Ibf And Wba Titles. The Fight Took Place On November 5 In Las Vegas, Nevada, With Foreman Wearing The Same Red Trunks He Had Worn In His Title Loss To Ali 20 Years Earlier. This Time, However, Foreman Was A Substantial Underdog. For Nine Rounds, Moorer Easily Outboxed Him, Hitting And Moving Away, While Foreman Chugged Forward, Seemingly Unable To "Pull The Trigger" On His Punches. Entering The Tenth Round, Foreman Was Trailing On All Scorecards. Then, Suddenly, A Short Right Hand Caught Moorer On The Tip Of His Chin, Gashing Open His Bottom Lip, And He Collapsed To The Canvas. He Lay Flat On His Back As The Referee Counted Him Out. Just Like That, Foreman Had Regained The Title He Had Lost To Muhammad Ali Two Decades Before. He Went Back To His Corner And Knelt In Prayer As The Arena Erupted In Cheers. With This Historic Victory, Foreman Broke Two Records: He Became, At Age 45, The Oldest Fighter Ever To Win The World Heavyweight Crown; And, 20 Years After Losing His Title For The First Time, He Broke The Record For The Fighter With The Longest Interval Between One World Championship And The Next. Record: 81 Contests. Won 76 (Ko 68) + Lost 5 (Ko 1)