After his destruction of Gerry Cooney in January of 1990, ‘Big’ George returned to the ring against shopworn Mike Jameson in April, easily knocked him out in four rounds. In June, George appeared on HBO for the first time as part of a doubleheader from Caesar’s Palace with Mike Tyson. Tyson was coming back after his knockout defeat to Buster Douglas, and George was paired with Adilson Rodrigues. The ‘Preacher’ disposed of Rodrigues with a spectacular left hook in the second round, which showcased his punching power to a wider audience for the first time.
George knocked out Ken Lakusta and Terry Anderson to finish the year of 1990, which set up his title shot with Evander Holyfield in April of 1991. I had the privilege to go see him train at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City about seven times, and to meet him and ask him a few questions. His workouts were efficient, and he was entertaining as well, leaving me with hope he could pull off a miracle and defeat Holyfield.
I knew it would be a long shot when I went to the Pavilion in Cherry Hill, N.J. to watch it on closed circuit. I was nervous for George when the opening bell rang. I had been onboard his comeback train since the very beginning, and the four year sojourn had landed with a title shot.
Foreman was aggressive, but Evander was boxing great as the first few rounds progressed, landing jabs and sharp combinations to the bigger Foreman. George landed an occasional glancing blow, but never really hit Holyfield right on the button. There were a few exciting rounds when George appeared to rock Evander, but for the most part, he was losing the bout. At the end, it was a courageous and gutty performance by my hero, but he definitely lost.
After the loss, George talked about continuing on and wanting another shot at Evander. I didn’t see a second match going any different, but I was glad he wasn’t quitting, and would continue his career.
He returned in December against an experienced Jimmy Ellis, whose claim to fame was the fact he was a 1987 NFL scab player during the strike season. He was easily knocked out in three rounds, and I knew the next time he fought, it would have to be against a live opponent.
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