George Foreman vs. Jose Roman
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| Org. | Pos. | As of | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1+ Mth. Old | |||
| WBA | NR | 29.04.1973 | 29.04.1973 |
| WBC | NR | 30.04.1973 | by 02.05.1973 |
| Ring | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2+ Mth. Old | |||
| WBA | NR | 30.03.1973 | 30.03.1973 |
| WBC | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Ring | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 3+ Mth. Old | |||
| WBA | NR | 27.02.1973 | 27.02.1973 |
| WBC | NR | 28.02.1973 | by 01.03.1973 |
| Ring | N/A | N/A | N/A |
George Foreman 219 lbs beat Jose Roman 197 lbs by KO at 2:00 in round 1 of 15
- Date: 1973-09-01
- Location: Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan
- Referee: Jay Edson
- Judge: Takeo Ugo
- Judge: Clay Nixon
- World Boxing Council Heavyweight Title (1st defense by Foreman)
- World Boxing Association Heavyweight Title (1st defense by Foreman)
- Fight Poster
- Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4
Notes
- On May 30, WBC elevated Roman to the No. 10 spot, making him eligible to fight for the title.
- Bout official on June 4.
- Unranked by the WBA at the time of the signing, Roman went up to No. 10 on July 25 and No. 9 on August 30.
- This was the first World Heavyweight Championship fight held in Japan.
- Both the WBA and WBC ranked Roman as the No. 9 heavyweight contender.
- Roman unranked by the WBA and WBC at the time of the signing, entered the rankings of both organizations at No. 9 immediately after.
- Foreman was a prohibitive betting favorite.
- On the day of the fight, Foreman announced that he would donate $10,000 of his $1 million purse to a Japanese home for disabled children. Roman's purse was $100,000.
- The fight was shown on closed circuit television in the United States.
- There was a crowd of about 7,500.
- The fight took place in a 17-foot ring.
- On the undercard, Ricardo Arredondo successfully defended the WBC super featherweight title against Japanese challenger Morito Kashiwaba with a sixth-round knockout.
- Roman attempted to move against Foreman, but the champion trapped him on the ropes about a minute into the fight and unloaded. Roman bobbed and weaved as he tried to avoid Foreman's wild swings. Roman went down, but Referee Jay Edson ruled it was not a knockdown. However, Foreman hit Roman with a right to the jaw while he was down. Roman's manager, Bill Daly, and trainer, Al Braverman, immediately climbed onto the ring apron and protested to Edson, who said Foreman didn't do anything illegal. He said Foreman was just following through with his punches. Foreman denied it was an intentional punch. Edson said he did not give Roman, who was down for less than 10 seconds, any additional time to recover because the punch was losing force as he went down, and Roman said he was okay when he got up. Several seconds after the fight resumed, Foreman dropped Roman with a right to the chin. Roman was able to get up, but a right uppercut put him down again. He was counted out two minutes into the fight.