After winning the title again in an historic achievement in November of 1994, George signed to make his first title defense on April 22, 1995 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas. I bought a $400 ticket to see it live, making it the first time I ever saw George fight in person.
I had been in a bad relationship for two years with someone who borrowed a lot of money and never paid me back. I planned a strategy to make my money back, by betting on boxing for the first time in my life. I was very confident in my ability to pick winners, and by the time April 22 arrived, I had already won about $13,000. I was betting a lot of money on big favorites, and it was working.
Axel Schulz was the name of the guy George was fighting, and I had never heard of him. I laid $42,000 at 6-1, which would net me a $7,000 return. I also foolishly bet $1,000 on a sixth round knockout, which would have won me a ton of money if it paid off.
It was exciting to see my first live boxing match in Vegas. The crowd was alive, and was also full of a lot of Germans, who flew to support their home town guy. I happened to be sitting next to a bunch of them in my seat halfway up the arena, and they annoyed me with their cries of “Axel! Axel!” throughout the night.
George appeared to be winning the action with his jab and body punches throughout the first half of the fight, but Schulz was no joke. He was continuously peppering Foreman with shots, and was definitely in the fight. After losing the sixth round bet, I was getting increasingly nervous, and just wanted George to win!
The champion closed the last round strongly, and when I looked up to see the scorecard on the screens pumping the HBO feed live, I saw 117-111. I said that’s good, until I realized Harold Lederman, the HBO guest judge, scored it for Schulz! I almost had a heart attack as I awaited Michael Buffer to read the decision. In the darkened arena with my head down, I breathed a huge sigh of relief as George was awarded a close decision victory. I ran from the MGM knowing I had dodged a bullet, but with a win nonetheless. George had retained his title, and I went home $6,000 closer to my goal.
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