When George Foreman lost to Tommy Morrison in June of 1993, he announced his retirement in the ring after the fight. It was a sad night for me, his career ending on such a sour note. I figured I would remember the highlights of George’s comeback starting in 1987, and all the pleasant memories it left me.
In April of 1994, Michael Moorer upset Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas. Foreman had made comments as an announcer for HBO that evening, saying that he thought Evander had been robbed, and that Moorer hadn’t won the fight. I agreed, but never figured what unfolded next would occur.
George went to promoter Bob Arum and asked to get him a fight with Moorer. Arum argued a bit, but also saw the possibilities of such a bout. He insisted that he would only make the fight if George got in supreme condition, and in July the fight was set for November 5th in Las Vegas.
I had been in Vegas for a 4 day vacation the week before the fight, and got to see George do an interview at the MGM Hotel on the Jim Rome show. He looked fit and solid, and I was excited when I went home, hopeful Foreman could pull off the miracle, and win the championship again at age 45.
My brother and I watched the fight on HBO and were nervous when round 1 began. George had trained down to a trim 250 lbs., and was landing good jabs against the southpaw Moorer. Unfortunately, Michael was winning most of the rounds, and landing a lot of heavy punches. He was sharp and quick with his combinations, and as the fight reached the seventh, I was feeling discouraged.
George never was badly hurt, and kept trying, which left me with some hope left. I knew Moorer didn’t have the best chin, I held out hope Foreman could land something big to change things around.
‘Big’ George started to come to life in the ninth round, and was starting to throw and land some big punches. He continued the same attack in the tenth, and with just about a minute left in the round, landed a short right hand that knocked Moorer out. It was incredible to see, and as Jim Lampley screamed “It happens! It happens!” , I was overjoyed to say the least. George knelt in his corner to thank the Lord for the victory, something he had promised he would do.
As a boxing fan, to this day it is the greatest single moment I have ever had.
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