On this date in history in 1994, George Foreman made history when he became the oldest heavyweight champion of all time. He had been a champion before in the early 1970s. Foreman was a feared heavyweight and knocked out many of his opponents. That was until he met Muhammed Ali in Kinshasa in the famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’. In this fight, Ali had allowed Forman to wear himself out and then Ali knocked him out. Foreman retired from boxing and became a preacher, a salesman, and a businessman. He even starred in some sitcoms.
Foreman came out of retirement and immediately sought to take back his crown. He defeated several opponents mostly by knock out. Many had seen Foreman as a joke but they soon sat up and took notice as he rolled back the years and destroyed younger men in the ring. Foreman was no longer the force he was but he was still a good fighter with a devastating punch. He was slow and cumbersome and he relied on his powerful punch to win.
A fight was set up between Foreman and the reigning champion Michael Moorer. He had a great record and was undefeated. He was almost two decades younger than Foreman. It took place on this date in Las Vegas and Foreman wore the same red shorts that he had worn in his last fight against Ali. They were to bring him luck!
The fight went pretty much as planned. Moorer used his superior speed to score points and to evade the punches of Foreman. The fight was indeed something of a bore as Moorer was happy to win on points. Then in the tenth-round Foreman hit Moorer with a powerful punch and the younger man was knocked out. The 45-year-old had become the oldest heavyweight boxer in history and he remarkably had regained his crown over twenty years later. According to the scorecards Moorer was far ahead and he had thrown someone hundred more punches than Foreman. However, Foreman had a plan that was to let the younger man take all the points and wait for his opportunity to land one of his devastating punches and to win by a knock-out.
The WBA body that organized the fight had sanctioned the fight only at the last minute. They were concerned about the age of Foreman and were fearful that the older man could have a heart attack. However, they were fearful of a lawsuit and they allowed the fight to proceed.
Foreman later lost his crown. Today he is still a preacher and lives on a ranch in Texas. He is a well-known personality and is the public face of the well-known George Foreman grills.
Also Read: 10 Confirmed Cases of Gamblers Influencing the Outcome of Historical Sporting Events.