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On This Day in Boxing History George Foreman Becomes a Folk Hero

Sometimes the loser of an athletic competition performs so far above his level of expectation that he is credited with a moral victory. Twenty-nine years ago today, at the Atlantic City Convention Center on April 19, 1991, 42-year-old George Foreman accomplished the greatest moral victory of all time. His effort against Evander Holyfield, coming 16 years, five months and 20 days after he lost the heavyweight title to Muhammad Ali in Zaire, was more than just a moral victory; it made Big George a folk hero.
Evander Holyfield, 28, was undefeated at 25-0 and fresh off his third-round knockout of Buster Douglas. Foreman had won 24 straight since returning to the sport after a 10-year absence, but aside from Gerry Cooney he hadnât defeated anyone whose name would have resonated with casual fans. In fact, of his 24 victims, only one had been rated in the Top 10, the obscure Brazilian Adilson Rodrigues.
Holyfield wasnât a massive favorite. In Las Vegas, the odds dipped as low as 3/1 before U-turning back up. However, the general feeling was that Foreman was there for the payday and that he would fold his tent after a few rounds, an opinion shared by many in the media. âMuch of the boxing press that has converged on Atlantic City has treated the fight as the latest Wrestlemania sequel,â wrote Bill Varner, a columnist for the White Plains (NY) Journal News.
Even those that figured that Foreman would render an honest effort didnât visualize him lasting until the final bell. It was speculated that if Foreman was hurt, that referee Rudy Battle would be quick-triggered, stopping the fight sooner than if Holyfield were fighting a man in his own age bracket. TVKO, the pay-per-view arm of Time-Warner, conducted a poll on a â900â phone line. The number of respondents that predicted the fight would go longer than nine rounds was too low to measure. (A very belated shout-out to the aforementioned Varner who predicted that Foreman would still be standing at the end of 12 rounds, only to lose a unanimous decision.)
When the smoke cleared, Holyfield was returned the winner by scores of 117-110, 116-111, and 115-112 (Foreman had a point deducted for low blows). However, Big George, who stood up between rounds, as was his custom, demonstrated amazing stamina, rarely took a backward step, and had several good moments. His face was puffy when the final bell sounded, but it was Evander and not he who was holding on as the final seconds ticked away.
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âThe audienceâŠexpected an execution; Foreman gave them a war. It wasnât supposed to be that wayâŠHolyfield was the champion of the WBA, the IBF, and the WBC. Foreman was the champion of the AARP.â — Pat Putnam, Sports Illustrated
âIf somewhere the fat lady sang last night, it was the âHallelujah Chorusâ for the fat man. The Reverend George Foreman didnât recapture the heavyweight championship of the world almost 17 years after he lost it, he recaptured his youthâŠâ — Michael Katz, New York Daily News
âJust maybe Foreman, the most engaging figure in sports, thought he owed it to the fans to put on a good show, to live up to his own hype. Maybe thatâs a naĂŻve thought, but still, what else can you say except, âBravo George. Great show.ââ â John Maher, Austin American-Statesman
 The bout had all the energy and passion a boxing fan could want, said Phil Berger of the New York Times. It brought back boxing, however temporarily, to a water cooler sport, a sport that dominated the Monday morning chit-chat in business offices around the country. In the ensuing days, HBO showed the fight six times on tape-delay.
Big George Foreman wasnât done foiling Father Time. Three-and-a-half years later, on Nov. 5, 1994 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Foreman stripped the IBF world heavyweight championship from Michael Moorer with a one-punch knockout, a punch, said Jim Murray, that historians would rate right up there with Davidâs slingshot.
The folk hero became an even bigger hero.
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Bombs Away in Las Vegas where Inoue and Espinoza Scored Smashing Triumphs

Japanâs Naoya âMonsterâ Inoue banged it out with Mexicoâs Ramon Cardenas, survived an early knockdown and pounded out a stoppage win to retain the undisputed super bantamweight world championship on Sunday.
Japan and Mexico delivered for boxing fans again after American stars failed in back-to-back days.
âBy watching tonightâs fight, everyone is well aware that I like to brawl,â Inoue said.
Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), and Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) and his wicked left hook, showed the world and 8,474 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas that prizefighting is about punching, not running.
After massive exposure for three days of fights that began in New York City, then moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then to Nevada, it was the casino capital of the world that delivered what most boxing fans appreciate- pure unadulterated action fights.
Monster Inoue immediately went to work as soon as the opening bell rang with a consistent attack on Cardenas, who very few people knew anything about.
One thing promised by Cardenasâ trainer Joel Diaz was that his fighter âcan crack.â
Cardenas proved his trainerâs words truthful when he caught Inoue after a short violent exchange with a short left hook and down went the Japanese champion on his back. The crowd was shocked to its toes.
âI was very surprised,â said Inoue about getting dropped. ââIn the first round, I felt I had good distance. It got loose in the second round. From then on, I made sure to not take that punch again.â
Inoue had no trouble getting up, but he did have trouble avoiding some of Cardenas massive blows delivered with evil intentions. Though Inoue did not go down again, a look of total astonishment blanketed his face.
A real fight was happening.
Cardenas, who resembles actor Andy Garcia, was never overly aggressive but kept that left hook of his cocked and ready to launch whenever he saw the moment. There were many moments against the hyper-aggressive Inoue.
Both fighters pack power and both looked to find the right moment. But after Inoue was knocked down by the left hook counter, he discovered a way to eliminate that weapon from Cardenas. Still, the Texas-based fighter had a strong right too.
In the sixth round Inoue opened up with one of his lightning combinations responsible for 10 consecutive knockout wins. Cardenas backed against the ropes and Inoue blasted away with blow after blow. Then suddenly, Cardenas turned Inoue around and had him on the ropes as the Mexican fighter unloaded nasty combinations to the body and head. Fans roared their approval.
âI dreamed about fighting in front of thousands of people in Las Vegas,â said Cardenas. âSo, I came to give everything.â
Inoue looked a little surprised and had a slight Mona Lisa grin across his face. In the seventh round, the Japanese four-division world champion seemed ready to attack again full force and launched into the round guns blazing. Cardenas tried to catch Inoue again with counter left hooks but Inoueâs combos rained like deadly hail. Four consecutive rights by Inoue blasted Cardenas almost through the ropes. The referee Tom Taylor ruled it a knockdown. Cardenas beat the count and survived the round.
In the eighth round Inoue looked eager to attack and at the bell launched across the ring and unloaded more blows on Cardenas. A barrage of 14 unanswered blows forced the referee to stop the fight at 45 seconds of round eight for a technical knockout win.
âI knew he was tough,â said Inoue. âBoxing is not that easy.â
Espinoza Wins
WBO featherweight titlist Rafael Espinosa (27-0, 23 KOs) uppercut his way to a knockout win over Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOs) in the seventh round.
âI wanted to fight a game fighter to show what I am capable,â said Espinoza.
Espinosa used the leverage of his six-foot, one-inch height to slice uppercuts under the guard of Vazquez. And when the tall Mexican from Guadalajara targeted the body, it was then that the Texas fighter began to wilt. But he never surrendered.
Though he connected against Espinoza in every round, he was not able to slow down the taller fighter and that allowed the Mexican fighter to unleash a 10-punch barrage including four consecutive uppercuts. The referee stopped the fight at 1:47 of the seventh round.
It was Espinozaâs third title defense.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Undercard Results and Recaps from the Inoue-Cardenas Show in Las Vegas

The curtain was drawn on a busy boxing weekend tonight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas where the featured attraction was Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue appearing in his twenty-fifth world title fight.
The top two fights (Inoue vs. Roman Cardenas for the unified 122-pound crown and Rafael Espinoza vs. Edward Vazquez for the WBO world featherweight diadem) aired on the main ESPN platform with the preliminaries streaming on ESPN+.
The finale of the preliminaries was a 10-rounder between welterweights Rohan Polanco and Fabian Maidana. A 2020/21 Olympian for the Dominican Republic, Polanco was a solid favorite and showed why by pitching a shutout, punctuating his triumph by knocking Maidana to his knees late in the final round with a hard punch to the pit of the stomach.
Polanco improved to 16-0 (10). Argentinaâs Maidana, the younger brother of former world title-holder Marcos Maidana, fell to 24-4 while maintaining his distinction of never being stopped.
Emiliano Vargas, a rising force in the 140-pound division with the potential to become a crossover star, advanced to 14-0 (12 KOs) with a second-round stoppage Juan Leon. Vargas, who turned 21 last month, is the son of former U.S. Olympian Fernando Vargas who had big money fights with the likes of Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya. Emiliano knocked Leon down hard twice in round two â both the result of right-left combinations — before Robert Hoyle waived it off.
A 28-year-old Spaniard, Leon was 11-2-1 heading in.
In his U.S. debut, 29-year-old Japanese southpaw Mikito Nakano (13-0, 12 KOs) turned in an Inoue-like performance with a fourth-round stoppage of Puerto Ricoâs Pedro Medina. Nakano, a featherweight, had Medina on the canvas five times before referee Harvey Dock waived it off at the 1:58 mark of round four. The shell-shocked Medina (16-2) came into the contest riding a 15-fight winning streak.
Lynwood, California junior middleweight Art Barrera Jr, a 19-year-old protĂ©gĂ© of Robert Garcia, scored a sixth-round stoppage of Chicagoâs Juan Carlos Guerra. There were no knockdowns, but the bout had turned sharply in Barreraâs favor when referee Thomas Taylor intervened. The official time was 1:15 of round six.
Barrera improved to 9-0 (7 KOs). The spunky but outclassed Guerra, who upset Nico Ali Walsh in his previous outing, declined to 6-2-1.
In the lid-lifter, a 10-round featherweight affair, Muskegon Michiganâs Raâeese Aleem improved to 22-1 (12) with a unanimous decision over LAâs hard-trying Rudy Garcia (13-2-1). The judges had it 99-01, 98-92, and 97-93.
Aleem, 34, was making his second start since June of 2023 when he lost a split decision in Australia to Sam Goodman with a date with Naoya Inoue hanging in the balance.
Check back shortly for David Avilaâs recaps of the two world title fights.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Canelo Alvarez Upends Dancing Machine William Scull in Saudi Arabia

Saul âCaneloâ Alvarez, who has acquired a new nickname â âThe Face of Boxingâ â is accustomed to fighting on Cinco De Mayo weekend, but this year was different. For the first time, Canelo was fighting outside the continent of North America and entering the ring at an awkward hour. His match with William Scull started at 6:30 on a Sunday morning in Riyadh.
In the opposite corner was 32-year-old William Scull, an undefeated (23-0) Cuban by way of Germany, whose performance was better suited to âDancing With the Starsâ than to a world title fight. Constantly bouncing from side to side but rarely letting his hands go, Scull frustrated Canelo who found it near-impossible to corner him, but one canât win a fight solely on defense and the Mexican superstar was returned the rightful winner in a bout that was a fitting cap to a desultory two days of Saudi-promoted prizefighting. The scores were 115-113, 116-112, and 119-109. In winning, Canelo became a fully unified super middleweight champion twice over.
Terence Crawford was in attendance and HE Turki Alalshikh made it official: Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) and Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) will meet in the Fight of the Century (Alalshikhâs words) on Sept. 12 in Las Vegas at the home of the cityâs NFL team, the Raiders. For whatever itâs worth, each of Caneloâs last seven fights has gone the full 12 rounds.
Semi-wind-up
In a match between the WBC world cruiserweight title-holder and the WBC world cruiserweight âchampion in recessâ (donât ask), the former, Badou Jack, brought some clarity to the diadem by winning a narrow decision over Noel Mikaelian. One of the judges had it a draw (114-114), but the others gave the fight to âJack the Ripperâ by 115-113 scores.
A devout Muslim who is now a full-time resident of Saudi Arabia, the Sweden-born Jack, a three-division title-holder, had the crowd in his corner. Now 41 years old, he advanced his record to 29-3-3 (17). It was the first pro loss for Mikaelian (27-1), a Florida-based Armenian who was subbing for Ryan Rozicki.
The distracted CompuBox operator credited Mikaelian with throwing 300 more punches but there was no controversy.
Tijuanaâs Jaime Munguia, a former junior middleweight title-holder, avenged his shocking loss to Bruno Sarace with a unanimous 12-round decision in their rematch. This was Munguiaâs first fight with Eddy Reynoso in his corner. The scores were 117-111 and 116-112 twice.
Suraceâs one-punch knockout of Munguia in mid-December in Tijuana was the runaway pick for the 2024 Upset of the Year. Heading in, Munguia was 44-1 with his lone defeat coming at the hands of Canelo Alvarez. Munguia had won every round against Surace before the roof fell in on him.
Surace won a few rounds tonight, but Munguia was the busier fighter and landed the cleaner shots. It was the first pro loss for Surace (26-1-2) and ended his 23-fight winning streak. The Frenchman hails for Marseilles.
Heavyweights
In a 10-round heavyweight match fought at a glacial pace, Martin Bakole (21-2-1) and Efe Ajagba (20-1-1) fought to a draw. One of the judges favored Ajagba 96-94 but he was outvoted by his cohorts who each had it 95-95.
Bakole, a 7/2 favorite, came in at 299 pounds, 15 more than he carried in his signature win over Jared Anderson, and looked sluggish. He was never able to effectively close off the ring against the elusive Ajagba who fought off his back foot and failed to build on his early lead.
The fight between the Scotch-Congolese campaigner Bakole and his Nigerian-American foe was informally contested for the heavyweight championship of Africa. That âtitleâ remains vacant.
In a 6-rounder, heavy-handed Cuban light heavyweight Brayon Leon, a stablemate of Canelo Alvarez, was extended the distance for the first time while advancing his record to 7-0 at the expense of Mexicoâs Aaron Roche (11-4-1). Leon knocked Roche to the canvas in the fourth round with a right-left combination, but the Mexican stayed the course while eating a lot of hard punches.
Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry Promotions
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