George Foreman's comeback - One of the worst things to happen to Boxing??

1. It showed a fat slob with nothing but a dig and a punch could become Heavyweight Boxing and spawned a generation of similar models..

2. How can you stop 40 year olds who are well past their best ....potentially self-harming by fighting on when they can point to George Foreman being basically undisputed Champion. He opened the door to fighting in middle age.

3. Before Foreman, even over weight fighters like Page, Tubbs, Witherspoon all had good skill sets, speed and a sense of aestheticity........Foreman proved you could win without any of the above....and made compulsory skill sets look like extras.

4. Being photographed with hamburgers all the time and making fat jokes.........really good for Boxing's image??.....

I have George Foreman in my top 10 but nothing will convince me that his comeback was anything but bad for Boxing.

[quote="TRUSSMAN66"]1. It showed a fat slob with nothing but a dig and a punch could become Heavyweight Boxing and spawned a generation of similar models..

Apparently thats what guys want, big guys that can punch rather than small guys that can punch or the Mayweathers, Whittakers etc

You honestly believe that.....Most people like me prefer skill...

HW's big guys with big ko power who can turn a fight with one big punch, not at 5 8' 66 kilo guy who looks like the average man. Or so I've been told over the last couple days on several threads on here. Apparently a 220lb boxer cant have good stamina, fast hands & a high workrate. Also the HW division has to be the pinnacle of the sport for the aforementioned reasons. Like yourself I like prefer a skilled boxer with a good workrate, devastating power ala Jackson a bonus.

220 is the ideal weight mate, above 240ish despite a few exceptions (wlad and Lewis). the workrate drops thats why they'll rarely match the excitement offered by the lower weights.

What a joke of an article....and it pains me to say it.

The man returned to boxing older then his peers, fatter then his peers, and less skilled as his peers yet still fought his way to the title. I do not think you are giving big George any credit. He was willing to face the best and fought the likes of Cooney who he said was one of the hardest hitters he ever faced. He fought a young up and coming fighter in Morrison, took on Holy and Moorer.

He fought in 2 of the most exciting heavyweight eras so what if he was older and fatter. What was you doing when you was his age? He was winning heavyweight titles. Give the big man some credit.

ShahenshahG wrote:220 is the ideal weight mate, above 240ish despite a few exceptions (wlad and Lewis). the workrate drops thats why they'll rarely match the excitement offered by the lower weights.

And that's why for me their purses shouldn't match the lower weights, and no longer should HW be considered the golden division, the pinnacle of the sport. Its old fashioned & political why they can command such big money. For me the casual fan is only interested in a world HW title if it involves a Brit. My brother a casual fan catches replays of classic fights of the last 15 years & its always Gatti, Manny, Barrera, Morales etc in absolute barnstormers, never a HW. Says it all for me.

Yeah but we arent paying for it? the germans are because theyve got what they want, efficient dignified champion. Surely if the germans enjoy it then they should pay as much as they like? The contenders make a bit of money out of their own fans, if they enjoy it then so what? They get the biggest purse because they command it. What do you mean by political? All the money the heavies earn are through their own work - its not as if they get paid a weekly wage is it? Khan earned more than any of our heavies and contenders will always make money by virtue of fighting the champion.

By political I mean the powers that be still seem to want it to be the richest prize in sport.

Khan is also an exciting fighter who now has that will he or wont he get floored or ko'd opinion amongst fans, Naz began to get a similar thing towards the end of his career.

As I said before wait until Wlad retires & there will not be a HW in the p4p top 10 & not for a long time, and we're still saying its the pinnacle of the sport & should be the richest prize in sport, commanding the biggest purses? Not for me. I remember when Morales defended against Wayne Mccalugh, great fighte, both fighters gave it their all, he was paid $300,000. How many better HW fights were there that year or since then, whose career would you prefer to watch his, Wlads, Ruiz, Chagaev, Valuev & who would have been paid the least for a title defence?

sohotnot wrote:By political I mean the powers that be still seem to want it to be the richest prize in sport.

Khan is also an exciting fighter who now has that will he or wont he get floored or ko'd opinion amongst fans, Naz began to get a similar thing towards the end of his career.

As I said before wait until Wlad retires & there will not be a HW in the p4p top 10 & not for a long time, and we're still saying its the pinnacle of the sport & should be the richest prize in sport, commanding the biggest purses? Not for me. I remember when Morales defended against Wayne Mccalugh, great fighte, both fighters gave it their all, he was paid $300,000. How many better HW fights were there that year or since then, whose career would you prefer to watch his, Wlads, Ruiz, Chagaev, Valuev & who would have been paid the least for a title defence?

I think you answered yourself there. The HW is the golden division because it makes the most money as you have just said. Boxers only make their money through fans basically, so if the fans are paying the most money to watch a HW fight then that must mean that the HW division is the most popular.

It's fighter dependent, there are a host of guys in the lower divisions who make more money the heavyweights.

ONETWO................I'd argue but I think my points would be lost on you...

I'm looking from a Boxing point of view.........Foreman does deserve praise for his win.........Moorer perhaps deserves more derision for the loss.

victorgarco wrote:

sohotnot wrote:By political I mean the powers that be still seem to want it to be the richest prize in sport.

Khan is also an exciting fighter who now has that will he or wont he get floored or ko'd opinion amongst fans, Naz began to get a similar thing towards the end of his career.

As I said before wait until Wlad retires & there will not be a HW in the p4p top 10 & not for a long time, and we're still saying its the pinnacle of the sport & should be the richest prize in sport, commanding the biggest purses? Not for me. I remember when Morales defended against Wayne Mccalugh, great fighte, both fighters gave it their all, he was paid $300,000. How many better HW fights were there that year or since then, whose career would you prefer to watch his, Wlads, Ruiz, Chagaev, Valuev & who would have been paid the least for a title defence?

I think you answered yourself there. The HW is the golden division because it makes the most money as you have just said. Boxers only make their money through fans basically, so if the fans are paying the most money to watch a HW fight then that must mean that the HW division is the most popular.

What I was saying is the best division should be based on a division which has the best fighters in it fighting each other & said fighters getting paid accordingly, its why Floyd, Manny & ODLH for example have all earned well. I often hear people on here saying if the HW division was stacked full of talent boxing would be back on top & again a mainstream sport, that simply isn't the case, there are many other reasons why its not.

The heavyweight devision was the golden division of boxing and it was so in a long time, and as time progresses things change, what was once mighty is now just a memory of the past. Just like the Roman empire, at one time it was the greatest empire on the planet that simply could not be tested, and fast forward all these years, and it is nothing but history to us now. in the same way the glory days of the heavyweifht devision are well past us, and although the heavyweights of the past will always be apreciated, i think its about time people aknlowdged the middleweights abit better, because theyve baught far more interest into the sport in the past 10 years than the heavyweights. jus like the mighty roman empire, the heavyweights title of the top prize of the sport has come to an end (atleast for now, we never know what the future holds)

Makaveli wrote:The heavyweight devision was the golden division of boxing and it was so in a long time, and as time progresses things change, what was once mighty is now just a memory of the past. Just like the Roman empire, at one time it was the greatest empire on the planet that simply could not be tested, and fast forward all these years, and it is nothing but history to us now. in the same way the glory days of the heavyweifht devision are well past us, and although the heavyweights of the past will always be apreciated, i think its about time people aknlowdged the middleweights abit better, because theyve baught far more interest into the sport in the past 10 years than the heavyweights. jus like the mighty roman empire, the heavyweights title of the top prize of the sport has come to an end (atleast for now, we never know what the future holds)

Exactly but sadly some people will just not except this, the HW's must be considered the best, the highest paid, they can deliver (but generally don't) devastating ko's, they will one restore boxing to its rightful place! At least somebody sees sense.