He was as “Slow as Christmas” – Evander Holyfield – former Heavy Weight Champion of the World on George Foreman

 

I grew up on Kung Fu movies and it was a dream of mine to be able to a great fighter. I fancied myself as the guy who just walks in from place to place and righting wrongs with my fist before moving on elsewhere. As a Chinese guy growing up in the West, my hero was Bruce Lee. I had fantasies of being a “Shaolin” monk and I believe that had I lived in a different era, I would happily have joined the “Boxer Rebellion,” or the “Vietcong.”

Fate had other plans for me. The school Karate club shut down for the simple fact that we couldn’t get the numbers and that was pretty much where my career in a “combat sport” ended. Having said that, I lived in a very interesting era of boxing and had great childhood heroes in the ring. Mike Tyson was at his destructive best but he wasn’t the only one. Lennox Lewis was the up-and-coming star as I was getting ready to leave school and in the Middle Weight division there was rivalry between Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn. These guys had their own heroes. Mohammad Ali was everyone’s heroes and whilst he had long retired with Parkinsons by the time I was watching boxing, his legend and rivalry with the likes of Joe Frazier were very much alive.

Amongst the “current” fighters of that era, there was a character that, whilst not as ferocious as Mike Tyson, who captured everyone’s interest. That character was George Foreman, who at the age of 42, was considered “old” but still making a comeback. If there was a character who could tame Tyson, we thought it would be George Foreman, who had in his day gone fought with the best. His passing over the weekend reminds me of that era in my life when I’d sneak into the common room at school to watch boxing.

I’ve always admired people who make their living through their first. Between a guy who sits on a presidential throne or a CEO’s chair and a guy who gets into a ring to face another guy who intends to inflict hurt on him, I respect the later more. It takes a very special mindset to train like a maniac day in and day out to prepare to either damage someone and be damaged in the process.

Now that I’ve officially become middle aged, I’m even more enchanted by the mindset of what makes a great fighter, especially now that I’m more active (a case of doctor’s orders). Now that I am no longer at my physical peak (which was pretty lousy), I’m all the more aware of the importance of physicality.

Let’s start with the obvious. Boxers prime their bodies for a purpose. It’s about making sure that you have the ability to avoid, taking and giving pain. As much as I avoid physical confrontations, I firmly believe that a man should be able to throw a punch, at any age. Boxing unlike, say body building isn’t about looking good but being able to function.

One of the things about being physically able is that it takes work. You can’t buy, steal or borrow a functioning physique. Now, I never valued this as a young man. Partied a lot. Drank way more than I should have and spent more time in bed than I should have. Now that I am older, I understand the value of being physically functional and as the body gets ready for decline, I appreciate the importance of staying fit. I could lose my job tomorrow. What resources I have can dry up. But as long as I am fit, I can still get resources.

As anyone who has seen his biopic on Netflix can attest to, he came back to the ring in his late thirties because he needed the money (to build a youth centre). It seemed like a joke. The Foreman of my day was a tubby and jovial character unlike the Foreman who wanted to kill Mohammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle.

As with a lot of come backs, many of the guys he fought were “bums,” whom he could dispatch easily. What made George Foreman particularly impressive in his come back was the fact that he wasn’t afraid to face actual champions in their prime. One only has to think of Jake Paul, who is building his career by fighting big names but names who are past their prime as a comparison.

At 42, George Foreman went up against Evander Holyfield, who was 28 and exceedingly fit and skilled. Whilst Holyfield eventually won the fight, Foreman did enough to show that he wasn’t a joke:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eJ96e9wPqPs

 

 The biggest problem with age is that makes you less willing to try things. You get used to a certain lifestyle and breaking it up and facing risk is not something you want. Or you reach a stage where giving your all doesn’t seem so important. You tell yourself that you have “experience” so you don’t need certain things.

This wasn’t the case for George Foreman in his comeback. In a way, his age made him wiser. He was, as Holyfield mentioned, slow but had great timing and strength. The Foreman at 45 knew how to use what he had in the same way that the Foreman at 25 did not. We just need to look back at the “Rumble in the Jungle” where he was highly favoured to murder Mohammad Ali – gave him a major beating but then tired himself out and allowed Ali to deliver the knockout blow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I60BKrZZz-M

 

 The Foreman at 45 knew what his strengths and weaknesses were and played them accordingly. If you look at the fight against Michael Moorer, you’ll notice that Michael Moorer was outpointing him all the way until Foreman delivered the knock-out blow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEd-P0VREME

 

 As a guy in his Middle Age, trying to make his mark, George Foreman is an inspiration. His story in his “comeback” is all about having the courage to face punishment, still staying in decent shape and having the courage to do things that are necessary. Its about knowing what you can and cannot do accordingly. A childhood hero is now gone and all that remains is trying to understand and acting out on the inspiration that he provided.