BoxRec

Or, should I have just titled this thread "Why did Foreman... " ?
I mean, I haven't seen the bout in many years, but I used to have it on tape & I actually did torture myself a couple of times after watching the live telecast by sitting through it again, trying to see some logical, realistic explanation as to how or why Grimsley was able to take Big George the full 12 & I always came back to the same explanation, because Foreman ALLOWED him to.
Sure, by that point in time, George's skills had faded to the point where a fairly skilled, rugged fighter like Axel Schultz legitimately beat him in every way but the official judges verdict. BUT, Grimsley was NO Axel Schultz by any stretch of the imagination.
Grimsley was a modestly talented kickboxer who found success as a boxer simply by virtue of the fact that the opponents that his promoters imported to Southern Florida for him to fight were a misfit collection of mostly novice losers who quickly sought out the softest area upon which to lay their heads & bodies. The canvas.
Even though a couple of these "contests" somehow actually wound up being sanctioned as being for some sort of "Latin American" title or another, still, the only way that Grimsley's resume qualified him to meet Foreman for what was the legitimate linear Heavyweight Championship of the World was because, technically, it WASN'T sanctioned by any governing body.
As for the actual "fight", it was an exercise in tedium. With Foreman JUST doing enough in each round to convincingly win them, but without REALLY having to put for much effort force in the process or do much damage to his opponent.
So, was the whole thing, basically, a well paying 12 round exhibition bout?
That's what I think.
Sure, Foreman HAD lost some of the snap he had on the ends of his punches by that point in time, BUT...
As evidenced by what he'd done to Michael Moorer just 12 months earlier & by the damage he was able to dish out to his two subsequent opponents in Lou Savarese & Shannon Briggs ( yeah, the both went the limit w/ George too, but both took plenty of lumps & were hurt often in the process ), I think it's obvious that he took it easy on Grimsley.For what ever reasons.
Oh & in ol' Crawford's handful of follow up fights, he proved to be something remarkably LESS than durable against the two live bodies he fought. Jimmy Thunder flattened him in something akin to record breaking time with his FIRST punch of the fight.
And then, in the final fight of Grimsley's career, he met a big, soft punching tub of goo from Denmark who somehow managed to belt him out in three short rounds.
Hmmm...

I don't think Foreman was really the same after the Holyfield fight. Just looking at his record after that fight, 9 fights, 7 wins (3kos) and 2 losses. His ability to stop people diminished somewhat. In his entire career he won on points 8 times, 4 of those points wins came in the last 8 fights of his career. I don't think that is coincidental.

The fact Lou Saverese lost a SD against him and Axel Shultz lost a MD speaks volumes to me.

Yep fair analysis after Holyfield , Foreman was not the same...but than perhaps because after Holy he fought a higher class in general and Holy had already set the template, to move in and out and not exchange...morrisson and shulz both did this but im in a big minority i dont think Axel did enough to justify winning.

To be fair Foreman also had a fairly easy run upto his title shot with Holyfield, he was carefully matchmaked in his comeback. Most of his opponents were often beaten journeymen (Jaco, Jameson, Lux, Crabtree etc..etc...), blown up cruisers (Qawi, Cooper) or fighters past their best (Cooney).

I remember reading at the time that Foreman was quite honest in wanting no part of fighting Lewis and was stripped of his title for refusing to fight Tucker. I think Foreman and his team knew his limitations and the loss of the snap or speed of his punches certainly were a factor for him being taken the full 12 rounds 5 times in his last 6 fights.

His knockout of Moorer was a great result but ultimately Moorer was a blown up light-heavy, who had a somewhat dubious chin. Moorer was ahead on all the judges scorecards upto the 10th round and it was his below par punch resistance that let him down.

Controversial wrote:To be fair Foreman also had a fairly easy run upto his title shot with Holyfield, he was carefully matchmaked in his comeback. Most of his opponents were often beaten journeymen (Jaco, Jameson, Lux, Crabtree etc..etc...), blown up cruisers (Qawi, Cooper) or fighters past their best (Cooney).

I remember reading at the time that Foreman was quite honest in wanting no part of fighting Lewis and was stripped of his title for refusing to fight Tucker. I think Foreman and his team knew his limitations and the loss of the snap or speed of his punches certainly were a factor for him being taken the full 12 rounds 5 times in his last 6 fights.

His knockout of Moorer was a great result but ultimately Moorer was a blown up light-heavy, who had a somewhat dubious chin. Moorer was ahead on all the judges scorecards upto the 10th round and it was his below par punch resistance that let him down.

A very nice and objective post.

Controversial wrote:To be fair Foreman also had a fairly easy run upto his title shot with Holyfield, he was carefully matchmaked in his comeback. Most of his opponents were often beaten journeymen (Jaco, Jameson, Lux, Crabtree etc..etc...), blown up cruisers (Qawi, Cooper) or fighters past their best (Cooney).

I remember reading at the time that Foreman was quite honest in wanting no part of fighting Lewis and was stripped of his title for refusing to fight Tucker. I think Foreman and his team knew his limitations and the loss of the snap or speed of his punches certainly were a factor for him being taken the full 12 rounds 5 times in his last 6 fights.

His knockout of Moorer was a great result but ultimately Moorer was a blown up light-heavy, who had a somewhat dubious chin. Moorer was ahead on all the judges scorecards upto the 10th round and it was his below par punch resistance that let him down.

I do agree…

But I’ll add. I didn’t want to see Old George getting beaten up by younger fighters. He did better than I thought against Holyfield, did himself proud. And he did KO Moorer. Being behind on points makes it all the better IMO. So overall thank goodness he was carefully managed.

But he was carefully matched. A sort of novelty act who ended up being so much more. Winning the title back like that might just be the greatest moment in sports I’ve ever seen.

Ezzard wrote: I do agree…

But I’ll add. I didn’t want to see Old George getting beaten up by younger fighters. He did better than I thought against Holyfield, did himself proud. And he did KO Moorer. Being behind on points makes it all the better IMO. So overall thank goodness he was carefully managed.

But he was carefully matched. A sort of novelty act who ended up being so much more. Winning the title back like that might just be the greatest moment in sports I’ve ever seen.

I thought Foreman was great, it was fun watching his rise up the ranks again when many thought he was mad for even thinking about a comeback. I don't mean to take anything away from sparking Moorer, it was a great result, but his team did pick and choose their fights so maybe the easier route. But hey he done a number on him and for that he can be commended.

I watched some of the Holyfield fight the other day, Foreman done well, especially in the 2nd, but he sucked up some big punches pretty much the entire fight (3rd and 9th especially, fortunate for the bell in the 9th) and never really looked like winning the fight, but for all that I enjoyed it, very entertaining. He sure done a lot better against Holyfield than others did, especially as Holyfield was undefeated at the time and not the faded fighter he has turned into.

Foreman didnt have the capacity to carry anyone; he pulled that same line after the Stewart fight "I didnt want to hurt the kid," how he could say that throw his broken and distorted face and thought he could be taken seriously is beyond me. Grimsley wasn't carried. Simple as that, Foreman was just old. Any man with a brain knows he wouldnt stand toe to toe with George, Grimsley played it smart.

Grimsley was an unbeaten fighter up against an aging great. As for his next fight, Jimmy Thunder was a dangerous puncher if nothing else. He had 7 first found KOs on his record before he fought Grimsley and Grimsley may have been over confident after going the distance with Foreman.