BoxRec

After the Lewis vs Tyson fight Big George said "He is no doubt the best heavyweight of all time"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV5AMRL5-Hc




What are your thoughts on when he said that? A guy who fought Muhammad Ali said that another guy is no doubt the best of all time.

It was and at times still is Big George's "way" to celebrate the moment. He can get caught up in it.

BoxBuzz wrote:It was and at times still is Big George's "way" to celebrate the moment. He can get caught up in it.

Agree with this 100%...george was very magnanimous...

George is the king of bull$%%&. He also said he was scared of Jerry Quarry in the 1970s . . .

you doubt his veracity DF?

Foreman fought many of the best ever and for him to say Lewis is the best ever is pretty big. Ali even said in an interview that he didn't think he actually was the greatest

Foreman made remarks to this effect his whole 'second life' in boxing - he is a PR man. His whole act is tongue in cheek.

Most of us know not to take George Foreman at face value. In fact I'm pretty sure he believes himself to be the best ever.

Yes I doubt his veracity. Just look at his flip flops regarding the Ali fight and everything he said during his comeback. Like loaded said, George is the master of PR.

foreman was a formidable top ten boxer but for a man
of his achievement i was time and time again stunned
by the simplistic statements he made. As a commentator
i think he really did poorly and the remark here was more
praise of lewis than anything to be taken too seriously.

plus he became a nice and humble fellow after the young
fight, more praising others than looking for praise about
himself.

listen to this, starting at second 20. he talks about frazier
as if he had a competitive fight with him. go to 6:00 and
hear him basically say frazier was better than he himself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDLuO8eis3o

man wrote:foreman was a formidable top ten boxer but for a man
of his achievement i was time and time again stunned
by the simplistic statements he made. As a commentator
i think he really did poorly and the remark here was more
praise of lewis than anything to be taken too seriously.

plus he became a nice and humble fellow after the young
fight, more praising others than looking for praise about
himself.

listen to this, starting at second 20. he talks about frazier
as if he had a competitive fight with him. go to 6:00 and
hear him basically say frazier was better than he himself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDLuO8eis3o

He did give Frazier his props. Foreman said before that Frazier thew a massive left hook that just barely missed Foreman's chin. From then on Foreman said to himself that he better get rid of this guy as fast as he can or else he will get knocked out. You think it was so easy for Foreman but when in reality it wasn't.

But Joe Frazier's best wins are better than that of George Foreman easily.

Didn't Ali say that as well?

keithmoonhangover wrote:Didn't Ali say that as well?

Did he say Lennox is the best? I know reading before he said that he never actually believed he was the best when he said he was the best and that he did that to psyche out his opponents. I would love to see a transcript if that is the case to show some people

Foreman also said that James Page was p4p #1

my veracity question was tounge in cheek, Foreman is an emotional speaker, and like I said, gets caught up in the moment. Making for a record of many conflicting statements along the way.

dempseyfire wrote:George is the king of bull$%%&. He also said he was scared of Jerry Quarry in the 1970s . . .

Well, he didn't fight him, and based on their respective performances against Lyle I'd say that Quarry would have given the crude Foreman fits.

I think his respect for Quarry, and not wanting any of that fight unless it was required...is genuine.

He plays an extremely humble, self-deprecating sort of character but between the lines of his autobiography you certainly get the impression he feels he is better than anyone. So does Holmes. Ali just comes out and says it, although he says it with a cheeky grin and a wit but he absolutely believes it. Holmes also comes out and says it about his self, but usually in a quite dour, classless way that endears him to no one (except us).

I have no problem with it, all the great fighters have that arrogance, it's what makes them so great. Foreman might say Lennox Lewis is the best but I'm sure in his heart of hearts he'd be certain the 70's version of himself would club Lenny's brains out.

BoxBuzz wrote:I think his respect for Quarry, and not wanting any of that fight unless it was required...is genuine.

Of course George was a pretty confident guy back then with all of his walkover wins, so it's more likely that the fear came from his management who recognized his strengths and weaknesses better than he did.

It's a line that George has maintained for a long time now (he was saying much the same when Lewis was actually still fighting), so instead of making assumptions about his true meaning perhaps we could actually take him at his word. As far as himself goes, I think he recognises that a peak Lennox Lewis could do everything he could and more.

The Great John L wrote:

dempseyfire wrote:George is the king of bull$%%&. He also said he was scared of Jerry Quarry in the 1970s . . .

Well, he didn't fight him, and based on their respective performances against Lyle I'd say that Quarry would have given the crude Foreman fits.

How about their respective performances against Frazier??

evrenb wrote:

The Great John L wrote:

dempseyfire wrote:George is the king of bull$%%&. He also said he was scared of Jerry Quarry in the 1970s . . .

Well, he didn't fight him, and based on their respective performances against Lyle I'd say that Quarry would have given the crude Foreman fits.

How about their respective performances against Frazier??

Lyle and George were both comparable fighters, both physically and stylewise, as evidenced by their fight. Quarry was an exceptional counterpuncher and seldom fought anything like Frazier unless he was fighting someone over-matched. It's highly unlikely that Quarry would have walked straight into George the way that frazier did in their first fight, but would have more than likely fought his more common fightplan of counterpunching as he did against Lyle.

Quarry struggled with guys with fast hands and good stamina, neither of which Foreman or Lyle were noted for. Foreman and Lyle both struggled with counterpunchers as they exhibited in their fights with Young. I don't think the young George Foreman feared anyone, but his management sure seemed overly protective of him after the Peralta fight, avoiding anyone with good defensive skills and stamina.

polecateddy wrote:It's a line that George has maintained for a long time now (he was saying much the same when Lewis was actually still fighting), so instead of making assumptions about his true meaning perhaps we could actually take him at his word. As far as himself goes, I think he recognises that a peak Lennox Lewis could do everything he could and more.

How naive. We're talking about a man who in an interview will say he has no excuses for his loss to Ali and then in his book list every excuse under the sun for his loss to Ali. The man has a long history of consistent, pathological contradiction.

As for LL being able to do everything Foreman could do and more - there's no way in hell Lennox Lewis could get up inside a ten count from a booming, full-strength right hand square on the chin from Ron Lyle. No way.

He'd need his team to scoop him off the mat and hold him up again, like in South Africa.

loaded_gloves wrote:

polecateddy wrote:It's a line that George has maintained for a long time now (he was saying much the same when Lewis was actually still fighting), so instead of making assumptions about his true meaning perhaps we could actually take him at his word. As far as himself goes, I think he recognises that a peak Lennox Lewis could do everything he could and more.

How naive. We're talking about a man who in an interview will say he has no excuses for his loss to Ali and then in his book list every excuse under the sun for his loss to Ali. The man has a long history of consistent, pathological contradiction.

As for LL being able to do everything Foreman could do and more - there's no way in hell Lennox Lewis could get up inside a ten count from a booming, full-strength right hand square on the chin from Ron Lyle. No way.

He'd need his team to scoop him off the mat and hold him up again, like in South Africa.

The Rahman loss was lack of focus in preparation. I don't think Lyle would have got close, so it's a bit of a moot point.

loaded_gloves wrote:He plays an extremely humble, self-deprecating sort of character but between the lines of his autobiography you certainly get the impression he feels he is better than anyone. So does Holmes. Ali just comes out and says it, although he says it with a cheeky grin and a wit but he absolutely believes it. Holmes also comes out and says it about his self, but usually in a quite dour, classless way that endears him to no one (except us).

I have no problem with it, all the great fighters have that arrogance, it's what makes them so great. Foreman might say Lennox Lewis is the best but I'm sure in his heart of hearts he'd be certain the 70's version of himself would club Lenny's brains out.

exactly my thinking.

loaded_gloves wrote:I'm sure in his heart of hearts he'd be certain the 70's version of himself would club Lenny's brains out.

Not sure about that. He knew Lennox has 2'' in height on him and about 20-22 pounds on him as well and wasn't a one dimensional slugger like Foreman was. Lennox can box and punch. George couldn't out box Lennox and he knew it. Big George got out boxed by Jimmy Young and even in the 80's Young called him out and he didn't want none of him anymore. Foreman is so overrated it's hilarious.