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When you run out of money
and you don't have a job
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and bills are coming in...
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00:00:47,130 --> 00:00:49,212
and you're not just thinking
about yourself.
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You're thinking
about next year, five years,
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00:00:53,470 --> 00:00:55,632
the weight of the world
is on your shoulders.
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00:00:57,432 --> 00:00:59,423
I don't think he wanted
to go back to boxing.
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In George Foreman's first
heavyweight career, it was all attack.
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Thunderous right hand. Boom!
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On the forehead! Bang!
10
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And shocking violence.
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He was not a guy
you wanted to get hit by.
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I mean, he did demolition jobs
on most of the opponents.
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00:01:27,045 --> 00:01:28,080
He hit me so hard.
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00:01:28,255 --> 00:01:33,125
He busted me open. The eye bone
came through my eye from the inside out.
15
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George was a tornado
16
00:01:40,225 --> 00:01:42,933
that blew through
the heavyweight division...
17
00:01:44,563 --> 00:01:46,895
And then it was gone.
18
00:01:53,572 --> 00:01:55,188
The clock will not go back.
19
00:01:55,324 --> 00:01:57,656
That is not a fact, what you're saying.
20
00:01:57,784 --> 00:02:01,072
I can become heavyweight champion
of the world if I want to in any age.
21
00:02:02,456 --> 00:02:07,041
Now he's conning himself. He cannot
separate the fantasy and the reality.
22
00:02:07,169 --> 00:02:10,161
Boxing smart money says
George Foreman's comeback is a fraud.
23
00:02:11,548 --> 00:02:14,165
Left, right, left by Holyfield.
24
00:02:14,301 --> 00:02:17,339
What do they want?
To kill this man? It's over.
25
00:02:17,471 --> 00:02:19,963
You gotta realize
I'm closer to 50 than I am to 20.
26
00:02:20,098 --> 00:02:22,556
Some sceptics think
that this is just ridiculous.
27
00:02:22,684 --> 00:02:24,140
Foreman is just too old.
28
00:02:24,269 --> 00:02:26,601
People just don't come back
after ten years
29
00:02:26,730 --> 00:02:29,768
and perform
at the highest levels of their craft.
30
00:02:29,941 --> 00:02:33,275
He has gone from being spectacular
to becoming a spectacle.
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00:02:33,403 --> 00:02:36,987
And now let's see,
is George Foreman for real
32
00:02:37,115 --> 00:02:41,109
or is this the farce
that many critics have said it will be?
33
00:02:48,460 --> 00:02:51,919
One time, we were getting ready
to go to the Houston Rockets game
34
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to see Ralph Sampson in his rookie year
35
00:02:55,258 --> 00:02:58,421
and, um, there were some jeans
on the bed
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that I was supposed to put on
to go to the game.
37
00:03:02,140 --> 00:03:05,599
I didn't wanna put them on. They were
kind of worn. Had a little hole in them.
38
00:03:05,727 --> 00:03:08,560
And I said, "You know what?
I don't wanna look poor."
39
00:03:08,689 --> 00:03:12,933
My father said, "Excuse me? Poor?"
He said... We didn't go to the game.
40
00:03:13,068 --> 00:03:17,562
He said, "Let me show you poor,"
and he drove me to Fifth Ward.
41
00:03:24,538 --> 00:03:28,497
The Fifth Ward was known
as the Bloody Fifth Ward.
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00:03:28,625 --> 00:03:32,243
It was known
for people getting hurt, killed.
43
00:03:34,005 --> 00:03:37,839
I thought the neighborhood which I grew
up in, Sunnyside, was a rough place,
44
00:03:37,968 --> 00:03:40,926
but it was nothing in my opinion
like the Fifth Ward.
45
00:03:42,514 --> 00:03:44,425
FOREMAN". Growing up in Houston,
Fifth Ward,
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00:03:44,558 --> 00:03:46,799
I'd learned
to be sort of an adventurer.
47
00:03:46,935 --> 00:03:48,425
A bad boy, so to speak.
48
00:03:48,562 --> 00:03:51,304
I'd run the streets,
got into a lot of trouble.
49
00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:53,181
Ended up dropping out of high school.
50
00:03:53,358 --> 00:03:56,646
And so I didn't have
much of a life at all.
51
00:03:57,904 --> 00:03:59,986
He was not a nice guy.
52
00:04:00,115 --> 00:04:03,733
He was one of several individuals
across Houston
53
00:04:03,869 --> 00:04:07,237
that had reputations that were bad.
54
00:04:09,916 --> 00:04:13,705
One of his coaches, he felt George
could have been an NFL football player.
55
00:04:13,879 --> 00:04:15,916
He was trying to get him
to do the right thing,
56
00:04:16,047 --> 00:04:18,288
stop doing the street thing,
the robbing thing.
57
00:04:22,179 --> 00:04:23,920
I was mugging a guy one night
58
00:04:24,055 --> 00:04:27,673
and the police started to mount up
on me and catch me.
59
00:04:27,809 --> 00:04:30,301
I had to run from the police,
crawl under the house to hide
60
00:04:30,437 --> 00:04:32,019
and I thought the dogs would get me.
61
00:04:33,231 --> 00:04:35,643
I hide myself.
I covered myself with mud.
62
00:04:37,778 --> 00:04:40,065
I crawled from under that house
that night saying,
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00:04:40,197 --> 00:04:42,279
"I-I'm not gonna be like this."
64
00:04:44,701 --> 00:04:48,069
And it just so happened Jimmy Brown
did a commercial for the Job Corps.
65
00:04:48,205 --> 00:04:50,867
Said, "If you want that extra chance
at life, join the Job Corps."
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00:04:50,999 --> 00:04:52,330
I got one more chance at it.
67
00:04:54,544 --> 00:04:57,332
One phase of
the anti-poverty program gets underway
68
00:04:57,464 --> 00:05:00,798
as the first of 25,000
Job Corps trainees arrive at camp.
69
00:05:00,926 --> 00:05:02,257
This center adjoins...
70
00:05:02,385 --> 00:05:03,716
I took the opportunity.
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00:05:03,845 --> 00:05:06,007
Said, "The sad thing,
you'll have to leave home."
72
00:05:06,139 --> 00:05:08,176
I-I didn't know about that.
73
00:05:08,308 --> 00:05:10,766
But I convinced my mom
and told her what it was all about.
74
00:05:10,894 --> 00:05:12,009
She says she would sign.
75
00:05:12,145 --> 00:05:15,479
She welcomed my leaving
my current environment.
76
00:05:17,484 --> 00:05:21,352
Joining the Job Corps
changed every aspect of my life.
77
00:05:22,948 --> 00:05:28,114
I got interested in all things. Some
education, learning to read and write.
78
00:05:30,580 --> 00:05:35,199
I had, for the first time in my life,
three meals in one day.
79
00:05:40,549 --> 00:05:43,382
Got into a lot of trouble
in the Job Corps.
80
00:05:43,510 --> 00:05:47,128
And I didn't want to, but
I just had this old habit of fighting.
81
00:05:47,264 --> 00:05:49,801
And one of the kids said,
"George, you think you're so tough."
82
00:05:49,933 --> 00:05:51,389
"Why don't you become a boxer?"
83
00:05:58,692 --> 00:06:00,103
I wanted to prove that I was tough
84
00:06:00,235 --> 00:06:02,351
and I thought one day
I'd get these golden gloves
85
00:06:02,487 --> 00:06:04,069
and then go home to Houston, Texas,
86
00:06:04,197 --> 00:06:08,031
and be the most outstanding
street fighter that ever lived.
87
00:06:08,159 --> 00:06:09,900
That's all I thought about.
88
00:06:10,036 --> 00:06:14,576
A lot of people think, 17 years old,
that's kind of late to start boxing,
89
00:06:14,708 --> 00:06:16,369
but Doc Broadus believed in me.
90
00:06:16,501 --> 00:06:20,711
All he said, "if you stop fighting
in the streets and acting a clown,
91
00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,046
you can become
an Olympic gold medalist."
92
00:06:26,386 --> 00:06:28,627
My first memory
of George Foreman is, I think
93
00:06:28,763 --> 00:06:33,553
the first memory of most Americans
who were alive in 1968
94
00:06:33,685 --> 00:06:38,020
and that's walking around the ring
with the little American flags
95
00:06:38,148 --> 00:06:41,686
after his gold medal bout
in Mexico City.
96
00:06:41,818 --> 00:06:44,105
Well, the highlight of my athletic life
97
00:06:44,237 --> 00:06:45,773
was to win that Olympic gold medal,
98
00:06:45,906 --> 00:06:50,116
to stand on that platform, listening to
your national anthem in the background.
99
00:06:50,243 --> 00:06:52,530
Nothing has come close to that moment.
100
00:06:52,662 --> 00:06:56,405
For the first time, I was a teenager,
I had a dream come true.
101
00:07:00,337 --> 00:07:02,499
I'd like to show you guys my gold medal.
102
00:07:02,631 --> 00:07:05,464
Real gold for the champ.
103
00:07:06,885 --> 00:07:11,095
I was rescued from the gutter
by way of the United States government.
104
00:07:11,222 --> 00:07:14,760
Lyndon Johnson started an anti-poverty
program that really rescued me,
105
00:07:14,893 --> 00:07:16,509
gave me a chance to get an education.
106
00:07:16,645 --> 00:07:18,477
So I became more than patriotic.
107
00:07:18,605 --> 00:07:20,812
I-I started
to love the country, really.
108
00:07:20,941 --> 00:07:24,479
You could see how proud he was
when he went to the White House
109
00:07:24,611 --> 00:07:27,945
and took pictures with Lyndon Baines
Johnson, President Johnson.
110
00:07:29,407 --> 00:07:31,023
I thought that was a great thing.
111
00:07:31,159 --> 00:07:34,948
A guy coming from Fifth Ward
with that kind of reputation
112
00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:36,946
and now he's in the White House?
113
00:07:37,082 --> 00:07:40,746
Shaking hands with the President?
President.
114
00:07:47,592 --> 00:07:50,209
When are you going pro?
115
00:07:50,345 --> 00:07:53,588
I got a lot of work to do first
before I turn pro.
116
00:07:53,723 --> 00:07:55,555
I intend about three months maybe,
117
00:07:55,684 --> 00:07:57,766
but when I do start
I'm going all the way up.
118
00:07:57,894 --> 00:07:59,885
What do you mean by all the way up?
119
00:08:00,021 --> 00:08:03,355
All the way up to the heavyweight
championship of the world, for real.
120
00:08:03,483 --> 00:08:06,316
How long do you think it'll take?
121
00:08:08,405 --> 00:08:10,487
There's an emotional journey you take
122
00:08:10,615 --> 00:08:13,232
while trying to be
heavyweight champ of the world.
123
00:08:13,368 --> 00:08:17,657
Probably a grand time in my life
was the first time I met Muhammad Ali.
124
00:08:20,166 --> 00:08:22,874
It was in a boxing gym in Miami.
125
00:08:23,003 --> 00:08:26,086
Give me some gloves.
I gotta whoop my little brother now.
126
00:08:26,214 --> 00:08:30,003
He said, "George, once you
become champion of the world,
127
00:08:30,135 --> 00:08:31,921
this is what you're gonna get."
128
00:08:32,053 --> 00:08:36,012
I thought, "What an exciting moment." He
said, "Stay right here. I'll be back."
129
00:08:36,141 --> 00:08:38,724
And he ran down the stairs
and stayed for a few moments.
130
00:08:38,852 --> 00:08:41,344
He came back
and all the time I was thinking,
131
00:08:41,479 --> 00:08:45,143
"He's gonna bring back a briefcase
filled with money."
132
00:08:45,275 --> 00:08:46,891
He came back, there was a briefcase
133
00:08:47,027 --> 00:08:51,191
and I thought, "It's gotta be filled
with thousands of dollars."
134
00:08:51,322 --> 00:08:54,280
And he opened up the briefcase
and it was a telephone.
135
00:08:57,328 --> 00:08:58,864
Right then I started to believe
136
00:08:58,997 --> 00:09:02,035
and think he believes I'm gonna be
champion of the world too.
137
00:09:09,340 --> 00:09:12,833
Dick, how tough
has the opposition been for George?
138
00:09:12,969 --> 00:09:15,381
Well, George has had
very tough opposition
139
00:09:15,513 --> 00:09:18,175
because each fight
has been with an individual
140
00:09:18,308 --> 00:09:20,925
that had far greater experience
141
00:09:21,061 --> 00:09:23,553
and more pro fights than George has.
142
00:09:23,688 --> 00:09:25,349
So each fight is...
143
00:09:25,482 --> 00:09:28,065
Well, travelling through the country,
boxing everyone,
144
00:09:28,193 --> 00:09:32,403
Sadler would scout everyone
and tell me, "This guy's got no chin."
145
00:09:32,530 --> 00:09:36,615
"This guy's got no jab. This guy's
got this... He's absent of this,"
146
00:09:36,743 --> 00:09:38,950
and I'd believe him
and knock those guys out.
147
00:09:39,079 --> 00:09:41,787
Foreman's dynamite power in both hands
148
00:09:41,915 --> 00:09:45,203
is making him the scourge
of the heavyweight division.
149
00:09:45,335 --> 00:09:47,952
George Foreman
is now the number one contender
150
00:09:48,088 --> 00:09:49,624
for the heavyweight championship,
151
00:09:49,756 --> 00:09:54,466
and the question is who's going to stop
this Foreman steamroller?
152
00:09:59,057 --> 00:10:00,673
FOREMAN". But then, with Joe Frazier,
153
00:10:00,809 --> 00:10:01,924
I'd followed his career
154
00:10:02,060 --> 00:10:04,893
from the time he had won the title
from Buster Mathis.
155
00:10:05,021 --> 00:10:09,310
This guy, we've seen him devastate
everyone in the heavyweight division.
156
00:10:09,442 --> 00:10:14,858
I was there when he put his head on the
chest of Muhammad Ali and just turned.
157
00:10:14,989 --> 00:10:16,400
He conquered him.
158
00:10:16,533 --> 00:10:18,615
Time is important here.
159
00:10:23,998 --> 00:10:28,037
Joe Frazier was
a terrific heavyweight champion
160
00:10:28,169 --> 00:10:31,958
and most people
didn't give Foreman a chance
161
00:10:32,090 --> 00:10:35,003
based on the quality of the opponents
162
00:10:35,135 --> 00:10:37,046
he'd fought prior to that.
163
00:10:37,178 --> 00:10:40,716
I thought he had a chance, but now,
you're talking about Joe Frazier now.
164
00:10:56,656 --> 00:10:59,774
I want the people in all the
parts of the world to see this fight.
165
00:10:59,909 --> 00:11:04,153
I don't think you'd be interested in
coming to see two friends shake hands.
166
00:11:04,289 --> 00:11:06,951
Joe Frazier and me
will declare war on that day
167
00:11:07,083 --> 00:11:09,415
and that's... that's definitely.
168
00:11:10,461 --> 00:11:12,543
You gotta look those guys in the eyes,
169
00:11:12,672 --> 00:11:16,256
stare them right in the eye, let them
know that, "Hey, I'm not backing up."
170
00:11:16,384 --> 00:11:20,173
Generally, when a guy is getting
a little nervous he'll drop his head
171
00:11:20,305 --> 00:11:24,549
and I was hoping Joe Frazier wouldn't
because he'd see my knees shaking.
172
00:11:24,684 --> 00:11:28,268
Joe Frazier was a dangerous man.
173
00:11:28,396 --> 00:11:30,763
And for the first time
I was actually afraid.
174
00:11:30,899 --> 00:11:32,355
The first man I was afraid of.
175
00:11:32,483 --> 00:11:35,020
We may have an interesting evening.
176
00:11:35,153 --> 00:11:37,269
Frazier quite understandably
the favorite.
177
00:11:37,405 --> 00:11:39,487
Foreman comes out,
punching with the right.
178
00:11:39,616 --> 00:11:41,277
Frazier in his usual style.
179
00:11:41,409 --> 00:11:44,618
Smokin' is the way he puts it.
His job, to get inside.
180
00:11:44,746 --> 00:11:49,115
His best weapon, the left hook.
Foreman is vulnerable to the hook.
181
00:11:49,250 --> 00:11:54,495
He misses me with a left hook
and it was like a fire, a gun. Pow!
182
00:11:54,631 --> 00:11:56,087
And I felt the power.
183
00:11:57,926 --> 00:12:01,135
Oh, Foreman connected, as you saw.
184
00:12:01,262 --> 00:12:03,344
He's getting into Frazier's head.
185
00:12:05,391 --> 00:12:09,760
I think he hurt Joe Frazier.
I think Joe is hurt.
186
00:12:09,896 --> 00:12:13,764
Angie Dundee, Ali's trainer right next
to me, is saying it. You may hear him.
187
00:12:13,942 --> 00:12:19,779
Down goes Frazier!
188
00:12:19,906 --> 00:12:23,740
The heavyweight champion
is taking the mandatory eight-count
189
00:12:23,868 --> 00:12:28,157
and Foreman is as poised
as can be in a neutral corner.
190
00:12:28,289 --> 00:12:32,157
FOREMAN". When I got the first
knockdown, I said, "Unreal! Unreal!"
191
00:12:33,294 --> 00:12:36,002
You see the countdown
for the first round.
192
00:12:36,130 --> 00:12:37,791
Foreman has not panicked.
193
00:12:37,924 --> 00:12:40,256
Foreman is going about his job.
194
00:12:40,385 --> 00:12:43,127
Foreman is all over Joe Frazier.
195
00:12:43,263 --> 00:12:46,927
Frazier is down again!
He doesn't know where he is.
196
00:12:48,184 --> 00:12:50,391
Now the round is about to end.
197
00:12:50,561 --> 00:12:53,349
Frazier's knees buckled.
He is... he is down!
198
00:12:53,481 --> 00:12:54,767
He is down!
199
00:12:54,899 --> 00:12:58,688
Three times in the first round
by George Foreman.
200
00:12:58,820 --> 00:13:01,061
He is all over Frazier again.
201
00:13:01,197 --> 00:13:03,063
A quick left hook, another!
202
00:13:03,199 --> 00:13:06,783
Frazier is down for the fifth time
in this fight!
203
00:13:06,911 --> 00:13:09,573
It's target practice
for George Foreman.
204
00:13:09,706 --> 00:13:11,413
It is target practice.
205
00:13:11,541 --> 00:13:15,330
Frazier is ready to go again!
Joe is standing.
206
00:13:15,461 --> 00:13:19,876
There he goes. The fight is stopped
and it's over in the second round.
207
00:13:20,008 --> 00:13:24,548
George Foreman is the heavyweight
champion of the world!
208
00:13:28,141 --> 00:13:29,677
They're carrying George Foreman.
209
00:13:29,809 --> 00:13:34,428
They're carrying George Foreman on
their shoulders right out of the ring!
210
00:13:36,733 --> 00:13:39,145
And to be
heavyweight champion of the world,
211
00:13:39,277 --> 00:13:43,236
as soon as it happens to you,
it's like, uh, John I Sullivan,
212
00:13:43,364 --> 00:13:47,904
uh, Braddock, Joe Louis,
Rocky Marciano, Muham...
213
00:13:48,036 --> 00:13:50,903
It's like they all just pour
right into you and you feel...
214
00:13:51,039 --> 00:13:55,124
That moment? You feel, I am
the heavyweight champion of the world.
215
00:13:55,251 --> 00:13:56,366
Nothing like it.
216
00:13:58,087 --> 00:14:02,331
It's a great day for me, having
the police escort me for a change.
217
00:14:02,467 --> 00:14:05,209
Normally when I hear those sirens,
I was running.
218
00:14:11,684 --> 00:14:15,928
You see that sign says,
"Sadler for mayor"? I'm for that too!
219
00:14:21,235 --> 00:14:23,146
You become someone else.
220
00:14:23,279 --> 00:14:25,987
It's not like you graduated into this.
221
00:14:26,115 --> 00:14:30,200
All... There's a whole
other personality and you are it.
222
00:14:30,328 --> 00:14:32,239
The champ. The champ.
The champ. The champ.
223
00:14:32,372 --> 00:14:35,080
And I'd like to thank everybody.
Thank you for your support.
224
00:14:45,134 --> 00:14:46,920
This is the real power, though.
225
00:14:49,472 --> 00:14:52,089
You've become
heavyweight champion of the world.
226
00:14:52,225 --> 00:14:53,431
The dream has come true
227
00:14:53,559 --> 00:14:57,678
and there's no one alive
who can tell you what it's all about.
228
00:14:57,814 --> 00:14:59,976
You gotta make all the mistakes.
229
00:15:00,108 --> 00:15:01,690
I'm the champion of the whole world.
230
00:15:01,818 --> 00:15:04,776
I was just sitting down
writing a note to myself.
231
00:15:04,904 --> 00:15:07,020
I'm the champion of the whole world.
232
00:15:07,156 --> 00:15:08,692
Fame was not my problem,
233
00:15:08,825 --> 00:15:11,408
but the confidence
of being champion of the world,
234
00:15:11,536 --> 00:15:14,745
that was something
I'd never experienced in my life.
235
00:15:16,666 --> 00:15:20,330
Uh, meeting Sonny Liston,
oh, what a thrill that was.
236
00:15:20,461 --> 00:15:24,420
I got a taste of what a heavyweight
championship would mean to me.
237
00:15:24,549 --> 00:15:29,715
It would be about buying things
and people admiring you.
238
00:15:29,846 --> 00:15:31,177
I loved that.
239
00:15:31,305 --> 00:15:33,342
And, of course,
people being afraid of you.
240
00:15:35,143 --> 00:15:37,885
Everything he did, I'd try to imitate.
241
00:15:38,020 --> 00:15:40,933
He was mean. I said, "I'm gonna
show them how to be mean."
242
00:15:42,442 --> 00:15:44,649
If he would come to me, I'd kill him.
243
00:15:44,777 --> 00:15:46,688
If he run,
I'm gonna catch him and kill him.
244
00:15:46,863 --> 00:15:48,524
We're looking forward to a great fight.
245
00:15:48,656 --> 00:15:51,694
I know that I'll be trying
to knock this man's head off.
246
00:15:53,161 --> 00:15:56,574
When I first met him,
he was young and he was nice
247
00:15:56,706 --> 00:16:00,074
and within a year or so,
248
00:16:00,209 --> 00:16:05,079
he became one of the most surly people
249
00:16:05,214 --> 00:16:07,421
that I ever met.
250
00:16:11,512 --> 00:16:15,221
I later learned that he was mimicking
251
00:16:15,349 --> 00:16:17,431
his great idol, Sonny Liston,
252
00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,678
who also was a surly, nasty guy.
253
00:16:24,984 --> 00:16:28,022
The little boy that I really enjoyed
from the Olympics
254
00:16:28,154 --> 00:16:33,365
disappeared into this man
who wanted to knock everyone out.
255
00:16:52,762 --> 00:16:55,800
When Foreman signed to fight in Zaire
256
00:16:55,932 --> 00:16:58,048
against Muhammad Ali,
257
00:16:58,184 --> 00:17:00,892
I felt bad for Ali.
I-l honestly...
258
00:17:01,020 --> 00:17:04,308
Great as he was,
I said, "This guy's gonna get hurt."
259
00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,899
How many fellas in here now
picks George? Be truthful. Be men.
260
00:17:08,027 --> 00:17:10,610
Tell the truth.
John, raise your hand.
261
00:17:13,741 --> 00:17:15,857
I remember watching that fight
262
00:17:15,993 --> 00:17:19,156
in the ABC offices with Howard Cosell
263
00:17:19,288 --> 00:17:23,498
and Cosell,
the hour before the fight happened,
264
00:17:23,626 --> 00:17:27,119
was telling everybody
what a disgrace it was
265
00:17:27,255 --> 00:17:29,417
because Muhammad Ali,
266
00:17:29,549 --> 00:17:33,042
who had meant so much,
was going to be hurt seriously.
267
00:17:33,177 --> 00:17:36,010
I remember that
as if it happened yesterday.
268
00:17:36,138 --> 00:17:41,008
The time may have come
to say goodbye to Muhammad Ali
269
00:17:41,143 --> 00:17:45,262
because very honestly I don't think
he can beat George Foreman.
270
00:17:47,191 --> 00:17:51,981
I met George when
I was assigned to the fight in Zaire
271
00:17:52,113 --> 00:17:57,108
and the network wanted me
to get with George and spar.
272
00:17:59,996 --> 00:18:04,456
And George came in and I never saw
anybody pound a heavy bag
273
00:18:04,584 --> 00:18:07,872
as hard as he pounded that bag.
274
00:18:08,004 --> 00:18:10,120
So right away I told the producers
275
00:18:10,256 --> 00:18:12,873
there's no chance
that I'm gonna let this guy
276
00:18:13,009 --> 00:18:15,501
hit me in my ribs and break my ribs.
277
00:18:18,889 --> 00:18:23,224
I told Ali...
"This man hits like a mule."
278
00:18:23,352 --> 00:18:27,346
"You know, he's got a great body.
He's big and he's strong."
279
00:18:27,481 --> 00:18:29,722
"I don't know how you're gonna do it,
you know?"
280
00:18:37,908 --> 00:18:42,027
In Africa,
I saw him maybe once passing by.
281
00:18:42,163 --> 00:18:44,746
The next time was in the ring.
282
00:18:44,874 --> 00:18:48,117
And I remember his meeting me
in the middle of the ring and he said,
283
00:18:48,252 --> 00:18:51,836
"George, when I fought Sonny Liston,
you were just in high school."
284
00:18:51,964 --> 00:18:53,250
"You don't belong here."
285
00:18:53,382 --> 00:18:56,295
And I almost laughed
and I was mean at that time
286
00:18:56,427 --> 00:18:59,761
because I never spent one day
in high school.
287
00:19:01,390 --> 00:19:04,007
Ali quickly across the round.
288
00:19:04,143 --> 00:19:05,975
During the first few rounds
289
00:19:06,103 --> 00:19:08,265
I'm watching Foreman
whack them to the body.
290
00:19:08,397 --> 00:19:10,809
Just really punishing blows.
291
00:19:10,941 --> 00:19:12,898
And I said, "Poor Ali. This..."
292
00:19:13,110 --> 00:19:15,317
This... He didn't deserve this.
293
00:19:15,446 --> 00:19:18,154
George Foreman
backing Ali into the ropes.
294
00:19:18,282 --> 00:19:20,990
That's a vicious left. Oh!
295
00:19:21,118 --> 00:19:24,156
First round I tried to knock him out
because the reporters said
296
00:19:24,288 --> 00:19:26,905
he shouldn't last two rounds
with George.
297
00:19:27,041 --> 00:19:29,203
So I said, "In two rounds
I'm gonna cream him."
298
00:19:29,335 --> 00:19:31,576
Ali is taking some punishment.
299
00:19:31,712 --> 00:19:34,454
Three rounds,
rather than get a little conservative,
300
00:19:34,590 --> 00:19:37,924
I tried to knock him out in the third
found and the fourth and the fifth.
301
00:19:38,052 --> 00:19:41,261
About the sixth round
I realize there's something going on.
302
00:19:41,389 --> 00:19:43,130
I'm not gonna be able
to knock this guy out.
303
00:19:43,265 --> 00:19:46,178
This is the furthest
that George Foreman has gone
304
00:19:46,310 --> 00:19:49,098
in a fight since 1972.
305
00:19:49,230 --> 00:19:51,517
He was looking for the homerun.
306
00:19:51,649 --> 00:19:54,687
The homerun never came,
so you, boom, the big shots.
307
00:19:54,819 --> 00:19:58,028
And when you throw a big shot, it takes
a lot out of you if you don't hit a guy.
308
00:19:59,490 --> 00:20:04,781
I initially believed
that what I had feared was taking place
309
00:20:04,912 --> 00:20:08,155
because Ali, instead of boxing Foreman,
310
00:20:08,290 --> 00:20:11,658
went to the ropes
and did the rope-a-dope,
311
00:20:11,794 --> 00:20:14,502
but Ali's plan, as we know now,
312
00:20:14,630 --> 00:20:16,496
was to tire George out.
313
00:20:16,632 --> 00:20:20,591
Ali sits back in
the ropes and tells Foreman to come in.
314
00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:26,090
Nobody could imagine
that kind of strategy,
315
00:20:26,225 --> 00:20:28,432
much less execute it,
316
00:20:28,561 --> 00:20:31,599
except for one man in the world,
Muhammad Ali.
317
00:20:31,731 --> 00:20:35,269
About the seventh round
I thought I'd hit him with a good shot
318
00:20:35,443 --> 00:20:38,276
and he said,
"Is that all you got, George?"
319
00:20:38,404 --> 00:20:41,271
And I remember thinking
not only is he talking crazy,
320
00:20:41,407 --> 00:20:45,321
but his voice is stronger now
than in the earlier round.
321
00:20:45,453 --> 00:20:48,491
A sneaky right hand.
322
00:20:48,622 --> 00:20:53,116
Another sneaky right hand. This time
he works over the shoulder of Foreman.
323
00:20:59,008 --> 00:21:02,501
Three, four, five.
324
00:21:02,636 --> 00:21:06,504
Foreman just stopped... Eight.
325
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,052
That's it. The fight is stopped!
326
00:21:09,185 --> 00:21:12,928
Muhammad Ali,
a dramatic eighth-round knockout.
327
00:21:13,189 --> 00:21:14,771
Look at that face.
328
00:21:14,899 --> 00:21:18,187
A man who can scarcely believe
what has happened to him.
329
00:21:19,570 --> 00:21:23,734
I had lost my most precious
heavyweight championship of the world.
330
00:21:25,618 --> 00:21:28,451
That I remember like it was yesterday.
331
00:21:31,123 --> 00:21:32,363
Hello there. How you doing?
332
00:21:32,500 --> 00:21:37,495
One day I'd come through all of the
guys in the skycaps in Meacham Airport
333
00:21:37,630 --> 00:21:39,746
and they were afraid
to look you in the eye.
334
00:21:39,882 --> 00:21:41,464
They were like, "That's the champ."
335
00:21:41,592 --> 00:21:43,879
And the next day
you're going out to the same airport
336
00:21:44,011 --> 00:21:46,173
and these guys
are patting you on the shoulder,
337
00:21:46,305 --> 00:21:49,013
"Oh, you'll get a second chance.
You'll get another chance."
338
00:21:49,141 --> 00:21:54,636
From pride to pity.
Devastation like I've never felt.
339
00:21:54,772 --> 00:21:58,356
Well, now, uh, I'm very anxious
and I would...
340
00:21:58,484 --> 00:22:00,896
I'm trem... I'm hoping with all my might
341
00:22:01,028 --> 00:22:03,645
that I'll get a chance
to fight the man again
342
00:22:03,781 --> 00:22:08,116
because for a fact,
I didn't do 100% of what I could do.
343
00:22:09,119 --> 00:22:10,860
It's a hard thing to live with,
344
00:22:10,996 --> 00:22:13,237
losing something
like the championship of the world.
345
00:22:13,374 --> 00:22:15,991
I'd have fight that fight most nights...
346
00:22:17,586 --> 00:22:19,452
and I'd be winning, winning, winning,
347
00:22:19,588 --> 00:22:21,955
then I'd get knocked down
348
00:22:22,091 --> 00:22:25,174
and by the time I jump up,
I wake up out of the dream again.
349
00:22:25,302 --> 00:22:28,886
I could not win that fight,
not even in my dreams.
350
00:22:38,065 --> 00:22:39,897
This time, this man, you know,
351
00:22:40,067 --> 00:22:43,981
got me to the point where I just
distaste his prevalence in boxing.
352
00:22:44,113 --> 00:22:46,650
I really wanna beat him,
more than anything in the world.
353
00:22:46,782 --> 00:22:50,320
Oh, that became the thing.
That became an obsession.
354
00:22:54,123 --> 00:22:56,660
This is the first time
I wanted to beat somebody.
355
00:22:56,792 --> 00:22:58,829
I've never felt like this before.
356
00:22:58,961 --> 00:23:02,420
Do you think Ali's backing
down from another meeting with you?
357
00:23:02,548 --> 00:23:04,164
There's no telling what he's doing.
358
00:23:04,300 --> 00:23:06,211
I would love a rematch.
359
00:23:07,970 --> 00:23:10,462
What really developed more
was no more just anger,
360
00:23:10,598 --> 00:23:13,181
I even had hate for Muhammad Ali.
361
00:23:23,319 --> 00:23:26,152
And I don't know if you've heard,
if you've heard of this story.
362
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,521
They were filming the movie
The Greatest here.
363
00:23:30,326 --> 00:23:32,067
Sure enough,
George shows up down there.
364
00:23:36,665 --> 00:23:38,531
Ali asked him
what was he doing down there.
365
00:23:38,667 --> 00:23:41,204
He said, "I've been trying to find you.
I want a rematch."
366
00:23:41,337 --> 00:23:43,874
You beat me before I get some sense.
367
00:23:44,006 --> 00:23:47,044
You ain't got no sense...
368
00:23:47,176 --> 00:23:50,009
And George gets...
climbs up into the ring
369
00:23:50,137 --> 00:23:52,378
and they get their on
and stuff
370
00:23:52,514 --> 00:23:56,052
and some things was said
that I can't repeat on this program.
371
00:23:56,185 --> 00:24:00,975
And George made some threats
about blanking Ali's behind.
372
00:24:02,232 --> 00:24:04,064
Chairs started flying.
373
00:24:08,948 --> 00:24:12,236
The police that were down there
finally got him out of the building.
374
00:24:15,079 --> 00:24:17,116
I was fueled by a lot of anger.
375
00:24:18,165 --> 00:24:20,281
And I walked around with that
for years.
376
00:24:21,335 --> 00:24:23,246
Don King and video techniques,
377
00:24:23,379 --> 00:24:27,873
bringing you new, innovative
and imaginative ideas in boxing.
378
00:24:28,008 --> 00:24:31,046
As a confidence boost,
one of the biggest mistakes he made
379
00:24:31,178 --> 00:24:33,135
was when he decided
to do the five-guy thing.
380
00:24:33,263 --> 00:24:36,881
He fought these five guys, supposed
to do three rounds with each guy.
381
00:24:37,017 --> 00:24:38,678
And some of them...
382
00:24:38,811 --> 00:24:41,519
You and I could have knocked them out
if we'd had fought them.
383
00:24:41,647 --> 00:24:44,856
How do you condition yourself
for going up against five guys?
384
00:24:44,984 --> 00:24:47,100
How can you possibly train
for a fight like this?
385
00:24:47,236 --> 00:24:49,773
I do the normal things,
running up the hills.
386
00:24:49,905 --> 00:24:51,646
Uh, then I've got a program now
387
00:24:51,782 --> 00:24:54,444
where I pick up my actual
500- and 600-pound steers,
388
00:24:54,576 --> 00:24:56,658
put them on my back
and walk up hills with them.
389
00:24:56,787 --> 00:24:59,449
That's been the newest thing
that I've added to my repertoire.
390
00:24:59,581 --> 00:25:02,699
And I'm gonna let five fresh guys
come in, three rounds each.
391
00:25:02,835 --> 00:25:05,793
If either one of them beat me,
I'll retire. I'm through with boxing.
392
00:25:08,424 --> 00:25:12,213
The bell for round one.
Quickly to ring center.
393
00:25:12,344 --> 00:25:16,713
I think George was looking for a way
to move forward,
394
00:25:16,849 --> 00:25:20,968
get rid of the loss in Zaire
and go forward from there.
395
00:25:21,103 --> 00:25:25,643
Maybe losing was too much
for him to absorb.
396
00:25:25,774 --> 00:25:28,641
Even those closest to George Foreman
397
00:25:28,777 --> 00:25:33,487
have been concerned that he's not been
the same man ever since Ali beat him.
398
00:25:34,491 --> 00:25:36,903
The humiliation.
399
00:25:37,036 --> 00:25:40,779
The fact that you can no longer
have this bravado.
400
00:25:40,914 --> 00:25:43,997
Just being humbled in the worst way.
401
00:25:44,126 --> 00:25:49,121
Uh, it's reaching down
and becoming real with yourself.
402
00:25:49,298 --> 00:25:51,881
What is happening there?
403
00:25:52,009 --> 00:25:53,249
Foreman is not himself.
404
00:25:53,385 --> 00:25:55,171
He's going after the kid again.
405
00:25:55,304 --> 00:25:58,467
Needlessly, for no reason!
He's beaten.
406
00:25:58,599 --> 00:26:00,681
This is an absurd scene.
407
00:26:00,809 --> 00:26:03,927
Now there's gonna be a fight
between the trainers.
408
00:26:04,063 --> 00:26:05,974
Totally out of control.
409
00:26:06,106 --> 00:26:11,101
Do I think that, that George
was operating from some kind of script
410
00:26:11,236 --> 00:26:12,977
to set up a rematch?
411
00:26:13,113 --> 00:26:14,774
Sure, that's possible.
412
00:26:14,907 --> 00:26:18,901
But you can't do all of those things
413
00:26:19,036 --> 00:26:22,529
and it's all fiction.
414
00:26:22,664 --> 00:26:27,204
It has to come from some real place
deep within you to execute that.
415
00:26:28,587 --> 00:26:30,874
Look at him walking around,
416
00:26:31,006 --> 00:26:34,089
looking at the fans who are booing him.
417
00:26:34,218 --> 00:26:38,257
This has to be a downright ugly scene.
418
00:26:44,812 --> 00:26:47,770
That fight in Zaire
419
00:26:47,898 --> 00:26:52,938
put him through
a lot of soul-searching days
420
00:26:53,070 --> 00:26:56,859
where he had to deal
with making decisions on who he was.
421
00:27:00,077 --> 00:27:02,739
He signs for a fight with Ron Lyle.
422
00:27:02,871 --> 00:27:04,953
I don't know
if you've ever seen this fight.
423
00:27:05,082 --> 00:27:07,995
The fight starts. Bam!
424
00:27:08,127 --> 00:27:09,709
Knockdowns everywhere.
425
00:27:09,837 --> 00:27:11,828
He's in big trouble!
426
00:27:11,964 --> 00:27:14,456
What happened was
he came out trying to box
427
00:27:14,591 --> 00:27:17,208
and he got hit upside the chin
428
00:27:17,344 --> 00:27:18,630
and the boxing skills,
429
00:27:18,762 --> 00:27:21,845
the late Gil Clancy,
who was a teacher, had taught him,
430
00:27:21,974 --> 00:27:23,590
they went out to the wind.
431
00:27:23,725 --> 00:27:26,558
...lands a big left hook...
432
00:27:26,687 --> 00:27:29,304
And the fight became a street fight.
433
00:27:29,439 --> 00:27:31,646
They knuckled down the other way.
434
00:27:31,775 --> 00:27:36,235
What a round
of boxing this is! Big left hook!
435
00:27:36,363 --> 00:27:37,774
A third, fourth...
436
00:27:40,117 --> 00:27:42,358
Can he get this drawn?
437
00:27:42,494 --> 00:27:45,953
George is staggering now.
George is hit with a vicious left hook.
438
00:27:46,081 --> 00:27:47,992
Inside of ten seconds to go.
439
00:27:48,125 --> 00:27:50,412
And George is ready to go,
believe it or not.
440
00:27:50,544 --> 00:27:51,955
There it is!
441
00:27:52,087 --> 00:27:54,124
He drops the champion!
442
00:27:54,256 --> 00:27:58,921
I remember him hitting me
so hard and I'm on the floor thinking,
443
00:27:59,052 --> 00:28:02,386
"What excuses have you got now?"
444
00:28:02,514 --> 00:28:05,427
Cos I remember thinking
the ropes were loose in Africa,
445
00:28:05,601 --> 00:28:09,094
someone put something in my water.
I had all kind of excuses.
446
00:28:09,271 --> 00:28:11,763
This time, couldn't think of an excuse.
447
00:28:11,899 --> 00:28:13,435
I had to get up.
448
00:28:13,567 --> 00:28:16,980
George gets up. This is one
of the great rounds of all time.
449
00:28:17,112 --> 00:28:20,446
And I remember thinking,
"Before I lose,
450
00:28:20,574 --> 00:28:22,030
I'll die."
451
00:28:22,159 --> 00:28:24,196
"So he's gonna have to kill me tonight."
452
00:28:27,664 --> 00:28:29,746
I'd never felt that before.
453
00:28:31,585 --> 00:28:33,326
I'll die first.
454
00:28:46,683 --> 00:28:50,597
Now, he's maybe a step or two
away from a championship fight...
455
00:28:52,189 --> 00:28:55,932
and he decides to take a fight
with Jimmy Young.
456
00:29:00,030 --> 00:29:02,397
I'm back number one
contender of the world
457
00:29:02,532 --> 00:29:06,992
and commissions were saying, "Look,
if George Foreman fights Jimmy Young,
458
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,532
the winner of that fight,
if George wins,
459
00:29:09,665 --> 00:29:12,202
we're gonna demand Ali fight Foreman
460
00:29:12,334 --> 00:29:14,120
or he's gonna be
stripped of his title."
461
00:29:16,421 --> 00:29:20,881
This arena may have had
a ceiling fan or two in it.
462
00:29:21,009 --> 00:29:23,501
No air conditioner. And it was hot.
463
00:29:25,472 --> 00:29:27,554
I was drenched
when the fight was over myself.
464
00:29:27,683 --> 00:29:30,971
To begin round one,
scheduled for 12.
465
00:29:31,103 --> 00:29:34,687
I was in Puerto Rico
when he fought Jimmy Young.
466
00:29:34,815 --> 00:29:36,726
Foreman is staggered.
467
00:29:36,858 --> 00:29:38,769
He got dropped in the fight.
468
00:29:40,362 --> 00:29:42,729
It was a bad style for him.
469
00:29:42,864 --> 00:29:46,323
A smart boxer, a guy who could move.
470
00:29:50,414 --> 00:29:54,282
Going to a decision,
Jimmy Young had won that boxing match.
471
00:29:56,878 --> 00:29:59,996
All I can remember that night
is I was tired.
472
00:30:00,132 --> 00:30:03,466
That was the most heat
I'd ever felt in my life.
473
00:30:06,513 --> 00:30:09,756
I went back to my dressing room
and then I went on the trip of my life,
474
00:30:09,891 --> 00:30:11,882
fighting for my life
in the dressing room.
475
00:30:12,019 --> 00:30:13,726
I was gonna die.
476
00:30:14,896 --> 00:30:18,014
Right in my thoughts I heard,
"Why you afraid to die?"
477
00:30:18,150 --> 00:30:19,732
I was scared.
478
00:30:19,860 --> 00:30:23,273
I was gonna die
in a stupid, nasty dressing room
479
00:30:23,405 --> 00:30:25,066
that didn't even have air conditioning.
480
00:30:25,198 --> 00:30:28,782
I had all these homes
and I tried to make a deal.
481
00:30:29,911 --> 00:30:31,493
I said, "I'm still George Foreman."
482
00:30:31,621 --> 00:30:34,079
"I can box and I can give money
to charity and cancer."
483
00:30:34,207 --> 00:30:38,496
And I heard a voice within me say,
"I don't want your money. I want you."
484
00:30:38,628 --> 00:30:42,792
I remember a tear came.
I was like, "Oh, death?"
485
00:30:49,765 --> 00:30:52,382
My leg gave out on me and I said,
"Hey, y'all, I'm fixing it."
486
00:30:52,517 --> 00:30:55,054
Before I could say another word,
I was dead.
487
00:30:55,187 --> 00:30:58,430
Over my head, under my feet,
around me was nothing.
488
00:30:58,565 --> 00:31:03,310
Just a horrible old smell of death
and I was in this dump yard of nothing.
489
00:31:03,445 --> 00:31:05,652
I had guys on the undercard that day
490
00:31:05,781 --> 00:31:09,445
and I went into the dressing room and
I heard the shouting and the commotion
491
00:31:09,576 --> 00:31:12,739
and it was a sight you'll never forget.
492
00:31:12,871 --> 00:31:14,157
It just...
493
00:31:14,289 --> 00:31:19,329
I mean, I actually ran out of the room
because I was so concerned about George.
494
00:31:19,461 --> 00:31:22,499
I started screaming,
"Jesus Christ is coming alive in me."
495
00:31:22,631 --> 00:31:26,295
Boy, they put the tomahawk
and full-nelson on me trying to hold me
496
00:31:26,426 --> 00:31:28,258
because I'd taken off my clothes.
497
00:31:28,387 --> 00:31:29,923
I said, "I gotta go tell the world!"
498
00:31:30,055 --> 00:31:32,592
I guess they were saying,
"Put some clothes on, George."
499
00:31:32,724 --> 00:31:35,341
I followed eight men to get
into a shower and started screaming,
500
00:31:35,477 --> 00:31:37,935
"Hallelujah, I'm clean!
Hallelujah, I'm born again!"
501
00:31:38,063 --> 00:31:40,896
They finally strapped me down,
held me down on the table
502
00:31:41,024 --> 00:31:42,560
and I started reciting the Bible.
503
00:31:42,692 --> 00:31:47,277
I kissed everyone in the room, told them
I loved them. I just couldn't stop.
504
00:31:48,949 --> 00:31:50,906
I was outside the locker room.
505
00:31:51,910 --> 00:31:54,026
I didn't know
what was going on in that room,
506
00:31:54,162 --> 00:31:57,621
but he went through something
for about an hour at least,
507
00:31:57,749 --> 00:32:00,832
in the dressing room with all
the screaming and hollering going on.
508
00:32:00,961 --> 00:32:02,577
I said, "Wait! Don't let Jesus go!"
509
00:32:02,712 --> 00:32:04,373
Cos I know he was going.
510
00:32:04,506 --> 00:32:08,295
Finally, I said, "Now go to my father
which is in heaven." Boom!
511
00:32:08,427 --> 00:32:11,761
And I was left in this dressing room
just as embarrassed.
512
00:32:12,931 --> 00:32:16,469
I said, "You witnessed a miracle
and you're not gonna believe it."
513
00:32:16,601 --> 00:32:20,720
That happened to me and for ten years
I didn't even make a fist.
514
00:32:20,856 --> 00:32:22,563
I didn't shadowbox, I didn't box.
515
00:32:22,691 --> 00:32:24,978
I left it and became an evangelist
516
00:32:25,110 --> 00:32:27,693
with the Church
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
517
00:32:27,821 --> 00:32:31,030
♪ We are climbing
518
00:32:33,702 --> 00:32:37,991
♪ Jacob's ladder
519
00:32:39,082 --> 00:32:42,245
♪ We are climbing
520
00:32:43,253 --> 00:32:47,793
♪ Yes, Jacob's ladder a'
521
00:32:47,924 --> 00:32:50,962
Everyone thought I was crazy.
Everyone.
522
00:32:51,094 --> 00:32:52,550
And I just couldn't box any more.
523
00:32:52,679 --> 00:32:54,465
I'd go to the gym originally
524
00:32:54,598 --> 00:32:58,808
and that punching bag was Muhammad Ali
and Joe Frazier, Ken Norton.
525
00:32:58,935 --> 00:33:01,973
I went in there it was just rag,
piece of leather,
526
00:33:02,105 --> 00:33:04,517
and it wasn't anybody any more
and I couldn't do that.
527
00:33:04,649 --> 00:33:06,310
I just stopped boxing.
528
00:33:06,443 --> 00:33:09,652
Even my mom thought I was crazy.
529
00:33:09,779 --> 00:33:11,395
She said, "Our families were saying
530
00:33:11,531 --> 00:33:13,989
we need to put George
in a rest home, you know."
531
00:33:17,204 --> 00:33:18,660
He cut his hairstyle.
532
00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:22,907
He changed his wearing of clothes.
533
00:33:23,835 --> 00:33:26,497
And then this happened.
He started giving away stuff.
534
00:33:27,672 --> 00:33:33,793
He was giving away cars,
big-screen TVs, furniture, everything.
535
00:33:33,929 --> 00:33:36,170
And for ten years
he didn't watch television.
536
00:33:38,808 --> 00:33:41,516
He used
to tell us about the cars he had
537
00:33:41,645 --> 00:33:45,354
and tell us about the homes
he had in Beverly Hills
538
00:33:45,482 --> 00:33:48,224
and River Oaks in Houston,
539
00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:52,319
but I'd never seen them and I thought
he was telling us about a fairy tale.
540
00:33:53,573 --> 00:33:57,032
He went from 220 or whatever,
230 at that time,
541
00:33:57,160 --> 00:33:59,572
all the way up to 300 pounds.
542
00:33:59,704 --> 00:34:01,445
And people laughed at him
543
00:34:02,541 --> 00:34:06,705
and criticized him,
called him all kind of names.
544
00:34:10,507 --> 00:34:12,544
Well, I went to his home
545
00:34:12,717 --> 00:34:16,130
and there were
some tremendous changes in his life.
546
00:34:16,263 --> 00:34:21,008
That's the night
that I got knocked out in Africa.
547
00:34:21,142 --> 00:34:24,260
And that's to remind me
that God had mercy on me.
548
00:34:24,396 --> 00:34:27,559
One of the beautiful things
that he did is he acknowledged
549
00:34:27,732 --> 00:34:31,350
the ability of Muhammad Ali
and acknowledged that loss
550
00:34:31,486 --> 00:34:35,024
and put a shrine up in his home
551
00:34:35,156 --> 00:34:37,739
and gave Ali
all the credit in the world.
552
00:34:37,867 --> 00:34:40,404
This is the proof
that I was in the fight with him.
553
00:34:40,537 --> 00:34:43,370
He punched me right on the eye.
554
00:34:43,498 --> 00:34:47,833
I hadn't had an athlete
that could accept defeat
555
00:34:47,961 --> 00:34:52,080
and recognize the greatness
of another man the way he did.
556
00:34:52,215 --> 00:34:54,832
In the world, I-l actually hated him.
557
00:34:54,968 --> 00:34:57,926
And today, he's like one of my children,
to be honest with you.
558
00:34:58,054 --> 00:35:00,466
I talk with him all the time.
I love him now.
559
00:35:02,517 --> 00:35:04,975
I'd found me. Really found myself.
560
00:35:05,103 --> 00:35:09,062
And I was ordained an evangelist
at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
561
00:35:10,442 --> 00:35:13,059
And from that point on,
I was the preacher.
562
00:35:14,029 --> 00:35:16,862
To be honest with you,
I didn't think that was truly God.
563
00:35:16,990 --> 00:35:19,903
All the people I'd seen gravitate
to that were poor people,
564
00:35:20,035 --> 00:35:21,275
broken-hearted people.
565
00:35:21,411 --> 00:35:24,699
You see someone's husband leave them,
then they have a Bible or some guy
566
00:35:24,831 --> 00:35:28,119
come out of jail after so many years,
he has a Bible.
567
00:35:28,251 --> 00:35:30,663
I said, "That's not me."
Or broke people.
568
00:35:30,795 --> 00:35:32,251
I didn't believe in religion.
569
00:35:32,380 --> 00:35:35,714
My mom said, "Oh, Lord," but I thought
that was cos she was broke all the time.
570
00:35:36,843 --> 00:35:40,586
In my life, I had not been sold
on anything, boxing or anything,
571
00:35:40,722 --> 00:35:42,463
but once I found my religion,
572
00:35:42,599 --> 00:35:47,435
I was sold and I started to talk
and it was about keeping me quiet then.
573
00:35:49,064 --> 00:35:51,726
Jesus! Jesus!
574
00:35:51,858 --> 00:35:55,567
I put down boxing and everything
that had to do with boxing,
575
00:35:55,695 --> 00:35:58,653
so that people
could learn about Jesus Christ.
576
00:35:58,782 --> 00:36:01,444
One day I was
with some friends and they said,
577
00:36:01,576 --> 00:36:04,034
"There's George Foreman
preaching on the corner."
578
00:36:04,162 --> 00:36:06,199
And I-l didn't go up and say anything.
579
00:36:06,331 --> 00:36:12,077
I actually was a little uncomfortable
that he was in that position.
580
00:36:12,212 --> 00:36:13,794
God is a wake-up artist.
581
00:36:14,881 --> 00:36:17,543
When God say you got to move,
you got to move!
582
00:36:19,260 --> 00:36:22,218
I'm not really like
a guy that wants to be baptized.
583
00:36:22,347 --> 00:36:24,304
Anything like that.
584
00:36:24,432 --> 00:36:30,223
But I had so much respect for him,
I decided I would let him baptize me.
585
00:36:30,355 --> 00:36:32,562
And I'm so happy that I did that...
586
00:36:33,775 --> 00:36:39,817
because he proved to be everything
that a man should be after that.
587
00:36:41,199 --> 00:36:44,908
There's a moment somewhere in
there when George has kind of epiphany
588
00:36:45,036 --> 00:36:49,121
and says to himself,
"I'm not really a mean-spirited SOB."
589
00:36:49,249 --> 00:36:50,660
"That's not me."
590
00:36:50,792 --> 00:36:54,035
Now I can't understand
how another man would ball up his fist
591
00:36:54,170 --> 00:36:56,832
and put on gloves and try
and knock another man unconscious.
592
00:36:56,965 --> 00:36:59,753
I just can't see it.
I don't understand how I did it.
593
00:36:59,884 --> 00:37:01,295
I couldn't do that again.
594
00:37:04,848 --> 00:37:09,308
There's a Bible scripture
and it goes like this.
595
00:37:09,436 --> 00:37:13,395
"Let your light so shine before men
596
00:37:13,523 --> 00:37:15,434
that they may see your good works
597
00:37:15,567 --> 00:37:18,400
and glorify your father,
which is in heaven."
598
00:37:18,528 --> 00:37:22,112
What I try to do now is...
Talk is cheap.
599
00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:23,901
It's all living.
600
00:37:24,033 --> 00:37:26,240
And maybe by my life,
they can see the light.
601
00:37:44,721 --> 00:37:48,510
This is where it all started
and finished with me and boxing.
602
00:37:48,641 --> 00:37:51,679
This is the last ring I worked out in.
603
00:37:51,811 --> 00:37:54,769
It was constructive for me, so to speak.
604
00:37:54,898 --> 00:37:58,266
And then hopefully it'll be the home
of another George Foreman.
605
00:38:05,909 --> 00:38:09,152
There were some kids that their parents
wanted me to help them with boxing
606
00:38:09,287 --> 00:38:12,996
and get them in the ring and get them
off the streets, the mothers did.
607
00:38:13,124 --> 00:38:14,831
That prompt me to take my life savings,
608
00:38:14,959 --> 00:38:17,291
start the George Foreman
Youth and Community Center,
609
00:38:17,420 --> 00:38:18,785
along with my brother, Roy.
610
00:38:18,922 --> 00:38:23,041
I started a hangout, never a sermon,
just a hangout with them.
611
00:38:23,218 --> 00:38:25,004
And it doesn't matter
what people think,
612
00:38:25,136 --> 00:38:28,549
so long as I don't drop
that baton Lyndon Johnson gave me,
613
00:38:28,681 --> 00:38:31,173
1965,
when he pulled me out of the gutter,
614
00:38:31,309 --> 00:38:33,175
and it didn't matter
what people thought.
615
00:38:33,311 --> 00:38:35,848
He said, "I'm going to help
George Foreman and guys like him."
616
00:38:36,856 --> 00:38:39,473
When he opened
the George Foreman Youth Centre,
617
00:38:39,609 --> 00:38:41,395
he was happy going to do that every day.
618
00:38:41,528 --> 00:38:44,065
I mean, really, I would get in,
jump in the car with him
619
00:38:44,197 --> 00:38:47,110
and he was motivated to go
to the Youth Center and work with kids.
620
00:38:47,242 --> 00:38:49,700
Doing a good evangelistic work
was one thing,
621
00:38:49,828 --> 00:38:53,696
but I wanted to make sure I wouldn't
lose the reach on the young kids,
622
00:38:53,832 --> 00:38:56,790
and I had to find a happy medium
where I could meet up with these kids
623
00:38:56,918 --> 00:38:58,784
and not push any religion on them.
624
00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:00,001
Just try to get...
625
00:39:00,129 --> 00:39:02,837
Get yourself together,
your mind and your body.
626
00:39:02,966 --> 00:39:06,084
Then you'll find if kids start
thinking about themselves in that area,
627
00:39:06,219 --> 00:39:07,880
they start taking care of their soul.
628
00:39:14,018 --> 00:39:17,602
The Youth Center
started to take every dime I could get,
629
00:39:17,730 --> 00:39:19,596
and I started
speaking around the country
630
00:39:19,732 --> 00:39:21,314
to support the Youth Center.
631
00:39:21,442 --> 00:39:24,309
Once, one of the preachers
who had me and hosted me said,
632
00:39:24,445 --> 00:39:27,062
"We're gonna raise money
for George Foreman and his kids,"
633
00:39:27,198 --> 00:39:28,563
and I stayed there for three days.
634
00:39:29,701 --> 00:39:34,411
And as he was raising money, the people
looking at me behind the pulpit.
635
00:39:34,539 --> 00:39:38,157
He said, "This isn't enough money!
Surely we can help George more."
636
00:39:38,293 --> 00:39:40,534
I never felt so ashamed in my life.
637
00:39:44,340 --> 00:39:46,877
He was used to being rich
and taking care of things
638
00:39:47,010 --> 00:39:48,717
and he didn't have that any more.
639
00:39:49,637 --> 00:39:53,005
That's what made him
really start thinking
640
00:39:53,141 --> 00:39:57,806
about how he could keep that open
and make a future,
641
00:39:57,937 --> 00:40:01,020
not only for the kids
at the Youth Center, but his family.
642
00:40:06,070 --> 00:40:08,152
And I remember saying right there,
643
00:40:08,281 --> 00:40:11,023
"I'll never ask anyone for money again."
644
00:40:11,159 --> 00:40:14,368
"I'm gonna be heavyweight champion.
That's how I'll get my money."
645
00:40:17,332 --> 00:40:20,290
I went to my wife
and told her, "Look..."
646
00:40:21,336 --> 00:40:25,125
"I just... I've run out of money.
I'm gonna have to go back into boxing."
647
00:40:25,256 --> 00:40:27,964
She pleaded, "Don't do it.
They're gonna kill you, George."
648
00:40:28,092 --> 00:40:29,457
"You're not that guy anymore."
649
00:40:31,846 --> 00:40:34,508
And I even brought my kids around
and told them.
650
00:40:35,850 --> 00:40:38,433
Of course when your father says,
"I'm gonna come back to boxing
651
00:40:38,561 --> 00:40:40,973
and be the heavyweight champion
of the world,"
652
00:40:41,105 --> 00:40:43,472
you say, "OK, Dad."
653
00:40:43,608 --> 00:40:49,103
But I'd never seen him skip rope,
never seen him put on any boxing trunks,
654
00:40:49,238 --> 00:40:53,482
never seen him hit the bag,
never seen him do anything like that.
655
00:40:54,619 --> 00:40:57,657
First thing I did was get on the scale.
656
00:40:57,789 --> 00:40:59,905
315 pounds.
657
00:41:00,041 --> 00:41:03,579
I said, "Oh, no," so I thought,
"I need better scales."
658
00:41:06,422 --> 00:41:08,129
FOREMAN JR". The early days of training
659
00:41:08,257 --> 00:41:11,170
before he started
putting a lot of miles jogging,
660
00:41:11,302 --> 00:41:15,671
he would walk and I would see him
walk around the backyard,
661
00:41:15,807 --> 00:41:20,768
walk around the track,
and use pennies to count his laps.
662
00:41:23,189 --> 00:41:26,227
Then I made an announcement
to my friends I was coming back.
663
00:41:26,359 --> 00:41:27,565
The newspaper got a hold to it
664
00:41:27,694 --> 00:41:31,358
and they start talking about me
as bad as they could.
665
00:41:31,489 --> 00:41:33,196
What are you making of George Foreman?
666
00:41:33,324 --> 00:41:36,988
It's a living advertisement
for why boxing should be abolished.
667
00:41:37,120 --> 00:41:39,578
People just don't come back
after ten years
668
00:41:39,706 --> 00:41:42,744
and perform
at the highest levels of their craft.
669
00:41:42,875 --> 00:41:46,334
He has gone from being spectacular
to becoming a spectacle.
670
00:41:50,508 --> 00:41:54,217
They thought it was a joke.
They thought he was just a big joke.
671
00:41:54,345 --> 00:41:58,384
And that he would flop
and fall flat on his face.
672
00:41:59,642 --> 00:42:03,135
Tomorrow night veteran boxer
George Foreman will put on the gloves
673
00:42:03,271 --> 00:42:07,230
and climb back into the ring
after almost a decade in retirement.
674
00:42:07,358 --> 00:42:09,816
Some sceptics
think that this is just ridiculous.
675
00:42:09,944 --> 00:42:11,776
Foreman is just too old.
676
00:42:14,490 --> 00:42:16,731
When he was in Sacramento, California
677
00:42:16,868 --> 00:42:22,113
and he fought a gentleman
named Steve Zouski, I believe,
678
00:42:22,248 --> 00:42:25,741
and he was in the ring
and he had his shirt off.
679
00:42:25,877 --> 00:42:28,869
I don't remember seeing my father
with his shirt off before,
680
00:42:29,005 --> 00:42:31,963
so he took that shirt off
and that was a big deal.
681
00:42:32,091 --> 00:42:33,377
And he was throwing punches.
682
00:42:33,509 --> 00:42:37,844
I had never seen
my actual father throwing punches.
683
00:42:37,972 --> 00:42:40,885
The basic questions
about Foreman's comeback.
684
00:42:41,017 --> 00:42:43,850
His age, at around 40.
685
00:42:43,978 --> 00:42:46,310
I had to start from the bottom.
686
00:42:46,439 --> 00:42:49,022
And also the quality of his opponents.
687
00:42:49,150 --> 00:42:51,061
The minor leagues all over again.
688
00:42:51,194 --> 00:42:53,982
I was back in the back of the bus.
689
00:42:54,113 --> 00:42:56,901
The inactivity.
He was out for ten years.
690
00:42:57,033 --> 00:43:01,197
He started off fighting you and I.
691
00:43:01,329 --> 00:43:04,117
Guys like you and I
nobody never heard of.
692
00:43:04,248 --> 00:43:07,957
He started the comeback at 325 pounds.
693
00:43:08,252 --> 00:43:10,163
I knew I wouldn't be able to take up
694
00:43:10,296 --> 00:43:12,207
where I'd left off ten years ago.
695
00:43:12,340 --> 00:43:15,958
I was not as fast any more
because of the extra weight.
696
00:43:16,094 --> 00:43:19,007
I would have to change my style.
697
00:43:19,138 --> 00:43:24,383
And George Foreman
is now 11 for 11 in his comeback bid.
698
00:43:24,519 --> 00:43:27,762
Boxing smart money says
George Foreman's comeback is a fraud,
699
00:43:27,939 --> 00:43:31,933
that flattening one palooka after
another is little more than flim-flam.
700
00:43:34,237 --> 00:43:35,898
He fought 19 people
701
00:43:36,030 --> 00:43:39,113
that were what we call
in the parlance of boxing, dead men.
702
00:43:39,242 --> 00:43:42,860
"Stiffs" is another word.
"Tomato cans" is another word.
703
00:43:43,037 --> 00:43:46,075
What they mean is they were
not opponents that would fight back.
704
00:43:46,207 --> 00:43:49,074
They were opponents
that were there to get knocked out.
705
00:43:50,169 --> 00:43:52,376
I kept boxing. City to city.
706
00:43:52,505 --> 00:43:55,748
Every reporter would take a shot at me.
"George is this..."
707
00:43:55,883 --> 00:43:58,500
And they'd come out
and give me long pieces too.
708
00:43:58,636 --> 00:43:59,876
"He'll never do it."
709
00:44:00,012 --> 00:44:02,595
And they just take up the paper
criticizing me.
710
00:44:03,891 --> 00:44:07,225
In the same time,
they were making me all famous again.
711
00:44:16,237 --> 00:44:19,855
I had heard
that he had had a couple of fights...
712
00:44:21,033 --> 00:44:24,196
and out of the blue
I got a call from him
713
00:44:24,328 --> 00:44:26,786
and he wanted me to promote him,
714
00:44:27,832 --> 00:44:30,745
but I remembered
the old George Foreman.
715
00:44:30,877 --> 00:44:33,665
And I told him that I had no interest
716
00:44:33,796 --> 00:44:37,130
in subjecting myself
to that kind of person.
717
00:44:38,509 --> 00:44:43,254
He says, "Look, I'm getting on a plane
and I'm coming to see you anyway."
718
00:44:44,348 --> 00:44:47,716
And he sits down
and starts talking to me.
719
00:44:48,603 --> 00:44:51,095
I sort of scratched my head and I said,
720
00:44:51,230 --> 00:44:55,770
"This is the best con man
that I had ever, ever met,"
721
00:44:55,902 --> 00:45:02,569
because he was respectful,
he was nice, he was intelligent.
722
00:45:02,742 --> 00:45:06,280
And I said, you know,
"He's, he's putting me on,"
723
00:45:06,412 --> 00:45:08,904
which is the most amazing thing
724
00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:11,247
because the new George Foreman
725
00:45:11,375 --> 00:45:13,742
turned out to be
the real George Foreman.
726
00:45:15,087 --> 00:45:20,253
Without further ado, the Chairman
of the Board of Top Rank, Bob Arum.
727
00:45:22,136 --> 00:45:23,376
Thank you.
728
00:45:24,847 --> 00:45:27,680
Ladies and gentlemen,
thank you very much for coming.
729
00:45:27,808 --> 00:45:33,429
This press conference is to announce the
fight that everybody is talking about,
730
00:45:33,564 --> 00:45:39,435
the preacher, George Foreman,
against the puncher, Gerry Cooney.
731
00:45:39,570 --> 00:45:41,356
That fight, I was nervous.
732
00:45:41,489 --> 00:45:43,571
Gerry Cooney was a big guy
733
00:45:43,699 --> 00:45:45,315
and had a heavy punch.
734
00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:51,246
Now he finally got
somebody whose arms is longer than his.
735
00:45:51,374 --> 00:45:54,412
He's not the peak guy no more.
736
00:45:54,543 --> 00:45:59,379
What happens when a man
fight somebody his size?
737
00:45:59,507 --> 00:46:01,589
Here we go!
738
00:46:04,804 --> 00:46:06,670
I thought I was gonna win.
739
00:46:08,099 --> 00:46:11,683
But, you know, some days you get the
eggs and some days you get the shells.
740
00:46:13,271 --> 00:46:16,434
Oh! And look
at the left come up and slice right.
741
00:46:16,565 --> 00:46:19,978
And Gerry Cooney's in big trouble.
He's ready to go!
742
00:46:20,111 --> 00:46:21,647
And there he goes!
743
00:46:21,779 --> 00:46:24,692
Two! Three! Four!
744
00:46:24,824 --> 00:46:26,440
And he is badly hurt!
745
00:46:26,575 --> 00:46:29,158
That was like
George's coming-out party.
746
00:46:29,287 --> 00:46:34,373
I'm back, I'm a legitimate contender,
and, Holyfield, you're in trouble.
747
00:46:34,500 --> 00:46:37,333
And I'm like, "Wow. You know what?"
748
00:46:37,461 --> 00:46:40,328
"He is slow, but it do connect."
749
00:46:40,464 --> 00:46:42,546
Oh! And that's it!
750
00:46:42,675 --> 00:46:44,586
And I don't think... This fight's over.
751
00:46:44,719 --> 00:46:46,255
Boom!
752
00:46:46,387 --> 00:46:48,378
That was it! Folded good!
753
00:46:49,932 --> 00:46:51,673
George Foreman...
754
00:46:52,977 --> 00:46:57,642
makes believers of some,
definitely of Gerry Cooney.
755
00:47:00,985 --> 00:47:03,773
It wasn't just a knockout.
It was an easy knockout.
756
00:47:03,904 --> 00:47:08,193
And that raised eyebrows and
that got the public starting to think,
757
00:47:08,326 --> 00:47:11,535
"Oh, you know,
he's still George Foreman."
758
00:47:11,662 --> 00:47:14,780
"He still has
that unbelievable punching power,
759
00:47:14,915 --> 00:47:16,155
even though he's got a belly
760
00:47:16,292 --> 00:47:18,829
and he looks like he's shambling
around in his pajamas."
761
00:47:18,961 --> 00:47:21,043
"He's, he's still got something."
762
00:47:23,507 --> 00:47:26,499
At that time I was
the heavyweight champion of the world
763
00:47:26,635 --> 00:47:30,924
and I was like, "You had your time,
but it's my time now."
764
00:47:31,057 --> 00:47:34,721
And we have a new
heavyweight champion of the world,
765
00:47:34,852 --> 00:47:36,342
Evander Holyfield.
766
00:47:36,479 --> 00:47:38,095
In my estimation, Evander Holyfield
767
00:47:38,230 --> 00:47:42,064
could be one of the three
greatest heavyweights that ever lived.
768
00:47:42,193 --> 00:47:44,981
Here's a guy
who's light heavyweight champion,
769
00:47:45,154 --> 00:47:48,988
cruiserweight champion,
heavyweight champion of the world.
770
00:47:49,116 --> 00:47:52,609
Down goes McDonagh through the ropes!
771
00:47:52,745 --> 00:47:55,737
I mean, this guy
makes no mistakes in the ring.
772
00:47:58,417 --> 00:48:01,284
He was champion of the world.
He needed lots of money.
773
00:48:01,420 --> 00:48:05,084
And the only one who had done publicity
enough was George Foreman.
774
00:48:05,216 --> 00:48:06,957
I'm just a big old baby boomer
775
00:48:07,093 --> 00:48:09,710
and I'm gonna lower a boom
on that baby, Evander Holyfield.
776
00:48:09,887 --> 00:48:10,797
George Foreman.
777
00:48:10,930 --> 00:48:14,173
Mr. Foreman,
if you think you're gonna beat me,
778
00:48:14,308 --> 00:48:15,548
you off of your rocker.
779
00:48:15,684 --> 00:48:19,803
Evander Holyfield.
April 19th live from Trump Plaza, TVKO.
780
00:48:19,939 --> 00:48:23,307
From then on
it was like a real wild ride
781
00:48:23,442 --> 00:48:28,562
because the, the press was on his case,
782
00:48:28,697 --> 00:48:32,361
A, because
he was relatively old for a fighter,
783
00:48:32,493 --> 00:48:34,325
you know, hadn't fought in 10 years,
784
00:48:34,453 --> 00:48:36,945
and, B, he was a little heavy.
785
00:48:37,081 --> 00:48:39,072
Heavyweight contender George Foreman
786
00:48:39,208 --> 00:48:41,916
who was born with a fork in his hand
and a smile on his face...
787
00:48:42,044 --> 00:48:45,253
One of the fighters takes
that description "heavyweight"
788
00:48:45,381 --> 00:48:46,462
very seriously.
789
00:48:46,590 --> 00:48:49,002
The clock will not go back.
790
00:48:49,135 --> 00:48:51,251
That is not a fact, what you're saying.
791
00:48:51,387 --> 00:48:54,846
The fact is I can become heavyweight
champion if I want to at any age.
792
00:48:54,974 --> 00:48:58,057
We talked about the age thing
793
00:48:58,185 --> 00:49:01,678
and that's when he came up with the idea
794
00:49:01,814 --> 00:49:05,648
that age is just a number
and it really doesn't mean anything.
795
00:49:05,776 --> 00:49:10,361
When I knock him out, there'll be
no if, ands and buts about it.
796
00:49:10,489 --> 00:49:12,651
The age of 40
is not a death sentence after all.
797
00:49:12,783 --> 00:49:15,821
My mama always taught me
to respect my elder.
798
00:49:15,953 --> 00:49:17,739
But...
799
00:49:18,873 --> 00:49:23,242
But he was very sensitive
with people making fun of his weight
800
00:49:23,377 --> 00:49:27,416
and I said, "George, we're gonna
play this for all it's worth."
801
00:49:27,548 --> 00:49:32,008
So at the press conference
I had the waiters at the hotel
802
00:49:32,219 --> 00:49:34,961
with platters of hamburgers come in
803
00:49:35,097 --> 00:49:37,464
and that picture went all over.
804
00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:42,640
The fight would have never been
what it came out to be
805
00:49:42,771 --> 00:49:44,808
if it wasn't for George.
806
00:49:44,940 --> 00:49:48,899
The preaching really helped me
because I'd learned to sell.
807
00:49:49,028 --> 00:49:51,110
When I get in the ring with Holyfield,
808
00:49:51,238 --> 00:49:56,278
you're gonna see a guy closer to 50
than he is to... to 20
809
00:49:56,410 --> 00:49:58,617
jump in the ring,
810
00:49:58,746 --> 00:50:01,488
too big for the title belt
to fit around his waist.
811
00:50:03,751 --> 00:50:05,958
I'd get on the television, for a second
812
00:50:06,086 --> 00:50:08,794
and I'd look at the camera and say,
"Yeah, they say I'm 40."
813
00:50:08,923 --> 00:50:12,086
"Yes, they say I'm 50, but I'm gonna
show you, it's not a death sentence."
814
00:50:12,218 --> 00:50:15,301
"I can be the heavyweight
champion of the world." Boom!
815
00:50:15,429 --> 00:50:20,048
Finally, they start giving me
ten second, 20 second, then 30 seconds.
816
00:50:20,184 --> 00:50:22,801
People loved him!
817
00:50:22,937 --> 00:50:25,975
He made all his fame work.
818
00:50:26,106 --> 00:50:30,646
And, you know, at that time it was
the biggest payday they ever had,
819
00:50:30,778 --> 00:50:33,236
in boxing, because of George.
820
00:50:33,364 --> 00:50:38,609
There was 15 million cable homes
821
00:50:38,744 --> 00:50:42,533
that could buy the fight
on Pay-Per-View
822
00:50:42,665 --> 00:50:46,533
and we sold a 1,500,000 homes.
823
00:50:46,669 --> 00:50:52,335
10%, a little over 10%, which
nobody's ever done before or since.
824
00:50:52,466 --> 00:50:55,504
I'm gonna be the next heavyweight
champion of the world. It's my destiny.
825
00:50:55,636 --> 00:50:57,172
Nobody can stop me.
826
00:50:57,304 --> 00:50:59,386
I'm not the best fighter in the world,
827
00:50:59,515 --> 00:51:02,758
but I've got something that
every fighter needs, the third punch.
828
00:51:02,893 --> 00:51:04,884
If I throw
and miss you with my left, boom,
829
00:51:05,020 --> 00:51:08,138
and miss you with my right, boom,
then I'll belly-bump you.
830
00:51:12,236 --> 00:51:14,978
I remember him holding up
a big tray of hamburgers
831
00:51:15,114 --> 00:51:17,196
and say that he was gonna
eat Baskin Robbins
832
00:51:17,324 --> 00:51:19,190
and he was gonna belly-bump him.
833
00:51:19,368 --> 00:51:23,783
And I was thinking, "Whoa, I think
you better take this guy serious."
834
00:51:23,914 --> 00:51:26,827
And now, to enter the ring first,
835
00:51:26,959 --> 00:51:31,624
the unlikely central figure
in this six-month comic opera,
836
00:51:31,755 --> 00:51:33,962
which is about
to become a savage drama.
837
00:51:34,091 --> 00:51:35,502
George Foreman.
838
00:51:38,095 --> 00:51:40,382
And of course
you have to differentiate and say,
839
00:51:40,514 --> 00:51:42,346
"This is serious, the fight, George."
840
00:51:42,474 --> 00:51:43,930
I had to keep telling myself that
841
00:51:44,059 --> 00:51:48,269
because I'd done so much
promotional work for this boxing match.
842
00:51:48,397 --> 00:51:52,391
And of course I'd put myself
on the scale of all these kids
843
00:51:52,526 --> 00:51:53,982
watching me and friends.
844
00:51:54,111 --> 00:51:55,897
I couldn't be this angry old guy.
845
00:51:56,030 --> 00:51:59,489
I had to learn how to win
without any trace of anger.
846
00:52:00,492 --> 00:52:02,529
It's the battle of the ages.
847
00:52:02,661 --> 00:52:06,746
Twelve rounds of boxing for the
heavyweight championship of the world.
848
00:52:09,293 --> 00:52:12,285
The night of that Holyfield
fight was a scary moment for me
849
00:52:12,421 --> 00:52:15,129
because they all looked over...
It was Muhammad Ali.
850
00:52:15,257 --> 00:52:18,249
Here's the guy
who had dethroned me all those years.
851
00:52:25,934 --> 00:52:27,424
He walked over and whispered,
852
00:52:27,561 --> 00:52:30,349
"Oh, you're gonna be champ,
you're gonna be champ."
853
00:52:35,486 --> 00:52:37,693
And still there was enough skepticism
854
00:52:37,821 --> 00:52:39,812
that there weren't many people
on the ground
855
00:52:39,948 --> 00:52:44,988
who really expected that George could be
competitive against Evander Holyfield.
856
00:52:45,120 --> 00:52:48,613
April 9, 1991, Atlantic City.
That was when the...
857
00:52:48,749 --> 00:52:54,290
That was when the, the comeback
took on an entirely different character.
858
00:52:54,421 --> 00:52:56,332
And now let's see.
859
00:52:56,465 --> 00:52:58,581
ls George Foreman for real
860
00:52:58,717 --> 00:53:02,961
or is this the farce
that many critics have said it will be?
861
00:53:05,182 --> 00:53:08,846
Budding left hand from Foreman
and Holyfield backs onto the ropes.
862
00:53:08,977 --> 00:53:10,638
Crowd gets excited.
863
00:53:12,815 --> 00:53:14,897
Power to the body from Foreman.
864
00:53:15,025 --> 00:53:17,767
Holyfield not as resolute
all of a sudden.
865
00:53:18,987 --> 00:53:20,352
Closing stages of round two
866
00:53:20,489 --> 00:53:23,106
and Evander
is suddenly much more careful.
867
00:53:23,242 --> 00:53:26,906
Now you're watching that and suddenly
you realize this is a serious fight.
868
00:53:27,037 --> 00:53:28,493
This is a very serious fight.
869
00:53:28,622 --> 00:53:32,490
And Foreman has a chance against
the heavyweight champion of the world.
870
00:53:34,420 --> 00:53:38,038
Right hand
on the surface of Holyfield's head
871
00:53:38,173 --> 00:53:40,665
and he's momentarily stunned.
872
00:53:40,801 --> 00:53:43,338
Now he steps back up inside.
873
00:53:43,470 --> 00:53:45,131
But if there were any remaining doubts
874
00:53:45,264 --> 00:53:47,551
about the legitimacy
of George's chances,
875
00:53:47,683 --> 00:53:50,766
he may have erased them
in the last 30 seconds.
876
00:53:58,026 --> 00:54:01,860
I never in my whole career fought nobody
that was stronger than George.
877
00:54:03,157 --> 00:54:05,398
George caught me one time in that fight
878
00:54:05,534 --> 00:54:08,401
and I thought he knocked
all my teeth out.
879
00:54:08,537 --> 00:54:10,528
And I go back to the corner.
880
00:54:10,664 --> 00:54:13,031
I said, "Did he knock all my teeth out?"
Like this.
881
00:54:13,167 --> 00:54:14,578
They said, "Everything is OK."
882
00:54:16,128 --> 00:54:18,540
There wasn't a fighter
that I can't push back.
883
00:54:18,672 --> 00:54:20,629
I couldn't push George at all.
884
00:54:20,758 --> 00:54:23,420
And so all right, you know,
I realize that, "OK, then,
885
00:54:23,552 --> 00:54:26,465
but I got these other skills
that he don't have."
886
00:54:26,680 --> 00:54:29,547
But in the closing minute of the round,
887
00:54:29,683 --> 00:54:30,923
George landed those gloves
888
00:54:31,059 --> 00:54:34,142
and now Evander
seems anxious to set things right.
889
00:54:35,647 --> 00:54:38,264
Left, right, left by Holyfield!
890
00:54:38,400 --> 00:54:40,937
And a left and a right
and Foreman's in serious trouble.
891
00:54:41,069 --> 00:54:43,026
Another left hook and a right!
892
00:54:43,155 --> 00:54:46,238
Now, seeing my father
get hit with 21 straight punches?
893
00:54:46,366 --> 00:54:48,323
Will George go down?
894
00:54:48,452 --> 00:54:50,068
You don't wanna see that.
895
00:54:51,205 --> 00:54:55,415
But all he taught us was,
"Keep fighting, keep fighting."
896
00:54:57,878 --> 00:55:01,041
A lobbing right hand
and Holyfield grabs and holds on.
897
00:55:01,173 --> 00:55:03,039
George still with some shock.
898
00:55:05,969 --> 00:55:10,304
The last thing I remember
was Holyfield holding my father,
899
00:55:10,432 --> 00:55:13,049
while my father was still
trying to give that last punch.
900
00:55:13,185 --> 00:55:16,974
When it came to that,
the last round that everybody said,
901
00:55:17,105 --> 00:55:19,187
"Why did you hold the old man?"
902
00:55:19,316 --> 00:55:22,900
I said, "But I won 11 rounds.
I wasn't gonna let him."
903
00:55:23,028 --> 00:55:27,272
"Is it mean for me to hold him?"
I was gonna hold him that last round.
904
00:55:27,407 --> 00:55:30,741
I wasn't gonna let... You gonna have
one good round and you gonna win?
905
00:55:30,869 --> 00:55:34,032
No. No, listen. Not with me.
906
00:55:35,666 --> 00:55:38,704
And the crowd is up on its feet.
907
00:55:38,836 --> 00:55:42,124
And then the crowd standing
908
00:55:42,256 --> 00:55:44,964
and giving him an ovation
and really cheering.
909
00:55:45,092 --> 00:55:48,255
The winner by unanimous decision
910
00:55:48,387 --> 00:55:53,678
and still undisputed
heavyweight champion of the world,
911
00:55:53,809 --> 00:55:59,896
the real deal, Evander Holyfield.
912
00:56:02,568 --> 00:56:05,435
And that's when I knew, you know what?
913
00:56:05,571 --> 00:56:08,734
He might have lost the fight,
but he won that night.
914
00:56:11,451 --> 00:56:14,318
You know we've got a big show this week.
We've got a special guest.
915
00:56:14,454 --> 00:56:15,535
A very special guest.
916
00:56:15,664 --> 00:56:19,328
The former and maybe future
heavyweight champion of the world.
917
00:56:19,459 --> 00:56:23,794
Let's bring him out here, Mr. More Power
himself, George Foreman. Yeah!
918
00:56:26,049 --> 00:56:27,960
FOREMAN JR". The first time I noticed
919
00:56:28,093 --> 00:56:31,131
that his fame and profile
was really getting noticed
920
00:56:31,305 --> 00:56:34,673
was when he was
on a Nike Bo Jackson commercial.
921
00:56:39,813 --> 00:56:42,646
As a kid, "Bo knows" was everything.
922
00:56:42,774 --> 00:56:47,359
And then there was a George Foreman
and Bo Jackson commercial
923
00:56:47,487 --> 00:56:48,852
and it said "George knows".
924
00:56:48,989 --> 00:56:50,354
Hit it!
925
00:56:53,076 --> 00:56:55,613
I thought, "Wow! He's famous."
926
00:56:55,746 --> 00:56:58,864
I am not going
to pay a lot for this muffler!
927
00:56:58,999 --> 00:57:01,536
By George, I think he's got it!
928
00:57:01,668 --> 00:57:03,158
Endorsements came in.
929
00:57:03,295 --> 00:57:05,912
So many things came in
930
00:57:06,048 --> 00:57:09,166
and it soaked up my life.
I enjoyed that part of it. I really did.
931
00:57:10,761 --> 00:57:16,677
You can go a long way
in America if the smile looks genuine.
932
00:57:16,808 --> 00:57:19,140
And George's smile is for real.
933
00:57:19,269 --> 00:57:22,853
I did a commercial once.
It was Doritos.
934
00:57:22,981 --> 00:57:27,691
I never eat Doritos. I'm in the room.
They had them out there with dips.
935
00:57:27,861 --> 00:57:29,852
I started eating those things.
936
00:57:29,988 --> 00:57:33,356
I'd eat so many bags of those things.
937
00:57:33,492 --> 00:57:34,607
I love those things.
938
00:57:34,743 --> 00:57:38,862
Then they started shooting
the commercial. Who could deny Doritos?
939
00:57:38,997 --> 00:57:42,331
George, how many pounds away
are we from 225 pounds?
940
00:57:42,459 --> 00:57:43,824
Uh, not that far away.
941
00:57:43,961 --> 00:57:46,919
If I look a little heavy, it's that
camera. The camera adds pounds.
942
00:57:47,047 --> 00:57:49,004
It does it to all of us.
No question about it.
943
00:57:49,132 --> 00:57:51,794
And now we're looking
for a brand-new expert commentator.
944
00:57:51,927 --> 00:57:56,467
Well, there's no bigger public figure
in the sport at that moment than George.
945
00:57:56,598 --> 00:58:00,057
It was an obvious choice.
946
00:58:00,185 --> 00:58:03,553
But I could tell that there were
gonna be some challenges there.
947
00:58:03,689 --> 00:58:07,148
Larry, you and George,
I'm told, have been known to disagree.
948
00:58:07,275 --> 00:58:08,857
What do you think of all this?
949
00:58:08,986 --> 00:58:11,523
He had, it seemed
like a kind of ingrained habit,
950
00:58:11,655 --> 00:58:14,272
that if, if Larry and I
said the sky was blue,
951
00:58:14,408 --> 00:58:17,241
George was gonna say, "I'm not so sure."
952
00:58:17,369 --> 00:58:19,531
"Uh, doesn't necessarily
look blue to me."
953
00:58:19,663 --> 00:58:21,529
"I'm not sure
why you guys think it's blue.
954
00:58:21,665 --> 00:58:23,702
I mean, that was
just the way he was thinking.
955
00:58:23,834 --> 00:58:25,950
You think these guys are champions?
956
00:58:26,086 --> 00:58:28,703
- They fought like champions.
- You do?
957
00:58:28,839 --> 00:58:31,331
You and I couldn't disagree more
about that, George.
958
00:58:31,466 --> 00:58:33,878
But you don't know boxing, Larry.
You just see boxing.
959
00:58:34,011 --> 00:58:35,797
Well, George, I know I wasn't
960
00:58:35,929 --> 00:58:38,967
the heavyweight
champion of the world, like you,
961
00:58:39,099 --> 00:58:41,431
but I think
I've watched a lot of boxing.
962
00:58:41,560 --> 00:58:44,894
He and George became
a kind of frick and frack, you know,
963
00:58:45,022 --> 00:58:46,683
constantly arguing with each other.
964
00:58:46,815 --> 00:58:49,898
You cannot be serious.
965
00:58:50,027 --> 00:58:51,609
But we became popular.
966
00:58:51,737 --> 00:58:56,402
We became popular as a threesome
partially because of the disagreements,
967
00:58:56,533 --> 00:59:00,367
partially because George
was just so endearing, so charming.
968
00:59:01,455 --> 00:59:04,288
- I'm George Junior.
- I'm George Foreman Ill.
969
00:59:04,458 --> 00:59:06,074
I'm George Foreman IV.
970
00:59:06,209 --> 00:59:09,247
The fact
that he named all of his children
971
00:59:09,379 --> 00:59:12,917
as George or Georgettes or Georginas
972
00:59:13,050 --> 00:59:17,635
was also
some kind of endearing original...
973
00:59:19,389 --> 00:59:21,130
part of his narrative.
974
00:59:21,266 --> 00:59:23,052
Who had ever heard
of anything like that?
975
00:59:23,185 --> 00:59:26,143
U' WE'RE ALL MADE OF STARS
from FINDING NEVERLAND Mays I')
976
00:59:30,942 --> 00:59:35,482
During that time
there was an ABC show called "George".
977
00:59:35,614 --> 00:59:38,197
Hi, Daddy. Let's go the distance.
978
00:59:38,325 --> 00:59:40,783
The second round will never see
979
00:59:40,911 --> 00:59:43,949
because I float like a butterfly
and sting like a bee.
980
00:59:45,499 --> 00:59:47,957
Boxing was getting kind of secondary.
981
00:59:48,085 --> 00:59:50,042
George, we have
to have a little discussion
982
00:59:50,170 --> 00:59:52,036
about your recent lack of get-up-and-go.
983
00:59:52,172 --> 00:59:53,207
Ah, people always...
984
00:59:53,340 --> 00:59:56,207
That's a good thing
out of the ring, but in the ring
985
00:59:56,343 --> 00:59:58,004
that was taking him away from his goals.
986
00:59:58,136 --> 01:00:01,174
George, you haven't been
to the gym in weeks. Look at you.
987
01:00:01,306 --> 01:00:02,387
You are 40.
988
01:00:02,516 --> 01:00:05,349
Ah, don't start that nasty 40 business.
989
01:00:09,981 --> 01:00:13,349
After losing to Holyfield,
George wasn't gonna give up.
990
01:00:14,861 --> 01:00:17,353
And we were able
to get him with Tommy Morrison.
991
01:00:18,406 --> 01:00:21,774
And we begin round one.
It's scheduled for 12.
992
01:00:21,910 --> 01:00:24,151
Very few think it will last that long.
993
01:00:24,287 --> 01:00:27,575
I honestly thought George
was going to destroy him.
994
01:00:27,707 --> 01:00:29,744
Foreman lands a good punch.
995
01:00:31,086 --> 01:00:32,997
Morrison, wild, missed both times.
996
01:00:33,130 --> 01:00:38,216
But Morrison somehow came up
with the, the best game plan ever.
997
01:00:38,343 --> 01:00:39,959
He boxed. He moved.
998
01:00:43,390 --> 01:00:46,599
I am telling you,
Morrison throws a big bag of wheat.
999
01:00:48,478 --> 01:00:51,641
And George,
I don't think he prepared properly.
1000
01:00:51,773 --> 01:00:54,606
Uh, George ran second.
1001
01:00:54,734 --> 01:00:56,190
He was doing the TV show.
1002
01:00:56,319 --> 01:00:58,481
He had...
He was focused on other things.
1003
01:01:00,240 --> 01:01:03,278
Before the Tommy Morrison
fight he was hitting the bag
1004
01:01:03,410 --> 01:01:05,321
on the set of "George,"
on the TV show, you know?
1005
01:01:07,122 --> 01:01:10,615
It's really hard
to be the biggest boxer
1006
01:01:10,750 --> 01:01:13,082
and have a TV show at the same time!
1007
01:01:13,211 --> 01:01:16,499
My fight will not be against Morrison,
it will be against the rocking chair.
1008
01:01:16,631 --> 01:01:18,292
This is where I wanna go out of boxing.
1009
01:01:18,425 --> 01:01:21,008
Probably no-one will ever see me
in a boxing ring again.
1010
01:01:22,179 --> 01:01:26,844
This could be the last
2:08 of George Foreman's boxing career.
1011
01:01:26,975 --> 01:01:29,717
At the end of the fight,
Tommy Morrison got his hand raised
1012
01:01:29,853 --> 01:01:31,014
and he won the fight.
1013
01:01:32,731 --> 01:01:37,100
George Foreman's
legendary comeback is finished.
1014
01:02:01,843 --> 01:02:03,550
After he lost to Morrison,
1015
01:02:03,678 --> 01:02:06,010
really he started
spending time on the ranch.
1016
01:02:08,016 --> 01:02:10,098
And we're riding horses,
1017
01:02:10,227 --> 01:02:13,390
um, really working the ranch,
working hard.
1018
01:02:17,776 --> 01:02:20,814
Fast-forward to, uh, 1994
1019
01:02:20,946 --> 01:02:23,438
and when Michael Moorer
wins the heavyweight champion.
1020
01:02:26,493 --> 01:02:30,987
And new
heavyweight champion of the world...
1021
01:02:31,122 --> 01:02:33,955
Michael Moorer
is another heavyweight champion.
1022
01:02:34,125 --> 01:02:38,289
What does he wanna do?
He wants to make money!
1023
01:02:38,421 --> 01:02:42,130
So, he does the same thing
that Holyfield did.
1024
01:02:42,259 --> 01:02:43,545
Let's go straight to George.
1025
01:02:43,677 --> 01:02:46,089
That's the way
to get the biggest audience.
1026
01:02:46,221 --> 01:02:48,883
And I'm sure that Moorer, at age 26,
1027
01:02:49,015 --> 01:02:52,224
unbeaten,
having just beaten Evander Holyfield,
1028
01:02:52,352 --> 01:02:54,639
didn't really believe in his heart
1029
01:02:54,771 --> 01:02:58,014
that there was gonna be that big
a challenge in fighting George Foreman.
1030
01:03:05,490 --> 01:03:08,323
When George agreed to fight Moorer,
1031
01:03:08,493 --> 01:03:10,029
he had no more choices.
1032
01:03:10,161 --> 01:03:13,529
It was either beat this guy and win it
or, or you're done.
1033
01:03:17,460 --> 01:03:18,825
He was getting older.
1034
01:03:18,962 --> 01:03:22,626
Uh, he didn't have
a lot of credibility left
1035
01:03:22,757 --> 01:03:25,840
and people were saying, "George,
maybe it's just not meant to be."
1036
01:03:25,969 --> 01:03:27,255
"Maybe it's not gonna happen."
1037
01:03:31,057 --> 01:03:34,049
Then you hear
that he's gonna fight Michael Moorer.
1038
01:03:34,185 --> 01:03:37,849
Now, Michael Moorer,
me being a boxing fan...
1039
01:03:39,524 --> 01:03:42,357
I remember him as a middleweight,
1040
01:03:42,485 --> 01:03:44,977
a light-heavyweight,
and now a heavyweight.
1041
01:03:45,113 --> 01:03:47,150
I watched the Holyfield fight.
1042
01:03:47,282 --> 01:03:52,197
I watched him do, like, amazing things
as a... as a contender coming up.
1043
01:03:52,329 --> 01:03:57,574
So, I didn't like that idea of him
fighting Michael Moorer.
1044
01:03:57,709 --> 01:03:58,665
I didn't like that.
1045
01:04:02,839 --> 01:04:05,206
I worked with George at that time
1046
01:04:05,342 --> 01:04:08,460
and for months prior to the fight
I would say to him,
1047
01:04:08,595 --> 01:04:11,428
"George, how are you
even gonna find Moorer?"
1048
01:04:11,556 --> 01:04:15,174
"Holyfield couldn't find him
and Holyfield's much more mobile
1049
01:04:15,310 --> 01:04:18,302
and much more of a mover in the ring
than you are.
1050
01:04:18,438 --> 01:04:23,729
"And, you know, this guy's a southpaw,
doesn't move in a conventional way."
1051
01:04:23,860 --> 01:04:27,319
"Uh, he's 26 years old.
He's quicker than you are."
1052
01:04:28,490 --> 01:04:32,358
I just don't understand
exactly what is the plan.
1053
01:04:35,205 --> 01:04:38,448
And George said to me, "You watch."
1054
01:04:38,583 --> 01:04:40,665
"Late in the fight at some point,
1055
01:04:40,794 --> 01:04:43,081
he'll stand in front of me
and allow me to knock him out."
1056
01:04:46,424 --> 01:04:47,789
I knew a secret George had
1057
01:04:47,926 --> 01:04:50,088
in regards to what he did
to work on that kind of punch,
1058
01:04:50,220 --> 01:04:51,881
the way to take you out with one punch.
1059
01:04:54,182 --> 01:04:58,517
It's an exercise
that you can... do with a hatchet.
1060
01:05:00,939 --> 01:05:03,647
If you looked at his arms at the time,
you saw how big they were.
1061
01:05:03,775 --> 01:05:06,187
They were chiseled like that
because of that exercise
1062
01:05:06,319 --> 01:05:09,687
and because he was taking that axe and
just kind of chopping it into the tree.
1063
01:05:36,808 --> 01:05:40,051
Tonight live from
the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada,
1064
01:05:40,186 --> 01:05:43,144
as Michael Moorer,
WBA and IBF heavyweight champion,
1065
01:05:43,273 --> 01:05:47,187
defends his title against
the one and only George Foreman.
1066
01:05:47,318 --> 01:05:49,559
It's scheduled for 12 rounds.
1067
01:05:49,696 --> 01:05:52,734
The most important thing
in this boxing match I had going
1068
01:05:52,866 --> 01:05:55,198
that Michael Moorer didn't have,
1069
01:05:55,368 --> 01:05:57,109
I wanted to be there.
1070
01:05:57,245 --> 01:06:01,159
I ran up the, the aisle,
jumped into the ring
1071
01:06:01,291 --> 01:06:04,534
and it wasn't like
I wanted someone else to be there.
1072
01:06:04,669 --> 01:06:08,788
This was gonna be my opportunity to
fight for the championship of the world.
1073
01:06:08,923 --> 01:06:12,666
All the instructions, all the trainings
had come to head now.
1074
01:06:13,928 --> 01:06:15,544
Twelve rounds of boxing
1075
01:06:15,680 --> 01:06:19,423
for the heavyweight championship
of the world.
1076
01:06:19,559 --> 01:06:24,929
Tonight, he steps into this ring ready
to put his perfect record on the line.
1077
01:06:25,064 --> 01:06:28,022
Presenting the undefeated
1078
01:06:28,151 --> 01:06:32,361
heavyweight champion of the world,
1079
01:06:32,489 --> 01:06:35,231
Michael
1080
01:06:35,366 --> 01:06:38,734
Moorer!
1081
01:06:42,457 --> 01:06:48,499
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing
from Houston, Texas, the challenger,
1082
01:06:48,630 --> 01:06:51,543
the former heavyweight
1083
01:06:51,674 --> 01:06:54,962
champion of the world,
1084
01:06:55,094 --> 01:07:01,215
Big George Foreman.
1085
01:07:12,904 --> 01:07:15,817
The idea was
to surprise Michael Moorer.
1086
01:07:15,949 --> 01:07:17,485
He didn't expect me to stand up.
1087
01:07:17,617 --> 01:07:21,531
You see, I instantly started
to jab right on top of his hands,
1088
01:07:21,663 --> 01:07:22,744
stopping his punches.
1089
01:07:24,040 --> 01:07:27,249
Expect Moorer to start off
working behind the right jab
1090
01:07:27,377 --> 01:07:29,960
that served him so well
in the battle with Holyfield.
1091
01:07:32,840 --> 01:07:35,878
And I'd learned
take your time, be patient.
1092
01:07:36,010 --> 01:07:39,173
Never a rope-a-dope again.
1093
01:07:39,305 --> 01:07:42,343
I was the dope. Not again.
1094
01:07:44,519 --> 01:07:46,135
He'd go to the body.
1095
01:07:46,271 --> 01:07:49,855
But I was protected with cheeseburgers
at this time. He couldn't hurt me.
1096
01:07:51,693 --> 01:07:53,775
There's another right hand.
1097
01:07:53,903 --> 01:07:56,486
What bothered me is
the commentators didn't even see that.
1098
01:07:56,614 --> 01:08:00,983
They were so full of their predictions
of what was gonna happen,
1099
01:08:01,119 --> 01:08:02,701
they didn't even look at the fight.
1100
01:08:02,829 --> 01:08:04,695
George just couldn't get off.
1101
01:08:04,831 --> 01:08:07,869
He's gonna have to punch and try
to club him and keep feeding him.
1102
01:08:08,001 --> 01:08:10,083
But I don't think that's gonna happen.
1103
01:08:11,087 --> 01:08:14,375
George refuses to sit down
between rounds, Gil, and stands up.
1104
01:08:14,507 --> 01:08:17,124
Does that make it harder
for the cut man to do his work?
1105
01:08:17,260 --> 01:08:21,379
You know, I was so big if I sat down,
I wouldn't be able to get up.
1106
01:08:21,514 --> 01:08:24,131
That's why I didn't sit.
1107
01:08:24,350 --> 01:08:27,183
They threw
equal punches in round number one,
1108
01:08:27,312 --> 01:08:29,019
but according to punch stat numbers,
1109
01:08:29,147 --> 01:08:32,560
Moorer landed at twice as high a rate.
1110
01:08:35,069 --> 01:08:37,777
Sharp right by Moorer
who seems to be gaining confidence.
1111
01:08:39,282 --> 01:08:41,023
Good right hand by Moorer.
1112
01:08:43,119 --> 01:08:46,077
Moorer misses with the right,
but lands the left.
1113
01:08:46,205 --> 01:08:49,243
Going into the fight
I gave George a good shot,
1114
01:08:49,375 --> 01:08:53,414
but as the, as the fight went on,
round after round,
1115
01:08:53,546 --> 01:08:54,877
you start losing hope.
1116
01:08:55,006 --> 01:08:58,419
You just say,
"Maybe it just isn't meant to be."
1117
01:09:01,721 --> 01:09:05,305
George's left eye
is starting to swell already.
1118
01:09:07,644 --> 01:09:10,386
Solid left hand over the top by Moorer!
1119
01:09:10,521 --> 01:09:13,013
Backing Foreman up again.
1120
01:09:14,525 --> 01:09:17,734
The heavy blows in that round
were landed by the champion.
1121
01:09:22,367 --> 01:09:24,278
Harold Lederman,
how do you see it so far?
1122
01:09:24,410 --> 01:09:27,948
LEDERMAN". Jim, four rounds to nothing,
40 to 36, Michael Moorer.
1123
01:09:28,081 --> 01:09:29,788
Boxing judges are definitely...
1124
01:09:29,916 --> 01:09:31,827
It wasn't even a close fight
1125
01:09:31,959 --> 01:09:34,872
and Moorer was winning every round.
1126
01:09:35,004 --> 01:09:37,496
I'll be... Even myself I gave up hope.
1127
01:09:39,133 --> 01:09:42,251
In round four,
Moorer stepped up his activity level.
1128
01:09:42,428 --> 01:09:44,169
He threw 65 punches in that round.
1129
01:09:45,932 --> 01:09:49,391
Michael Mccrer, it's locking as though
his respect for Foreman decreases
1130
01:09:49,519 --> 01:09:50,600
from round to round.
1131
01:09:50,728 --> 01:09:52,639
I have a sense here, Gil,
1132
01:09:52,772 --> 01:09:56,060
that Moorer feels
as though he has felt Foreman's power
1133
01:09:56,192 --> 01:09:57,682
and it's not gonna hurt him.
1134
01:09:57,819 --> 01:10:00,151
And I remember my wife
sitting next to me
1135
01:10:00,279 --> 01:10:05,319
and she said, "Don't get yourself down.
It's hopeless."
1136
01:10:06,869 --> 01:10:08,780
Seven rounds in the books.
1137
01:10:08,913 --> 01:10:10,779
Harold Lederman,
how do you see it so far?
1138
01:10:10,915 --> 01:10:14,533
Jim, six rounds to one, 69-64,
1139
01:10:14,669 --> 01:10:16,910
commanding five-point lead
for Michael Moorer.
1140
01:10:17,046 --> 01:10:19,504
So, he win the round.
1141
01:10:19,632 --> 01:10:23,626
That's not my aim to win the round.
1142
01:10:23,761 --> 01:10:26,253
Now I'm looking
for a knockout, though, that's for sure.
1143
01:10:29,475 --> 01:10:32,433
Solid right hand by Moorer.
1144
01:10:32,562 --> 01:10:35,179
Foreman's left eye beginning to close.
1145
01:10:36,107 --> 01:10:40,271
Much quicker getting his punches away
than George. That's no big surprise.
1146
01:10:40,403 --> 01:10:43,191
He catches me asleep.
He got me with two of them.
1147
01:10:44,157 --> 01:10:47,195
And I can say that didn't hurt,
but I'd be lying.
1148
01:10:49,120 --> 01:10:51,202
I'd be telling a lie.
1149
01:10:53,374 --> 01:10:55,365
There are the right hands.
1150
01:10:55,501 --> 01:10:57,617
Moorer landing two
in rapid-fire succession.
1151
01:10:59,088 --> 01:11:01,079
Left hand over the top
lands for Moorer.
1152
01:11:01,215 --> 01:11:03,206
Foreman takes another step backward.
1153
01:11:03,342 --> 01:11:07,961
I'm surprised Moorer
is just out there fencing with George.
1154
01:11:08,097 --> 01:11:10,759
I think he thinks
he's gonna knock him out.
1155
01:11:10,892 --> 01:11:14,101
I thought that he would fight
cautiously and work for a decision.
1156
01:11:14,228 --> 01:11:15,389
But he now looks to me
1157
01:11:15,521 --> 01:11:18,354
as though he thinks
he's gonna be able to knock Foreman out
1158
01:11:18,483 --> 01:11:21,851
and he thinks he'll do it by standing
in front of him and trading shots.
1159
01:11:22,737 --> 01:11:26,275
I-l felt that Moorer disrespect him
1160
01:11:26,407 --> 01:11:32,244
because he wanted to knock him out,
more so than just beat him, you know?
1161
01:11:32,371 --> 01:11:35,329
You know, I wanted to knock George out,
1162
01:11:35,458 --> 01:11:38,701
but I hit him
with 17 punches unanswered
1163
01:11:38,836 --> 01:11:40,577
and, and he still stayed up.
1164
01:11:43,090 --> 01:11:46,708
Upper cut by Moorer,
blasted Foreman's chin backward.
1165
01:11:48,387 --> 01:11:52,096
But you notice,
he hit me and didn't run away
1166
01:11:52,225 --> 01:11:56,344
and I'm really thinking,
this is delicious.
1167
01:11:56,479 --> 01:11:57,935
I don't like being hit now,
1168
01:11:58,064 --> 01:12:01,898
but the idea that someone
is hitting me and standing right there?
1169
01:12:02,026 --> 01:12:03,937
You're supposed to run.
1170
01:12:05,363 --> 01:12:06,694
I barely missed him then.
1171
01:12:06,823 --> 01:12:09,190
You can see, in another round
I'll get a little closer.
1172
01:12:11,536 --> 01:12:13,948
And George makes it out of the round
1173
01:12:14,080 --> 01:12:17,289
that bedeviled him in Zaire
20 years ago.
1174
01:12:21,295 --> 01:12:24,287
That's the moment I was really tired,
about the ninth round,
1175
01:12:24,423 --> 01:12:26,790
when I hear that ten-second,
ding, ding,
1176
01:12:26,926 --> 01:12:28,963
I was like,
"I can't wait to get to my corner."
1177
01:12:29,136 --> 01:12:33,095
And in the corner,
Angelo Dundee upset me.
1178
01:12:33,224 --> 01:12:36,387
He came back and started talking about,
1179
01:12:36,519 --> 01:12:38,977
"I hate to say it,
but you're falling behind on points,"
1180
01:12:39,105 --> 01:12:42,097
and I got so upset.
1181
01:12:42,233 --> 01:12:45,521
Like I said, I'm not trying
to win a fight on points.
1182
01:12:45,653 --> 01:12:49,021
In round nine,
George Foreman threw only 35 punches.
1183
01:12:49,156 --> 01:12:51,818
His activity level dropping now.
1184
01:12:53,411 --> 01:12:55,573
Earlier in the fight,
he was routinely throwing
1185
01:12:55,705 --> 01:12:57,616
between 50 and 60 punches
in each round.
1186
01:13:01,168 --> 01:13:03,535
Right hand landed there and another.
1187
01:13:05,172 --> 01:13:07,459
A right and a left
and suddenly Moorer stops bunting
1188
01:13:07,592 --> 01:13:09,174
and it's Foreman's initiative.
1189
01:13:10,261 --> 01:13:13,379
There's that
competitive spirit of George's again.
1190
01:13:13,514 --> 01:13:16,597
He feels he's nailed Moorer with
a good punch and he's a good finisher.
1191
01:13:16,726 --> 01:13:19,013
He knows how to do it,
but he's in with a tough guy.
1192
01:13:19,145 --> 01:13:22,558
The punch is the only thing
that followed me all my life.
1193
01:13:23,941 --> 01:13:28,060
Went into the ring the first time
and I hit a guy and he went down
1194
01:13:28,195 --> 01:13:30,983
and I said, "What happened?
I thought we were supposed to box."
1195
01:13:31,949 --> 01:13:34,566
Give him all the credit
in the world,
1196
01:13:34,702 --> 01:13:38,411
but, again, he's a 45-year-old man
in a young man's game.
1197
01:13:38,539 --> 01:13:40,576
In the first nine rounds of fight,
1198
01:13:40,708 --> 01:13:45,327
he, he doesn't throw
a single meaningful left hook.
1199
01:13:45,463 --> 01:13:46,919
If you watch that last round,
1200
01:13:47,048 --> 01:13:49,380
in the first 30 or 40 seconds
of that last round,
1201
01:13:49,508 --> 01:13:52,250
he throws two big sweeping left hooks.
1202
01:13:53,596 --> 01:13:56,088
Foreman wading in
to set up a left hook.
1203
01:13:56,223 --> 01:13:57,964
And another left hook!
1204
01:13:58,100 --> 01:14:00,467
And another left hook shot that missed.
1205
01:14:00,603 --> 01:14:05,814
And that was for the purpose of stopping
Michael from moving in this direction
1206
01:14:05,942 --> 01:14:10,231
and making him be stationary,
so that George could knock him out.
1207
01:14:11,447 --> 01:14:13,654
Right hand landing for Foreman.
1208
01:14:13,783 --> 01:14:16,150
He's had a pretty good round here
in number ten.
1209
01:14:18,746 --> 01:14:21,283
That's the best right hand
in the fight.
1210
01:14:21,415 --> 01:14:23,952
Down goes Moorer on a right hand!
1211
01:14:24,085 --> 01:14:26,952
An unbelievably close
and right-hand shot.
1212
01:14:32,551 --> 01:14:37,842
After those months of talking to George
and George, you know, predicting for me,
1213
01:14:37,974 --> 01:14:39,464
what was going to happen,
1214
01:14:39,600 --> 01:14:41,591
suddenly I'm looking at Moorer
on the canvas.
1215
01:14:41,727 --> 01:14:45,561
The first thought in my mind is, "Why
didn't I formulate a line for this?"
1216
01:14:45,690 --> 01:14:49,399
Five, six, seven, eight...
1217
01:14:49,527 --> 01:14:52,235
You would have thought
that I might be well prepared enough
1218
01:14:52,363 --> 01:14:56,527
to at least have thought
of some reasonable thing to say.
1219
01:14:56,701 --> 01:14:59,318
That George is going to win
the heavyweight championship again
1220
01:14:59,453 --> 01:15:01,364
because Moorer is not gonna get up.
1221
01:15:01,497 --> 01:15:03,579
He's not gonna beat this count.
1222
01:15:03,708 --> 01:15:05,949
And all I could think to myself is,
"You idiot."
1223
01:15:06,085 --> 01:15:09,328
"You didn't prepare
in the way that you should have."
1224
01:15:09,463 --> 01:15:12,376
And the only thing
that came to mind was...
1225
01:15:12,508 --> 01:15:15,341
It happened! It happened!
1226
01:15:20,474 --> 01:15:24,763
I can't believe it!
I can't believe it.
1227
01:15:28,107 --> 01:15:29,973
"It happened, it happened"
1228
01:15:30,109 --> 01:15:32,771
sounds like it's about
"OK, he knocked out Michael Moorer."
1229
01:15:32,903 --> 01:15:36,362
But to me
it was all the stuff he told me.
1230
01:15:36,490 --> 01:15:40,074
Everything he said to me for months
about what was going to happen.
1231
01:15:40,202 --> 01:15:42,318
It happened.
1232
01:15:42,455 --> 01:15:44,196
I will say, to my dying day,
1233
01:15:44,331 --> 01:15:46,663
"Yes, he issued the prophecy."
1234
01:15:46,792 --> 01:15:48,749
"He said it would work that way."
1235
01:15:50,796 --> 01:15:52,628
Look at Bob Arum.
1236
01:15:52,757 --> 01:15:55,340
He grabbed me.
He said, "Praise the Lord!"
1237
01:15:57,386 --> 01:15:59,798
I jumped in the ring
1238
01:15:59,930 --> 01:16:01,671
and went over to him and hugged him
1239
01:16:01,807 --> 01:16:04,890
and that's one
of my favorite pictures.
1240
01:16:05,019 --> 01:16:09,479
As referee Joe Cortez
waved his arms over Moorer,
1241
01:16:09,607 --> 01:16:14,147
George Foreman
knelt in prayer in the neutral corner.
1242
01:16:14,278 --> 01:16:17,066
You know, this is a two-to-one fight,
1243
01:16:17,198 --> 01:16:20,566
but in my mind it was
gazillion to one that George Foreman
1244
01:16:20,701 --> 01:16:23,159
could ever win
the heavyweight championship again.
1245
01:16:24,580 --> 01:16:27,538
This is a really remarkable achievement.
1246
01:16:27,666 --> 01:16:29,748
That's the one thing
I said George couldn't do.
1247
01:16:29,877 --> 01:16:31,584
He couldn't get you out with one punch.
1248
01:16:31,712 --> 01:16:34,044
But, boy, he sure fooled me
and Michael Moorer.
1249
01:16:35,132 --> 01:16:37,464
It landed on the point of the chin.
1250
01:16:37,593 --> 01:16:39,800
Right on the button
where it says goodnight.
1251
01:16:41,722 --> 01:16:46,137
You see the blood
welling up behind Moorerk lips
1252
01:16:46,268 --> 01:16:49,101
as he momentarily went to sleep.
1253
01:16:51,982 --> 01:16:55,771
The 68th man in 26 years
1254
01:16:55,903 --> 01:17:00,648
to have fallen before
the professional fury of George Foreman.
1255
01:17:00,783 --> 01:17:03,024
FOREMAN JR". It was unbelievable to me.
1256
01:17:03,160 --> 01:17:07,324
I just remembered him talking to me
when I was in the seventh grade.
1257
01:17:07,456 --> 01:17:11,165
I'm playing college basketball now,
I'm a grown man,
1258
01:17:11,293 --> 01:17:14,957
and in the seventh grade he said I was
gonna be the heavyweight champion.
1259
01:17:16,048 --> 01:17:19,541
So you've got
a 45-year-old heavyweight champion.
1260
01:17:19,677 --> 01:17:22,715
Let's go to Michael Buffer
for the official particulars.
1261
01:17:22,847 --> 01:17:27,387
Here at the MGM Grand,
the impossible dream has happened.
1262
01:17:27,518 --> 01:17:29,054
The winner
1263
01:17:29,186 --> 01:17:34,932
and once again
heavyweight champion of world,
1264
01:17:35,067 --> 01:17:38,401
Big George
1265
01:17:38,529 --> 01:17:41,442
Foreman.
1266
01:18:04,096 --> 01:18:06,633
George, you're a far different fighter
1267
01:18:06,765 --> 01:18:10,133
than you were
when last I saw you 20 years ago.
1268
01:18:10,269 --> 01:18:14,479
Would George Foreman today have stood
a chance against that George Foreman?
1269
01:18:14,607 --> 01:18:16,769
No doubt about it
cos I'm using brain power now.
1270
01:18:16,901 --> 01:18:18,391
You would have stood a chance?
1271
01:18:18,527 --> 01:18:19,983
I would have gotten out of the way
1272
01:18:20,112 --> 01:18:22,695
and then waited and knocked
a young George Foreman out.
1273
01:18:25,534 --> 01:18:28,026
In my opinion,
the second George Foreman
1274
01:18:28,162 --> 01:18:29,744
would have beaten the first one
1275
01:18:29,872 --> 01:18:33,456
cos he was smarter,
he was calmer, he was more patient.
1276
01:18:33,584 --> 01:18:34,949
He didn't get excited.
1277
01:18:37,546 --> 01:18:41,039
He was so much the opposite
of, of the first guy.
1278
01:18:41,175 --> 01:18:43,837
Right hand landed there. And another.
1279
01:18:43,969 --> 01:18:45,801
Smarter. Better.
1280
01:18:45,930 --> 01:18:48,922
More well rounded.
Greater technical craft.
1281
01:18:49,058 --> 01:18:52,301
Number two George beats
number one George, I'm pretty sure.
1282
01:18:54,855 --> 01:18:57,722
If the old George Foreman
had fought Muhammad in Zaire,
1283
01:18:57,858 --> 01:19:00,771
he wouldn't have
been affected by Zaire.
1284
01:19:00,903 --> 01:19:03,770
If he'd have been the guy
that he was when he came back,
1285
01:19:03,906 --> 01:19:06,022
it would have been
maybe a different ball game.
1286
01:19:08,661 --> 01:19:13,576
I love my promotional career
having been associated with him
1287
01:19:13,707 --> 01:19:15,994
and to see what he became,
1288
01:19:16,126 --> 01:19:20,336
both as an athlete,
but more important as a person.
1289
01:19:22,675 --> 01:19:26,384
Well, he became this beloved figure.
1290
01:19:26,512 --> 01:19:29,880
Um, we can change.
1291
01:19:30,015 --> 01:19:35,852
This is a country where people
come to reinvent themselves.
1292
01:19:37,523 --> 01:19:39,184
He, he made a transition.
1293
01:19:40,818 --> 01:19:43,310
And it's one of the things
that a lot of people think,
1294
01:19:43,445 --> 01:19:46,733
being that bad guy, it's easier.
1295
01:19:46,865 --> 01:19:48,731
But my mama always told me,
1296
01:19:48,867 --> 01:19:53,407
"Ah, well, you be that bad guy
and you really not that bad guy,"
1297
01:19:53,539 --> 01:19:56,702
they gonna hold you there a lot longer
than you want to be."
1298
01:19:56,834 --> 01:19:59,872
All right? So my mama... "Never pretend
to be something that you not."
1299
01:20:02,673 --> 01:20:06,541
FOREMAN". I was victorious that night
and celebrated the best I could,
1300
01:20:06,677 --> 01:20:09,009
but I thought about Michael Moorer
1301
01:20:09,138 --> 01:20:12,972
and the night I lost the championship
by surprise to Muhammad Ali.
1302
01:20:14,101 --> 01:20:15,967
And I sat in my dressing room.
1303
01:20:16,103 --> 01:20:18,140
Joe Frazier came to the room
1304
01:20:18,272 --> 01:20:20,934
and sat with me and consoled me.
1305
01:20:23,027 --> 01:20:27,442
Of all the people in the world it was
Joe Frazier to come and comfort me.
1306
01:20:27,573 --> 01:20:31,407
And I hoped Michael Moorer was able to
find that person in his room that night.
1307
01:20:33,078 --> 01:20:36,070
You know, to me, George Foreman
1308
01:20:36,206 --> 01:20:39,665
is the last great American heavyweight.
There hasn't been a better one since
1309
01:20:39,793 --> 01:20:43,081
and there were
very few better ones before him.
1310
01:20:45,090 --> 01:20:48,879
I think it's one of the greatest
individual accomplishments in sports
1311
01:20:49,011 --> 01:20:51,799
and I'm not certain
to what you would compare it.
1312
01:20:51,930 --> 01:20:54,297
This man won what we used to call
1313
01:20:54,433 --> 01:20:58,097
the biggest individual prize
in global sport.
1314
01:20:58,228 --> 01:21:00,720
Twice, 21 years apart,
1315
01:21:00,856 --> 01:21:02,642
as two different fighters
1316
01:21:02,775 --> 01:21:06,894
and even more to the point,
as two different human beings.
1317
01:21:07,029 --> 01:21:10,067
You know that after beating Moorer
that you'd finally exorcised
1318
01:21:10,199 --> 01:21:13,157
the bitter memory of your loss
to Muhammad Ali.
1319
01:21:13,285 --> 01:21:15,697
You've heard from Muhammad
since your victory, right?
1320
01:21:15,829 --> 01:21:17,319
He sent me a telegram and signed it.
1321
01:21:18,665 --> 01:21:22,579
You know, congratulations. You showed
that you had the courage and the guts.
1322
01:21:23,796 --> 01:21:25,378
When that man tell you you got guts,
1323
01:21:25,506 --> 01:21:27,873
you feel like,
"Hey, I've gotten there now."
1324
01:21:42,439 --> 01:21:45,101
George, nothing has symbolized you
1325
01:21:45,234 --> 01:21:47,692
as much as your farewell to boxing.
1326
01:21:47,820 --> 01:21:48,981
Thank you very much.
1327
01:21:49,113 --> 01:21:52,196
I wouldn't want it to do it
with anyone better than Larry Merchant.
1328
01:21:52,324 --> 01:21:54,190
God bless you.
1329
01:21:54,326 --> 01:21:58,991
And remember the George Foreman
Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine.
1330
01:21:59,123 --> 01:22:01,740
No home should be without this thing.
God bless you. Go get one.118065
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