stkelly52
06-18-2003, 12:12 PM
George Forman want's to try to win the heavy weight title again
http://espn.go.com/boxing/news/2003/0618/1569815.html
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A boxing comeback as a 50-something? George Foreman has some limitations for it, but apparently he's all game.
The former two-time heavyweight champion told the New York Post in a story published Wednesday that a Vitali Klitschko upset of Lennox Lewis on Saturday in Los Angeles would intensity his focus to fight again.
"I'm very serious" about coming back, said Foreman, who will call the Klitschko-Lewis bout for HBO. "I've been serious about this all along."
Foreman will turn 55 in January. He last fought in November 1997, when he lost to Shannon Briggs, and told the Post he does not want to fight current champion Lewis or Mike Tyson.
"I've told people for the last five or six years, that at 55 I'm coming back," Foreman told the Post. "At my 55th birthday, it's going to take a lot of persuasion and a lot of hard work for me not to come back."
Foreman was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on June 8 -- even though he has never officially retired.
"I told them if they are putting me in the Hall of Fame with the hope that I'm never going to come back, don't do it," Foreman told the Post.
He said he works out all the time in Kingwood, Texas, a suburb of Houston, but doesn't spar. Foreman said that he must drop down to, for him, a miniscule 225 pounds to at least be competitive in the ring. Foreman said he is "a lot over that" weight at this time.
"I want to be examined properly by my doctors," he told the Post. "I'm always given a clean bill of health."
Foreman grew up in Marshall, Texas, and was a self-proclaimed mugger and street brawler by age 15. He found the sport that would make him famous after joining the Job Corps, where a counselor and boxing coach redirected his life.
Foreman won the National AAU heavyweight championship in 1968, then Olympic gold at the Summer Games in Mexico City in just his 25th amateur bout.
With ex-heavyweight champ Sonny Liston as his sparring partner, Foreman turned pro in 1969 and ripped through opponents, winning his first 37 fights, 34 by knockout.
On Jan. 22, 1973, the hard-punching Foreman claimed the heavyweight crown by dropping champion Joe Frazier to the canvas six times in two rounds before knocking him out in Jamaica.
After successfully defending his title twice, Foreman met Ali in the "Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire, on Oct. 30, 1974 and was KO'd in the eighth round.
Foreman continued boxing until March 17, 1977, when he dropped a 12-round decision to Jimmy Young. In the locker room after the fight, Foreman said he underwent a religious experience that took him from the ring to the pulpit. He continues to preach at his Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
After a 10-year absence, Foreman astounded the boxing world by returning to the ring despite being overweight, out of shape and long past his prime.
And on Nov. 5, 1994, at age 45, he knocked out 26-year-old Michael Moorer in the 10th round to win the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles.
Foreman told the Post he wants to take advantage of an inexperienced fighter to win the title for the third time, which is why he wouldn't fight Lewis, he said. Foreman The Commentator gives Klitschko a chance against Lewis.
"[Lewis is] too big," Foreman said. "He's experienced and he has the reach. ... Get Lennox Lewis out of the business, I could come back tomorrow."
He said he doesn't want to fight Tyson for other reasons.
"I wouldn't even feel right fighting Mike Tyson," Foreman said. "Too many guys look like they decide if they want to get famous just go hurt Mike Tyson. For the first time, when Lennox Lewis fought Mike Tyson, I said, 'Why is that big guy beating on Mike Tyson like that? Why doesn't he finish him off?' I felt sorry for Tyson."
Foreman has a career record of 76-5 with 68 KOs and has made far more money outside the ring than he did in it by pitching his fat-cutting grill across the country.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
http://espn.go.com/boxing/news/2003/0618/1569815.html
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A boxing comeback as a 50-something? George Foreman has some limitations for it, but apparently he's all game.
The former two-time heavyweight champion told the New York Post in a story published Wednesday that a Vitali Klitschko upset of Lennox Lewis on Saturday in Los Angeles would intensity his focus to fight again.
"I'm very serious" about coming back, said Foreman, who will call the Klitschko-Lewis bout for HBO. "I've been serious about this all along."
Foreman will turn 55 in January. He last fought in November 1997, when he lost to Shannon Briggs, and told the Post he does not want to fight current champion Lewis or Mike Tyson.
"I've told people for the last five or six years, that at 55 I'm coming back," Foreman told the Post. "At my 55th birthday, it's going to take a lot of persuasion and a lot of hard work for me not to come back."
Foreman was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on June 8 -- even though he has never officially retired.
"I told them if they are putting me in the Hall of Fame with the hope that I'm never going to come back, don't do it," Foreman told the Post.
He said he works out all the time in Kingwood, Texas, a suburb of Houston, but doesn't spar. Foreman said that he must drop down to, for him, a miniscule 225 pounds to at least be competitive in the ring. Foreman said he is "a lot over that" weight at this time.
"I want to be examined properly by my doctors," he told the Post. "I'm always given a clean bill of health."
Foreman grew up in Marshall, Texas, and was a self-proclaimed mugger and street brawler by age 15. He found the sport that would make him famous after joining the Job Corps, where a counselor and boxing coach redirected his life.
Foreman won the National AAU heavyweight championship in 1968, then Olympic gold at the Summer Games in Mexico City in just his 25th amateur bout.
With ex-heavyweight champ Sonny Liston as his sparring partner, Foreman turned pro in 1969 and ripped through opponents, winning his first 37 fights, 34 by knockout.
On Jan. 22, 1973, the hard-punching Foreman claimed the heavyweight crown by dropping champion Joe Frazier to the canvas six times in two rounds before knocking him out in Jamaica.
After successfully defending his title twice, Foreman met Ali in the "Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire, on Oct. 30, 1974 and was KO'd in the eighth round.
Foreman continued boxing until March 17, 1977, when he dropped a 12-round decision to Jimmy Young. In the locker room after the fight, Foreman said he underwent a religious experience that took him from the ring to the pulpit. He continues to preach at his Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
After a 10-year absence, Foreman astounded the boxing world by returning to the ring despite being overweight, out of shape and long past his prime.
And on Nov. 5, 1994, at age 45, he knocked out 26-year-old Michael Moorer in the 10th round to win the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles.
Foreman told the Post he wants to take advantage of an inexperienced fighter to win the title for the third time, which is why he wouldn't fight Lewis, he said. Foreman The Commentator gives Klitschko a chance against Lewis.
"[Lewis is] too big," Foreman said. "He's experienced and he has the reach. ... Get Lennox Lewis out of the business, I could come back tomorrow."
He said he doesn't want to fight Tyson for other reasons.
"I wouldn't even feel right fighting Mike Tyson," Foreman said. "Too many guys look like they decide if they want to get famous just go hurt Mike Tyson. For the first time, when Lennox Lewis fought Mike Tyson, I said, 'Why is that big guy beating on Mike Tyson like that? Why doesn't he finish him off?' I felt sorry for Tyson."
Foreman has a career record of 76-5 with 68 KOs and has made far more money outside the ring than he did in it by pitching his fat-cutting grill across the country.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.