In this week’s mailbag, we tackle your thoughts on George Foreman after the heavyweight legend’s passing; unified junior middleweight titleholder’s Sebastian Fundora win over Chordale Booker and what should come next; George Kambosos Jnr defeating a late replacement opponent and moving on toward yet another title shot; Skye Nicolson’s title loss to Tiara Brown; and Elijah Garcia’s unimpressive and controversial win over Terrell Gausha.

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GEORGE FOREMAN WAS GREAT ALL-AROUND

What a legend! A tremendous heavyweight boxer, one of the most devastating punchers ever and a craftier, more skilled boxer than you would credit him at first glance. Also respect the transformation in his personality from bad dude to jovial George. Gone but will never be forgotten. 

-MontyFisto

Lance Pugmire’s response: You’re right, Monty, George Foreman was one of a kind. Think about it: They not only made films about the lives of Foreman and Muhammad Ali; the pair also shared an Oscar for “When We Were Kings.” Foreman inspired the legendary calls of “Down goes Frazier!” and “It happened!” 

He also, as you referenced, lived four lives – the menacing young fighter; the Texas minister; the lovable, somewhat flabby returning champion; and the amazing ambassador. Losing him at 76 still seems too soon. I spoke to him before Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk I, and he perfectly predicted how the bout would play out. He was connected, interested and sharp throughout his life, and he will be so sorely missed.

GEORGE FOREMAN WAS A REMARKABLE MAN AND SUCCESS STORY

This is a hard one to take. Like a sucker punch right in the gut. Couldn’t believe it when I saw the news. The man was so healthy and full of life, vibrant beyond his years. His transformation as a person after the loss to Jimmy Young, was nothing short of astonishing but very remarkable. 

George was one of the few exceptions to the rules. He was successful after boxing with his grill business and also a respected minister who spread the good news with conviction. He was also a successful family man who was truly a leader by example in his household, the result being very respected sons and daughters. Foreman was a success story in so many ways. My prayers and support to the family at this time.

-Leonidis26

Tris Dixon’s response: You can’t argue with any of this – but I’ll add, from a health perspective, how did he do it? While so many of his contemporaries faltered in old age, George remained almost bulletproof. Was it not drinking? Was it his faith? Or was it knocking so many opponents out early, therefore not taking copious amounts of damage? I’ve no idea. Possibly it was a combination. 

He was sparkling company, great fun to talk to, and I remember calling him after Muhammad Ali died and apologizing for the somber call, but he insisted it was more than fine. He wanted the world to know what he thought of his friend and felt all of his contemporaries should be remembered. And he was going to do everything he could to make that happen.

MY WISHLIST FOR SEBASTIAN FUNDORA’S NEXT FIGHT

I would like Sebastian Fundora to fight either Vergil Ortiz or Bakhram Murtazaliev. Xander Zayas will do if he’s next in the mandatory rotation [Editor’s note: Zayas is indeed next in the rotation]. I'm curious what Fundora’s got at the championship level. Despite being a unified titleholder, Fundora seems like the weakest of the titleholders and like he’s living on borrowed time. 

Ortiz or maybe Murtazaliev seem like the most likely to reign supreme, although I don’t know how much longer Ortiz can make 154, and there’s some guys like Charles Conwell and Zayas who haven’t been tested yet and could pose some problems.

-crimsonfalcon07

Owen Lewis’ response: Fundora has certainly had one of the strangest routes to unified titles and, I have to say, one of the most fortuitous. Like you alluded to, that shudderingly violent knockout loss to Brian Mendoza is a permanent reminder of his vulnerability – then, one fight later, he stepped in as a late replacement for Keith Thurman, got pieced up by Tim Tszyu for two rounds, benefitted from an errant elbow splitting open Tszyu’s noggin and blinding him with blood, and walked away with two world titles. It’s a pretty remarkable chain of events, probably one that we won’t see the likes of again for decades.

Fundora showed grit against Tszyu and is inarguably a nightmarish proposition for lots of opponents; I’ve actually seen people argue online that such size and reach at 154lbs should be against the rules. (Obviously, if you can make weight – and Fundora can – everything is fair game.) But he’s hittable and has had his chin cracked viciously. With that long torso of his, he feels ripe for a body shot knockout at some point, perhaps to Ortiz.

Fundora is no slouch, and I’d favor him against Zayas, who is yet to fight in a scheduled 12-rounder. But I would imagine that Fundora is the titleholder at 154lbs that contenders are licking their chops to fight.

HOW CAN GEORGE KAMBOSOS LAND A TITLE SHOT VS. RICHARDSON HITCHINS?

It says something about the sport when you can get a title shot after losing three out of four, with the one win a gift, win maybe nine total rounds in those fights, and beat a late substitute from Australia. George Kambosos is one of the best managed fighters I have ever seen. 

-BritJimbo

Owen Lewis’ response: God bless George Kambosos. I don’t subscribe so much to the commonly held view that he’s gotten lucky – sure, he was fortunate that Teofimo Lopez showed up to their fight with a hole in his esophagus. But Kambosos still had to walk through hell, including a brutal first round and a knockdown in the 10th, to get the win. And what has he done since? He’s stepped up to Devin Haney twice and Vasiliy Lomachenko. Kambosos often mentions the quality of opposition he’s fought, and he’s right.

Is he a consistent world-level talent? No, but few would contend that he is, and I don’t feel the need to rehash this every time he fights. He and his team have managed his career perfectly; I won’t argue with you there. But Kambosos has fought top-drawer opponents as often or more often than just about any of his peers in the lightweight and junior welterweight divisions over the past couple years. He deserves some credit for that, recent losses notwithstanding.

HOPING GEORGE KAMBOSOS GETS ONE MORE TITLE SHOT

I like George Kambosos. He beat a big mouth in Teofimo Lopez who he wasn't supposed to beat in his hometown. The only controversy was that it wasn't a unanimous decision victory. 

I'd be pressed to think of a boxer who leveraged so many big fights and good purses based off one brilliant victory. The only other guy I can think of is Jesse James Leija, who beat Azumah Nelson, lost in his first defense to Gabe Ruelas and then had some big payday losses against Arturo Gatti and Kostya Tzsyu. Maybe some others I can't remember. 

I hope Kambosos gets his final title shot, as undeserving as it is, and rolls off into the sunset having made some good money and fought some of the biggest names at his weight class, even though he lost to all but one of them.  

-DJ Daz

Lucas Ketelle’s response: Kambosos’ victory over Teofimo Lopez speaks to just how sensational the victory was. No one gave Kambosos a chance except his team, and he won. It derailed the path to stardom for Lopez, who hasn’t fully recovered from that loss. 

Instead of a boxer, I’d compare Kambosos to a band – Semisonic. The song “Closing Time” is a classic, but I tried listening to one of their albums and it didn’t meet the standards set by that song. Kambosos in the best way possible, is a one-hit wonder who had an incredible night that has prolonged his time at the top of the sport, making people wonder if he can do it again. The Lopez fight appears to be an exception to his career at this point.

SKYE NICOLSON IS A FRAUD

Skye Nicolson finally got exposed for the fraud she is (“Tiara Brown scraps her way to upset split decision over Skye Nicolson”). Her fighting style is more like someone in a track meet. She constantly holds and has a massive fear of getting hit. Eddie Hearn has done all possible to make people believe she has some talent. Skye is a complete fraud who actually thinks she can fight. In reality, she’s as boring and untalented a fighter as there is in women’s boxing. 

-Phase III

Declan Warrington’s response: Regardless of Nicolson’s perceived limitations, you can be almost certain that not only will she be given a rematch, but that there’s a strong chance she’ll be given the decision by the judges when that rematch takes place. Nicolson is a particularly marketable fighter, and as long as that remains the case, she’ll continue to be valued by promoters and the powers that be. Being marketable, after all, is often the most valuable thing a boxer can be – look at Jake Paul, whose abilities are vastly inferior to those of Nicolson.

It’s also relevant that her promoter, Matchroom Boxing, is more determined than any of the other leading promoters to succeed in Australia, where Nicolson was born and raised. This writer was at Jai Opetaia-David Nyika in Australia’s Gold Coast in January, when she was used as a pundit by DAZN, her long-term broadcaster, and then Natasha Jonas-Lauren Price in London earlier in March, where she was again used as a pundit, despite Jonas-Price being broadcast by Sky Sports.

Incidentally, I was told a few months ago that it’s a fight with Amanda Serrano she really wants. Serrano signing a “lifetime” promotional agreement (whatever that means) with Most Valuable Promotions, and agreeing to a third fight with Katie Taylor – another Matchroom fighter – suggests Serrano-Nicolson will be pretty likely unless Nicolson loses the second time around. MVP, of course, is headed up by none other than Paul, who appears to have anointed himself the savior of women’s boxing. It just adds up.

ELIJAH GARCIA WILL NEVER BE A REAL CONTENDER

Elijah Garcia is just a bad boxer. Whoever paid the judges to gift him this win (“Elijah Garcia gets a lift in split decision win over Terrell Gausha”) must be out of his mind. This kid will be punch-drunk by age 24, and I can’t see him becoming even a top-10 fighter in any weight class ever. It’s not like you can see the raw talent or anything. He has low IQ, horrible footwork, slow hands, even slower feet, his combinations are horrible and slow, his punching power is nothing special, his defense nonexistent.

-Moz_boxing

Lance Pugmire’s response: Tell us how you really feel, Moz! No doubt Garcia has taken two big steps back as his competition has increased versus Kyrone Davis (a June split decision loss) and two-time title challenger Terrell Gausha on Saturday, a victory provided by the flawed judging of Zachary Young (96-93). 

Although Garcia shifted to trainer Bob Santos for this bout, his development remains in question after he was dropped in the first round and repeatedly punched in the head by Gausha, whose trainer, Manny Robles, was nearly inconsolable after a second straight trip feeling he was robbed at the Michelob Ultra Arena following Serhii Bohachuk’s loss to Vergil Ortiz Jnr in August. 

The unknown with Garcia, 21, is his enthusiasm for the sport. He sprinted to No. 1 in the WBA rankings before the Davis fight thanks to an impressive run of bouts, but as the talent has stiffened, his effort to improve is being questioned in the industry. Perhaps Santos can coax him into that extra gear; perhaps not. But the judging did Garcia no favors in the eyes of the public, who clearly saw him outdone by a savvy veteran.

Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.