- Seems to me to be a measly question for such an all time great that pretty much misses the gravitas of Big Georges career.
First, one helluva kickoff with barely 20 ama fights, age 19 BTFO the professional commie Soviets and Cubanos for the storied 68 Mexico City Olympics Gold Medal, and then undefeated Frazier and then Norton, the first America Heavy to win the title out of country with all his defenses out of the country. Those were tragically uncertain times of readjustment in the US and Internationally. His the golden era of US heavies with Joe, Ali, Kenny, and George, but Joe, Ali, and Kenny all engaged in trilogies with each other, but froze George out though Joe eventually manned up to their rematch.
After Ali fought Foreman, his performance takes a huge hit, ie Wepner for peanuts instead of the $5 mil rematch in Indonesia as does his KO ratio. No fighter came out of a Foreman fight unscathed. See Vander, 7-0, 7 KO coming in, and 16-10-2, 7 KO running out to the end of his career.
So he lost a few fights, but won all the Wars as he remained intact to the very end with prime heavies donning track shoes to keep Corona social distance spacing from the slowing Old Man, Shannon Briggs being the last. His career record of 76-5, 69 KO is the best record modern record since Joe Lewis though short on titles bouts in part to splitting up his career for 10 years that allowed him to ditch DKing.
Still, but for the conniving Fates that first allowed him his rightful place at the right time in his beginnings before abandoning him, in his comeback he almost got his $20 mil prime Tyson fight in China that was scratched by international politics after the Tianamen Square tragedy. Most think stylistically he would've beat Tyson. That would've given the world a different look at George.
Moorer undefeated and something of a LH legend, KO artist and lefty to boot another huge scalp. He made Vander retire after winning that title. As to Looney Teddy, the guy is a wingnut short of being a full blown psychopathic killer. Kid Tyson lucky Teddy didn't jerk, and later he pulls out his gun to go hunt down Donny LaLonde. His pro training record is sparse because he's a dangerous idiot such that Cus kicked out of his training camp. He never had anything to do with Mike's pro career, but made a pretty good living aping Cus principles even if his training was short a few screws.
He got up at a Moorer press conference to go screaming in sitting George's ear telling him he was a coward and quitter for not beating the Ali count even though by video time George was up in 9 sec. George was just chuckling watching this stupid runt blow his gaskets. Nobody was born cooler than Big George. Any losses were met with the same equanimty.
As to modern fighters being converted from lefty to orthodox, the record seems poorly recorded, anecdotal at best. Thought Wlad with his dozen+ variations of jabs and hooks including hooks off the jabs must of been lefty, but I saw him signing autographs with his right hand. Pretty sure I read Frazier was lefty, but that was a long time ago, and at any rate, lefties finally got their civil rights and can fight as lefties now. Some guys like Marv, Fury, and Crawford are switch hitters. I know being raised as a right handed baseball player, as I matured I started going lefty first playing pingpong that caused a rift with my best friend at the time when I started whomping him. In Construction it pays to be ambidextrous, and in playing soccer with the boys, ya gots two feets and they aint both goofy and so on and so forth including my heavybag workouts.
Which finger you boys pick your nose with
