After his second round knockout of Gerry Cooney on January 15, 1990, ‘Big George’ was back in the ring four months later on the USA network. I loved taping his fights and watching them over and over again, even if his opponents were suspect at best. In this case, Mike Jameson, who had basically been a sparring partner and not an active fighter, was easily dismantled in four rounds. The post fight interviews were just as entertaining as the mismatches, but it kept George in the win column and his comeback intact.
He made his first appearance on HBO on June 16, 1990, as part of a doubleheader with Mike Tyson, who was returning after his knockout loss to Buster Douglas in February. George’s opponent would be Adilson Rodrigues, the first ranked boxer he would face in his three year comeback. Thank God, my sister Lisa had HBO and I could go over her apartment to watch fights and tape them.
He looked great in his HBO debut, and knocked out Rodrigues with a perfect left hook in two rounds. While Larry Merchant was skeptical and ridiculed George at times, he won on the big stage and made the world take him more seriously. While rumors spoke of a fight between George and Tyson in the fall, I knew that was hogwash, since Foreman was going after the title, not just Mike Tyson.
After two more easy wins against mediocre boxers at best to close out 1990, George had achieved at least half of his dream. He had secured a title shot against the new champ Evander Holyfield, who had knocked out Buster Douglas on October 25. The other half would be achieved if he actually won the title, in a bout signed for April 19, 1991 at Convention Hall in Atlantic City.
It was great for me that the fight was in Atlantic City, which meant I got a chance to drive the hour down to Trump Plaza to watch George train. The workouts were held in one of the ballrooms at the hotel, and since lawn season hadn’t really started yet, I went down for an entire week. George was entertaining in person, and chatted with everyone after his workout was over. One day, I asked him “Who hit you the hardest in your career?” He answered “Ronny Lyles!”, and even though he had mispronounced Lyle’s name, I knew what he meant. I also watched Evander train one day, who never uttered a single word to the crowd that was there.
My friend and I went to the Pavilion in Cherry Hill, New Jersey to watch the closed-circuit broadcast. We were both rooting hard for George, and when the opening bell rang, I was sick to my stomach with nerves. The big thing that disappointed me was how fat George was at 257 lbs., making me wish he had come into the ring at about 245 so he could be quicker and more mobile.
I was pleased that George proved to his critics that he was no joke, but Evander still dominated the fight. Even though George landed an occasional glancing blow, he was so slow that Evander was able to avoid most of his big bombs. After 12 entertaining rounds, Holyfield won a unanimous decision to retain his title.
George spoke of continuing his career after the loss, which made me feel better. I hated to see his comeback end on a loss, and as the months passed his intent on a return grew more realistic.
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