Michael Moorer vs. George Foreman
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| Date | November 5, 1994 | |
| Location | MGM Grand in Paradise, Nevada | |
| Title(s) on the line | WBA/IBF/Lineal Heavyweight Championships | |
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| Michael Moorer vs. George Foreman | ||
| "Double M" | "Big" | |
| Tale of the tape | ||
|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn, New York, US | From | Houston, Texas US |
| 35–0 | Pre-fight record | 72–4 |
| 6'2" | Height | 6'3" |
| 222 lb (101 kg) | Weight | 250 lb (113 kg) |
| Southpaw | Style | Orthodox |
| WBA/IBF/Lineal Heavyweight Champion | Recognition | IBF #8 Ranked Heavyweight |
Michael Moorer vs. George Foreman, billed as "One for the Ages", was a professional boxing match contested on November 5, 1994 for the WBA, IBF and Lineal Heavyweight championships.
Background
On April 22, 1994, WBA and IBF Heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield met undefeated challenger Michael Moorer in what was Holyfield's first defense of his newly regained titles. In a close fight, Moorer was able to gain the victory by majority decision, becoming the first southpaw to win a major heavyweight championship in the process.[1] Meanwhile, 45-year-old former champion George Foreman, who had last held the title two decades earlier, was in the midst of a successful comeback, but had lost his two previous Heavyweight championship fights. In his first attempt to once again become champion, he was outpointed by Holyfield in a unanimous decision loss on April 19, 1991. Two years later, Foreman met up-and-coming prospect Tommy Morrison for the vacant WBO Heavyweight title, which at the time was less regarded than the WBA, WBC and IBF versions of the heavyweight championship, but again lost by unanimous decision.
There were talks about Moorer possibly meeting WBC Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis in a match that would once again unify the three major heavywight titles, but Moorer rejected the idea, stating that he didn't have the desire to do so.[2] Though his previous loss against Morrison left Foreman ranked number eight by the IBF and completely unranked by the WBA, Foreman nevertheless challenged Moorer to a match for his titles. Though he was in no position to demand a match for the heavyweight championship, Foreman's status as one of the most popular fighters in the sport along with the promise of a big payday led to Moorer ultimately accepting Foreman's challenge. However, as Foreman was unranked by the WBA, the organization refused to sanction the bout and threatened to strip Moorer of the WBA title should he chose to defend his remaining IBF title against Foreman. Because of this, the match was briefly cancelled on August 10, 1994.[3] Undeterred, Foreman filed a lawsuit against the WBA in hopes of regaining his title match with Moorer and only a week later, a judge ruled in favor of Foreman, putting the fight back on.[4][5]
The Fight
Foreman said after the fight that he was out to lay his ghost from the Rumble in the Jungle to rest, referring to the legendary fight twenty years beforehand in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Congo) where Muhammad Ali had overcome a previously undefeated Foreman and knocked him out in the eighth round (which remains Foreman's only loss by knockout) to win the heavyweight title that Foreman had held after defeating Joe Frazier in 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica by knocking him down six times in two rounds. Not only did Foreman wear the same red trunks that he had worn in Zaire, but in his corner was Ali's legendary trainer Angelo Dundee, who had been in Ali's corner for that fight.
Down goes Moorer on a right hand! An unbelievably close-in right-hand shot!...(as count reaches 10) It happened! It happened!
For most of the fight, Foreman had difficulty keeping up with the younger and faster Moorer. Through the first nine rounds, Moorer dominated the fight, winning seven of the nine rounds, and the three judges had Moorer ahead on the scorecards by two scores of 88–83 and one score of 86–85. However, in the tenth round, Foreman hit Moorer with a left-right combination. The right hand landed on Moorer's chin, breaking his mouthpiece, making his lip bleed and dropping him to the canvas.
Moorer was counted out, and Foreman had shocked the sports world by becoming the oldest-ever heavyweight boxing champion. At 45 years and 360 days, he beat Jersey Joe Walcott's old record by eight years, and he had also become the first man to regain a world boxing title twenty years after losing it - and on top of that, no heavyweight champion had beaten an opponent 19 years his junior to win a title. The fight would go on to be featured in HBO's Legendary Nights, where Foreman revealed that he had planned to sucker Moorer in, get him to stand right in front of him and get a chance to use his power to knock him out - and that he had dreamt of knocking him out with that approach. Boxing analysts and fans alike remarked on how Foreman had exorcised his old ghost in more ways than one - he had upset Moorer in a way similar to how Ali had stunned a younger Foreman in Zaire, using toughness, savvy and an ability to summon power at critical moments to overcome youth, speed and power.
Aftermath
After his victory, Foreman hoped for a potential superfight with Mike Tyson once Tyson was released from prison, however the WBA demanded that he face mandatory challenger Tony Tucker.[6] For reasons unknown, Foreman refused to face Tucker, instead choosing to defend his remaining IBF title against German Axel Schulz, and was subsequently stripped by the WBA of their title.[7] After narrowly and controversially defeating Shultz by majority decision, the IBF ordered a rematch between the two. Foreman again refused to defend his title, having hoped for a rematch with either Moorer or Holyfield, or a match with Riddick Bowe, and relinquished his IBF title on June 28, 1995.[8] Foreman would continue to be recognized as the Lineal Heavyweight champion until losing to Shannon Briggs on November 22, 1997.
After Foreman was stripped of the IBF title, Schulz met Francois Botha for the now-vacant title. Botha would win the match, but tested positive for steroids after the fight and was stripped of the title. As such, Michael Moorer was given another chance at the title and would face Schulz for the once again vacant title.[9] In a close match, Moorer was able to recapture the IBF title by split decision. This would set up a rematch between Moorer and the man he had previously defeated to win the titles, Evander Holyfield, who was once again the WBA Heavyweight champion after twice defeating Mike Tyson. With both men's titles on the line, Holyfield dominated the fight, knocking down Moorer five times en route to a victory via referee technical decision after referee Mitch Halpern stopped the fight following round 8. After the loss, Moorer would retire from boxing, eventually returning three years later.
Foreman settled back into life as a preacher, author, pitchman and motivational speaker in Houston. Two years after his second and final retirement, Salton Inc. paid over $137 million to buy out the right to use his name on the George Foreman Grill, and it is estimated that he has made over $200 million related to the grill, which is more than he made in the ring.
References
- ↑ There Is No Moorer Doubt: Undefeated challenger defeats Holyfield to win heavyweight title, L.A. Times article, 1994-04-23, Retrieved on 2013-05-29
- ↑ Moorer Rejects Idea of Unification , N.Y. Times article, 1994-04-27, Retrieved on 2013-05-29
- ↑ Foreman-Moorer Bout Is Canceled , N.Y. Times article, 1994-08-11, Retrieved on 2013-05-29
- ↑ Foreman Group Files Lawsuit , N.Y. Times article, 1994-08-16, Retrieved on 2013-05-29
- ↑ Judge Gives Foreman Green Light for Bout , N.Y. Times article, 1994-08-21, Retrieved on 2013-05-29
- ↑ Foreman Wants Tyson , Philadelphia Daily News article, 1995-02-15, Retrieved on 2013-05-29
- ↑ George Foreman Stripped of WBA Title , The Independent article, 1995-03-06, Retrieved on 2013-05-29
- ↑ Foreman Relinquishes IBF Title , L.A. Times article, 1995-06-29, Retrieved on 2013-05-29
- ↑ Moorer and Schulz Set for Title Bout , N.Y. Times article, 1996-04-14, Retrieved on 2013-05-29
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