UNFORGETABLE ICON IN BOXING PART 1

He packs into one bag: gloves and the Holy Bible, he is a marketer of extraordinary quality, he runs boxing commentaries and he is a father of ten Children.

Any ardent follower of the sweet science will quickly know who I am talking about. He is the oldest man to have won the heavyweight title, a feat Evander Holyfield may not easily achieve. Did I hear you say, yes I know him? Of course you should, he is none other than the “Big one” George Edward Foreman. He is fondly called “Big George” by his fans around the globe. He and the great Mohammed Ali made rumble in the jungle thick and up till this time I don’t think any boxing fight has equaled that display of the sweet science.

Today I decided to: first go back in time and secondly come back to the immediate past present. George Foreman is one boxer that exhibits many good sides. He is one boxer that brought credibility to the heavyweight and also proved that as a boxer you can stay healthy even after the age of 40, when critics think that any one involved in the fistic sports should retire. Further more he is one man who has demonstrated that as a boxer you can utilize your fame and popularity for other money making ventures. I figure that if the great one, Mohammed Ali was to be healthy, he may have become a renowned writer, a poet, a motivational speaker and probably a politician.

As I said earlier, I will go back in time to catch a vivid glimpse of his exploit then make a swift come back to the immediate past present in this order;

The First Half of Foreman’s Career: Born on January 10th, 1949 in Marshall, Texas, he started fighting on the street, constantly getting into trouble because he always beats up other kids and was involved in other social vices; this ensured he was on the run from the police. He was later discovered to possess raw boxing skill and was eventually introduced to the sport. He went on to win a gold medal at the 1968 summer Olympics held in Mexico City at the age of 19. As is typical of most boxers, he turned professional in 1969 and gathered a whopping eleven knockout out of 13 fights, some of his victims includes Gregorio Perelta and George Chuvalo. Who is remembered as one of the toughest fighters in Heavyweight history and was never knocked down after engaging in more than 90 bouts, Foreman only managed a technical knockout win over him but the fight was recklessly brutal with Foreman unleashing the punishment.

On January 22, 1973, in Kingston, Jamaica Foreman knocked down the then Champion “Smokin” Joe Frazier a record six times before the referee finally stopped the fight in the second round apparently to save Frazier from some lethal punishment. The fight is most remembered for the manner Foreman’s punch took Frazier down for the sixth and final time. The power packed upper cut took Frazier off the ground before he finally landed on the canvas, after the fight, Frazier barely managed to stand on his feet. Another memorable event, in what was HBO’s first Broadcast was the call made by Howard Cosell “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier.

He went on to defend his title, first against a Puertorican heavyweight Champion named Jose Roman, he recklessly dismissed him in 55 seconds of the first and the only round, the fastest knock out for a heavyweight bout. His next title defense pitched him against Ken Norton, a boxer noted for his awkward boxing style, who in the previous year had broken the jaw of The Great Mohammed Ali, while defeating Ali on points. The pair produced an astonishing display of aggression and punching power. Foreman demolished and flattened Norton in just two rounds. Foreman later stated in his autobiography that he was attempting to kill Norton in the ring. Considered to be the most physically empowered boxer and the hardest hitter in the history of the sport and in other occasion, he is touted to be the greatest heavyweight ever, he seemed invincible. Then came his defense against the Great one, Mohammed Ali.

Rumble in the Jungle: The next title defense was against Mohammed Ali. In what was christened “Rumble in the Jungle”. The fight was nothing short of historic. The venue was the former Zaire now Congo Democratic Republic. The whole country was set ablaze as the eye of the world was focused on the country. It is an event that would surpass generation to come. Meanwhile before the fight proper, Big George suffered an injury which led to the postponement of the fight for one month, Mohammed Ali, (as was typical of him) used the period to tour the country and endeared himself to the populace which made him the toast of the fans before the fight. When they finally met in the ring, Ali began on his toes, dancing almost through out the duration f the bout, he adopted a technique he called “Rope-a-dope” tactics that allows him lean on the ropes thereby warding off punches from Foreman. The intensity in Foreman’s attack made him lose lots of energy, Ali would hold him while leaning on the rope and released those psychological words that angered Foreman and further weighed him down. An increasingly confident Ali taunted Foreman throughout the bout, by the eight round was on the driver seat. Late in that round Ali sprang off the ropes with solid combinations of blows to Foreman’s head and he was able to land a hard flush on his jaw, the champion staggered, lurched and collapsed, by the time he managed to regain his feet, it was goodnight. It was Foreman’s first defeat and Mohammed remains the only boxer to have defeated him by a knock out in his two phased career, although Ron Lyle and Jimmy Young did manage to floor him. After losing his title, he was inactive for a whole year but made a come back in 1976, against Ron Lyle in a battle that was voted “The fight of the year” by Ring Magazine. It was one of the most brutal fist game ever performed by any pair of fighters. Both men knocked each other down but it got to a point where Ron Lyle became exhausted and Foreman delivered a dozen of Punches until Lyle collapsed, the fight was stopped and Foreman was declared the winner.

His next come back fixtures was against “Smokin” Joe Frazier. It was dubbed Foreman-Frazier II. The fight was not expected to produce any solid entertainment given that Frazier had been comprehensively dealt with by the great one, Mohammed Ali the previous year. However the fight lived up to its billing as long as the fight lasted but in the fifth round Foreman caught Frazier, he was floored two times before the fight was stopped. He went on to beat Scott Ledoux and Dino Dennis by knock out to end that year.

The year 1977, would prove to be a life changing year for Big George, he surprisingly lost to less fancied Jimmy Young by a unanimous decision but was knocked down in the last round of that encounter. He later became born-again Christian after he encountered God in his dressing room. He went on to become an ordained minister of the gospel, devoting his life to his family, the Church and the youth center that was named after

EXCITEMENT RETURNS TO THE HEAVYWEIGHT

The pound game looks promising in the heavyweight category for 2008. The hype, the trills, the excitement seems its coming back, I just hope it does. The heavyweight class has suffered some serious setbacks in recent times.

At a time when the lower division continues to provide boxing fans with excitement and pleasure they crave for. The fans have every reason to be skeptical about fixtures because of the manner scheduled bouts are recklessly abandoned. First it was the Maskaev/Peter fight, and then came Vitali Klitschko/Jameel McCline, another one was the collapse of the Ibragimov/Chagaev unification fight. This situation has made fans loose confidence even when fights were made official. But that situation may not continue, giving the desire of the fighters to step out and save the heavyweight from what is now seen as mediocrity.

The series of fight to bring back beauty to this esteemed division are as follows: February 2, 2008. Oleg Maskaev/ Samuel Peter. The venue of this fight is the Mecca of boxing, the Madison Square Garden in New York. This fight has the potential to put the world on the edge of their seats; the result of the fight will significantly determine the direction of the heavyweight. The loser of this fight will be slowed down and would really need to climb the hard ladder.

A win for Maskaev would confirm him as the undisputed heavyweight Champion and the man to beat, but if Peter comes out tops, he would have opened up a new book of history, in addition to been the undisputed Champion. First, the only black skinned heavyweight Champion after the defeat of Hasim Rahman, The first African ever to win the title, then the prospect of any of them (Maskaev/Peter) to face Vitali Klitschko would produce a solid fixtures that is enough to quench the thirst of boxing fans around the globe. Mention must also be made of the fight between John Carlos Gomez and Vladimir Virchis who will face each other to determine the mandatory challenger for the WBC heavyweight championship after Vitali Klitschko gets his shot at the title. This is the time table for the WBC Heavyweight Championship.

February 23, 2008, the venue once again will be the Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden New York City. It will be a unification fight between the WBO Champion Sultan Ibragimov and the man that is seen as the most authentic and true heavyweight Champion, the IBF king Wladimir Klitschko. “Dr. Steel hammer”as he is fondly called had as victims Ray Austin and Lamon Brewster in the passing year.

Against Brewster, the Champion broke his wrist but continued in pain and got the victory he desired. Fighting with pain is the true character of a Champion, Champions don’t complain, they get the job done. On the other hand Sultan Ibragimov is happy about of the unification fight.

In his words, “Before I became champion, my goal was to win the title and unify it, but when I won the belt, I found no champion willing to fight me. I thank klitschko for being a true champion and for fighting me. I know we will put up on a great show for the fans in New York and around the world. So, the joy and dream of Ibragimov has come alive but when the fight gets underway the odds will favour klitschko yet we must also apply caution and prepare for a possible upset because the southpaw man (Ibragimov) is tricky and has got good balance.

He dethroned Shannon Briggs and ensured that Holyfield considers retirement from the sport that brought him fame. The other fight will feature the two freshest faces in the elite section, Eddie Chambers (30-0, 16 KO’s) will face Alex Povetkin (14-0, 11 KO’s). The fight is to determine the number one contender for the IBF title, the bout is schedule for 26th of January, 2008 and the venue will be in Berlin, Germany and fighting in Germany favours Povetkin who is based there. Not many boxers get results in Germany but Chambers Manager, Dan Goossen has declared that his fighter wont be affected Psychologically,because he is a kind of fighter that believes he can fight any where but I doubt if he can get a result in Germany. However, with Klitschko favourite over Ibragimov, either of them (Eddie Chamber/Alex Povetkin) faces a tough challenge.

Meanwhile, the defeat of the men like Byrd, Brock, Jameel McCline, Holyfield by young fighter like Povetkin, Chambers, Ibragimov has paved way for young and better fighters with more marketable potentials. The prospect of excitement also includes other young, up and coming fighters with great skills and power they include, the undefeated knockout artist Chris Arreola, Alexander Dimitrenko, American’s Kelvin Johnson Israeli Roman Greenberg and many others.

By the time this fight comes up and the young stars get a chance at the title the glory days of excitements, passion and solid performance would be resurrected. Am looking forward to a years where champions will not pull out of fights, a period where injuries will not rock fighters schedule. Am also looking at the first unification fight since Lennox Lewis fought against Evander Holyfield. I am impressed with the courage of Sultan Ibragimov and Wladimir Klitschko at least it’s the step to having one man be the undisputed heavyweight Champion can get underway, maybe we might put together this association scattered every where. Ruslan Chagaev should be getting an opponent, when Nikolai Valuev squares it up against Sergei Liakhovich to determine who the mandatory challenger to the WBO title becomes.

The division might just escape mediocrity and bounce back to its enviable height that it occupied in the past. Am also dreaming, that boxers above 35years old, would be beaten so that freshness will return to the heavyweight.
But make no mistakes about it, Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Oleg Maskaev, Sultan Ibragimov are solid fighters with top class experience. I watched with awe over the weekend the match between Maskaev and Rahman 1&2, and it was a pure champion performance, that man maybe 37years old but he is rock solid and almost fearless, delivering punches with no mercy and even he is been hit, he keeps coming forward, that attitude will surely frighten opponent, like it happened to Rahman. Samuel “The police man” Peters had better prepare well. On the other hand, Vitali Klitschko is absolutely amazing, if not for the experience of Lennox Lewis, that fight would produce an upset. The Russians have some strength that can only be matched by a man with a resolved will to succeed, the right mental attitude and the right strength. The Russians are not easy meat, sweeping them off their feet may not be that cheep. But above all am happy that excitement is returning to the heavyweight class and to the sport.