Foreman v Frazier in Jamaica

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Does anybody know how this contest came to be staged in Jamaica?

Jamaica is not a country you associate with big time boxing & also, I can't imagine it was done for financial reasons either, unless I'm wrong.

How did it come about?

[Kalan]

They outbid everyone else on the fight... Just like Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire) bid highest on Ali-Foreman.

[SteveO]

Strangely enough all Foreman's title fights (during his first reign as champion) were held abroad:
Joe Frazier in Jamaica
Jose Roman in Japan
Ken Norton in Venezuela
Muhammad Ali in Zaire

[Kalan]

Foreman's business sense... He invited people to bid... "I'm supposed to be a World Champion. That means I should fight all over the World."

Foreman regretted going to Zaire... He will tell you privately he thought he was drugged prior to the Ali fight... The reason he was so intent on the KO is because he felt he was weakening rapidly.. "it's like turning on the hose full blast and only a trickle comes out. I never felt so weak in my life" ... He wasn't hurt or knocked out...he just wanted so badly to lay down and rest.. You can see as he lays there being counted out his head is fully off the canvas.. "My head wasn't the problem. I was alert. I could take the shots. My body couldn't do anything."

I'm not sure about this because he also came close to being stopped by Jimmy Young, who was another light hitter... He wasn't conditioned to go a hard 12.

[SteveO]

Muhammad Ali defended the heavyweight title abroad 8 times - truly a WORLD champion:

George Chuvalo - Canada
Henry Cooper - England
Brian London - England
Karl Mildenberger - Germany
Joe Bugner - Malaysia
Joe Frazier - Philipines
Jean-Pierre Coopman - Puerto Rico
Richard Dunn - Germany

Tommy Burns was the first 'traveller' though. Little Tommy defended his belt in England x2, France x2, Ireland and Australia x2.

[Kalan]

Muhammad Ali defended the heavyweight title abroad 8 times - truly a WORLD champion:

George Chuvalo - Canada
Henry Cooper - England
Brian London - England
Karl Mildenberger - Germany
Joe Bugner - Malaysia
Joe Frazier - Philipines
Jean-Pierre Coopman - Puerto Rico
Richard Dunn - Germany

Tommy Burns was the first 'traveller' though. Little Tommy defended his belt in England x2, France x2, Ireland and Australia x2.

Canada isn't "abroad" ... neither is Puerto Rico... Abroad is overseas... None of fighters Ali fought abroad were any good... Except Frazier who was washed up.. London, Mildenberger, Coopman, and Dunn were particularly terrible.

[Tuan_Jim]

Ali also had a 15 round assignment against the dangerous Mac Foster in Japan.

[SteveO]

Ali also had a 15 round assignment against the dangerous Mac Foster in Japan.

Indeed he did.
If we're counting non-title fights Ali also fought:
Jurgen Blin in Switzerland
Rudi Lubbers in Indonesia
Al 'Blue Lewis in Ireland
Trevor Berbick in The Bahamas

Admitedly I haven't checked with Kalan whether or not these countries are abroad or not

[Kalan]

Ali also had a 15 round assignment against the dangerous Mac Foster in Japan.

Indeed he did.
If we're counting non-title fights Ali also fought:
Jurgen Blin in Switzerland
Rudi Lubbers in Indonesia
Al 'Blue Lewis in Ireland
Trevor Berbick in The Bahamas

Admitedly I haven't checked with Kalan whether or not these countries are abroad or not

None of those were title fights... Mac Foster was a guy who never beat a single top contender in his life.. Quarry previously stopped Foster, who fought Ali with less energy than a sparring partner... Berbick was a good Heavyweight who beat Ali with ease.

Blin and Lubbers were less then pathetic.. Blue Lewis was a very slow and clumsy boxer, but a big, tall guy and a decent hitter.. Blue also never beat a top contender.. He caught Ali with some tremendous punches that shook Ali up a few times.. Blue was a former sparring partner who knew Ali well, so it was an arranged fight.. Why it was stopped??? Who knows. Ali was taking the 11th round off after punching himself out in the 10th.

[Tuan_Jim]

The young excitable nerd whose knowledge runs as deep as the record on Boxrec & yet insists on lecturing others is always, always a bore. Passe is 2006, never mind 2016.

[Caractacus]

Muhammad Ali defended the heavyweight title abroad 8 times - truly a WORLD champion:

George Chuvalo - Canada
Henry Cooper - England
Brian London - England
Karl Mildenberger - Germany
Joe Bugner - Malaysia
Joe Frazier - Philipines
Jean-Pierre Coopman - Puerto Rico
Richard Dunn - Germany

Tommy Burns was the first 'traveller' though. Little Tommy defended his belt in England x2, France x2, Ireland and Australia x2.

Canada isn't "abroad" ... neither is Puerto Rico... Abroad is overseas... None of fighters Ali fought abroad were any good... Except Frazier who was washed up.. London, Mildenberger, Coopman, and Dunn were particularly terrible.

Yeah ,but some people have been known to go there to those places just for "A broad"
.

[Kalan]

Right, I get it... Puerto Rico isn't abroad either but they do have some nice chicks there. I can't believe anybody ever called them broads but they did in the 1950's and 60's ... because they they're broader in the ass than guys and everybody loves big booty.

[BoxBuzz]

I'm going to make a ruling here.

"Over a wide area" I think it hits the mark.


a·broad.

[əˈbrôd]

ADVERB

1.in or to a foreign country or countries:

"we usually go abroad for a week in May" ·
[more]

synonyms: overseas · out of the country · to/in foreign parts ·
[more]



2.in different directions; over a wide area:

"millions of seeds are annually scattered abroad"


synonyms: in circulation · circulating · widely current · everywhere ·
[more]

3.
archaic

wide of the mark; in error.

NOUN

1.foreign countries considered collectively:

"servicemen returning from abroad"

[Kalan]

Look... If I live in San Diego and head down to Tijuana for the evening...I don't say "I'm going abroad."

Going abroad generally means you're headed overseas or to another continent.. Don't get pedantic with your stroppy stuff.

[ClivePatrickLyons]

Ali also had a 15 round assignment against the dangerous Mac Foster in Japan.

Indeed he did.
If we're counting non-title fights Ali also fought:
Jurgen Blin in Switzerland
Rudi Lubbers in Indonesia
Al 'Blue Lewis in Ireland
Trevor Berbick in The Bahamas

Admitedly I haven't checked with Kalan whether or not these countries are abroad or not

[Kalan]

Ali also had a 15 round assignment against the dangerous Mac Foster in Japan.

Indeed he did.
If we're counting non-title fights Ali also fought:
Jurgen Blin in Switzerland
Rudi Lubbers in Indonesia
Al 'Blue Lewis in Ireland
Trevor Berbick in The Bahamas

Admitedly I haven't checked with Kalan whether or not these countries are abroad or not

They all are save The Bahamas.. The Bahamas are much closer to Florida than Florida is to Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, or Virginia. Hardly "Going aboard"

[Cutman Scabbers]

Indeed he did.
If we're counting non-title fights Ali also fought:
Jurgen Blin in Switzerland
Rudi Lubbers in Indonesia
Al 'Blue Lewis in Ireland
Trevor Berbick in The Bahamas

Admitedly I haven't checked with Kalan whether or not these countries are abroad or not

They all are save The Bahamas.. The Bahamas are much closer to Florida than Florida is to Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, or Virginia. Hardly "Going aboard"

"All Aboard!!"

[SteveO]

The Bahamas are much closer to Florida than Florida is to Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, or Virginia. Hardly "Going aboard"

Right, so to sum it up then - foreign countries that are not part of the USA are not classified as being 'abroad' unless you say so.

[Kalan]

Abroad is overseas.

[Kalan]

You're not going abroad if you head down to Tijuana for the evening from San Diego.