George Foreman - do you love him?

[sweeetscience]

Gotta love George..someone said they didn't think he wasn't that bright on this thread. I should be so unbright! Gold medal. Two time heavyweight champ of the world.(once at what??...48?) An expert commentator and if money is your guage for judging a person....well need I say more. Also if you are a true follower of this sport he wasn't a bad boxer (everybody thinks that he was all punch..if that were true where's Ernie Shavers..man Ernie could ****!) Hey, let George's life in and out of the ring speak for itself. Personally I think he's great. Too bad I became a vegetarian. I would have bought one of those grills.And on the name thing...I like George's explantion..."when I'm old I'll just scream George and someone's bound to come."

[Verstyle]

not one real boxign fan should hate foreman, ever. one of those rare great heavies who wasnt a drug addict or a rapist, or crime trouble in any seriousness. at least i dont remeber reading anything about george that said he did.

hw got in trouble with crime but i dont think it was super serious though

[phallus]

"I'm so proud of it, I put my NAME on it!!"

Foreman is presented as a loveable figure these days, in stark contrast to the stern younger George. Yet while I don't believe Big George was ever as nasty as the myth tries to convince you he was (like Liston, they both "ring monsters" have a dry wit in footage) I'm not sure Big George is quite sincere either.

So is Big George now a lovable bear? Or is he just a bit of an egotist with a deep-rooted chip on his shoulder over Zaire that just won't go away and tries to pretend to be everyone's friend?

What goes on in the George cranium? What's with calling the majority of his ten kids "George Foreman" - even the girls? And what's Larry Holmes's beef with it all?


What say you?

i like Fo'man, but not enough to take long hot showers together in the wee hours of the morning, but definitely enough to share a couple steaks off the foreman grill

[LondonRingRules]

The little flag waving incident in the 68 Olympics was not political at all like the Smith/Evans clenched black gloved fists. Being a member of the Olympic team there was just one of those flags available that was handed to him as they announced him the gold medalist winner so he just waved and celebrated like any good ol' Texas boy would do.

George does have an ego, a huge one, but he is a "God fearing good liver" as he puts it and does his best to set that ego aside in his larger ministry. Years back when he had his website up he immediately answered a personal career question I asked him in the quintessential Big George manner it was so funny. He geniunely loves Ali, Joe, and Ken and guaranteed he gives thanks every night for the opportunity to still occupy the big stage.

Sure, he hams up his goody goody image, but he tends to walk the talk. What you see is pretty much the real George who still gets folks scratchin' their heads not dissimilar to another American folk hero, Yogi Berra.

[aps214]

Screw Ali. He is a draft dodger. I like Foreman much more than Ali. Ali was a nasty man and a loud-mouth unjustly glorified by the media. The way he embarresed and humiliated Joe Frazier before they fought was disgusting. Frazier was a good man. And Ali calls him an Uncle Tom!! BWAH.. Thats funny at least Frazier wasnt blinded by a militant movement full of hate. You dodge a draft yet have no problem profiting off a Capitalistic system representative of the same country that you wouldnt go to war for. Ali also punched a little gorilla doll mocking Joe and called Frazier a monkey. If a white man did that hed be a racist. But Ali did it so it was great right? Foreman and Frazier were better men than Ali ever was.

[opethdrums]

true but ali is still one of the greatest of all time

[-Jay-]

I'm so tempted to buy one of those grilling machines, finish a workout and grill a huge piece of chicken, they have fat draining pans too don't they? I love George Foreman!

[XionComrade]

Screw Ali. He is a draft dodger. I like Foreman much more than Ali. Ali was a nasty man and a loud-mouth unjustly glorified by the media. The way he embarresed and humiliated Joe Frazier before they fought was disgusting. Frazier was a good man. And Ali calls him an Uncle Tom!! BWAH.. Thats funny at least Frazier wasnt blinded by a militant movement full of hate. You dodge a draft yet have no problem profiting off a Capitalistic system representative of the same country that you wouldnt go to war for. Ali also punched a little gorilla doll mocking Joe and called Frazier a monkey. If a white man did that hed be a racist. But Ali did it so it was great right? Foreman and Frazier were better men than Ali ever was.

True true...

Big George is one of my heros and one of my favorite people ever.

I think Foreman would have humiliated and beat the living poop out of Ali in a rematch, Foreman can beat Ali 2 outta 3 anyday. Everyone knows Big George didn't do much of any roadwork in Zaire because of those crazy maniacs screamin KILL EM KILL EM! Would you get out and run in that? Foreman still had the fight even despite the fact that he didn't get in the kind of training that he needed, and had Ali out on his feet 4+ times from grazing shots.

But what's done is done, God wanted Ali to win and everything worked out accordingly. I would even say that the cut over Foreman's eye that delayed the fight may have helped somewhat to, can't tell me that it wasn't anyway.

It all worked out for the better. Foreman went on to be greater than Ali by being the oldest man to ever win a title(Was he just the oldest to win the HEAVY title, or oldest for any?) whereas Ali won two or so "gift" desisions(sp) Won the title back 3x including a time in which he was way past his prime(Great stuff really) and got owned and overhyped alot...ALOT!!!

Well anyway that's my two cents on it all...

[mECHsLAVE]

George is a good guy, now. He was a bit of a prick to reporters from time to time back in the day, especially leading up to Zaire. He just didn't have that type of personality yet- but he developed it, ironically, when he quit boxing. So, yeah, it's a bit phony, but I think with all the love the fans showed him in the comeback that the chip on his shoulder has melted to almost nothing. But of course anyone who has watched HBO boxing over the past 10 years has seen the "old George" emerge a few times.

As for all the Ali hate. Yeah, Ali expressed many racist views, and he did dodge the draft, but all of that was really a kid being brainwashed by the Nation of Islam. That's how they recruit blacks to their cause- they prey on them when they are at their weakest, or most impressionable age. That's why prisons are THE major recruiting grounds. Black guys go into prison named Charles and come out named Habeeb. Some stick to it, some don't. Ali stuck to the religion even to this day, but not the racist, extreme, idiocy and hate that the NOI preached.

[Brockton Lip]

We love George .