Welcome back to Boxing after dark! In today's video we take a look at George Foreman's last ever bout against the young and hungry Shannon Briggs in the year of 1997
Most already know.But Foreman didn't have many skills in the ring other than the crossed elbows guard.He lacked head movement or any fancy foot work.He achieved a phenomenal boxing record by sheer brute clubbing power,and a heavy chin.That in itself is an amazing feat in pro HW boxing.
It was amazing how he came back after retiring at the age of 28 is crazyness and 10 year's later he came back into the ring showed real determination despite his age and never gave up till he finally won the heavyweight championship again amazing story
Judges ruin fights when they have an agenda going into it. Fairly obvious to me that Briggs knew he lost, George knew he won. There’s no way Briggs won 5 more rounds than George, anybody who watched the fight knows it. For being 48 years old and taking it to the young guns, Foreman is a living legend. #2 Heavyweight, ever.
@@jonb2756he didn't get his ass kicked, he just fought a different fight that gave him the decision. Had he tried to trade with George throughout he would have been gassed as usual and ko’d. I also say that as a HUGE Tommy Morrison fan
I know, and they always say if you want to take the belt off the champ, you need to show that you did it decisively. Did any of those judges watch Foreman doing most of the punching in the fight, following that ball of muscle around and bloodying his nose right up until the final bell, and truly think Briggs had taken the belt from the champ? I find that hard to believe. Maybe they just thought the young gun was a more plausible champion than the age defying Foreman, felt that it was ridiculous that Foreman was able to out score Briggs and didn't want it to be so.
If he was going to retire there would be a motivation to give it to Briggs if the fight was competitive. After this Briggs unified with Lewis which won won. If you let the lineage retire with Foreman you end that unification bout and you get the choatic 2000s situation a few years early.
ZERO doubt. One of really sweetest men too if lucky enough to have a brief word too, a super gracious man. And right too, back when he was 42 n I watching on tv at 17, 40 is by far NOT a death sentence. Beginning actually.
Even though George was slow,he was still hitting Briggs with a lot of punches. George is the perfect example of a real champion and a real honourable man. LEGEND much respect
I remember Holyfield saying when he walked back to his corner and asked if he still had his teeth cause he said he couldn't feel his face after being hit by George Foreman. Foreman is a legend he beat two of the best fighters that Ali couldn't beat
George adalah goat heavyweight,Ali hanya pandai marketing , di usia 35 keatas Ali sudah habis tanpa sisa , George dapat menjadi juara dunia tertua dengan rekor yang luar biasa
I feel George won the fight but at this point in his career someone in charge decided that they were going to rob Foreman anytime he went the distance. His only chance to get a fair decision was via knockout.
They used to do that a lot to push old fighters into retirement before they get hurt.. Just like Ali vs Berbick, as long as they get the win they’ll think that they still have it.. Holyfield is one that refused to quit and took unnecessary punishment..
*"Just shows how fixed the fight game is."* No truer statement was ever spoken in all of sports-that's why I never spent $1 on any PPV fight, and never will. I grew up watching the best fights in boxing history on "The Wide World of Sports" e.g., Frazier, Foreman, Ali, Duran, Sugar Ray, Hearns, Hagler, Benítez, etc until Don King's corruption entered the ring-that's when things went from bad to worse.
George was the most brutal, fearless, and powerful boxer I've ever seen. I was listening to him tell a story of him playing with his "pet Lion" in his yard. The Lion all of a sudden attacked his bother and was going to kill him. George automatically attacked the Lion, and took a big swing but just missed the lion's head. He said, that the Lion knew he meant business, and a fight ensued between George and the Lion. He said he "dispatched" the Lion, but did not say how, so I don't know if he used a gun, or a knife or what, but "very few" guys would have the guts to attack a full grown lion that weighs 500 lbs. George was fearless, and nothing intimidated him, and he never has a bodyguard,like many other fighters. I truly admire this mountain of a man, and also really a gentleman with a good sense of humour. We'll never see another like him.
@@wesleypresley1000 I see your point and maybe they relate these animals to being ruthless warriors. After this thing happened, George said he got rid of his Tiger and other Lion, saying they were wild and far too dangerous. In this incident, it was very close as to who was going to go -- him or the Lion. Luckily for George he won out. Maybe he had a gun or a knife ? -- he didn't say. He also said they should "not" be kept as pets.
It was Karma for Foreman coz even him he was given unjustifiably a win against Alex Stewart when he was clearly outboxed but they robbed Stewart and wrongly gave the victory to Foreman
George Foreman is just class you can not buy. One of the hardest punchers boxing has ever seen. Devastating power in the golden era of the division... His humility after the fight in the ring, is so remarkable. Its not age, its just class, he didn't want to sour the moment for Briggs, when so many people were ready to tear down Brigg's performance, on HBO and in the crowd, George was there to uplift him.... & the performance, at 48, in the most dangerous of divisions, iconic.
This was Foreman's LAST FIGHT! It was his last fight after decades of boxing! How many boxers do you know, perform this well at the age of 48 with one eye on retirement? Almost nobody... Not only did he perform well, it's quite obvious Foreman won this fight to almost anyone who watched it. This fight was fixed. It was fixed by Foreman and the boxing community. Foreman was ready to be done. Boxing was ready for him to be done. He merely wanted one last great performance to show the grand kids how bad ass, even at 48, he still was. Foreman landed harder and more often. How Briggs got the win, leaves a person scratching their head. Foreman's performance though... just.... Amazing!!!
@@beans3158 I think it's two different kinds of punching power. Shavers definitely had more snap and more power out of one single punch. Foreman had thudding power. His average punch was probably the best average punch in boxing history. Every Foreman punch had some kind of impact. Shavers best punch, straight right thrown properly with leverage, was probably the hardest in boxing history.
when you have a "punches landed" score that clearly goes in George's favour, and neither of them got knocked out, how the flippin' heck did the fight go to the other guy. Briggs himself looked like he'd lost. The guy who picked him up might have known of a Briggs rig. The level-headedness of George is admirable.
Briggs was definitely not 'unknown' when he fought Foreman, even though he'd gotten knocked out before. And he lost this fight. They just wanted Foreman out of there.
Exactly. George was making HW boxers look bad. Kinda like Jim Thome coming back at 55 and just blasting the 25-30 year old pitchers. Not "good" for the game😂😂
George is tougher than a two dollar steak ,this was a great night,he may of peaked on this day ,one word ,gladiator ,wow.never under estimate anyone age is a number.😳 I love George's nice demeanor .
George Foreman has always been a humble savage who doesn't make excuses and very different from a clown like Holmes who is full of scapegoats. Mike Tyson and George Foreman my best boxers ever.
Briggs is a gutsy fighter and I’ve seen him in some real battles but in George’s prime he wouldn’t have last the first round and I don’t think he won this fight either.
George,one of the greatest heavyweights,I follow him,Ali,Joe,they were real down to earth fighters, trained hard,and respected each other,not like today young fighters,heavyweight division, win a belt don't train, party,don't even get a good pay day.
I can only imagine George in his prime knocking Briggs through the ropes. From what I could see, Formans left racked up a ton of points. It was clear to me he won that fight, but what was awesome was his reply to losing the decision. He showed concern for Briggs loss of his mother over any other thing. That is a true champion forever in my book. Big George did not seem to throw that huge upper cut that lifted men off their feet in his younger days. The only reason he lost to Jimmy Young was that the network asked him not to take him out early. Normally, forman would knock his opponents out early in his younger days. He would get gassed when someone clinched and held,well, the network needed more beer commercials, so they wanted the fight to last as long as possible. Young was not a threat with any power,he would run and clinch.
I didn't even know they fought. It was hard to stop Big George from coming forward. Like Vernon Maxwell said about Jordan " That mutha..... Just keep coming at you😅 💯
Not exactly "unknown". Briggs had previously been hyped as an up and coming contender and had been featured on HBO, but was exposed and stopped by another prospect in Darroll Wilson. Briggs then went back to fighting handpicked softies after that for another year and a half before they got him a shot against Foreman, where Briggs came away with a decision he didn't deserve.
Clearly seen in my view that George Foreman is still a heavy hitter from his days with Muhammed Ali etc. Sad for Shannon Briggs didn’t go too far to cement his flamboyant in his time.
How he was able to fight like that at that age.... Amazing. How did he fight well 20 years before than that ? Look.. How he fight againt a guy bigger than him... Incredible
Big George is such an enigma. He is literally the opposite kind of fighter in career two as compared to career one. Young George was a wild swinging impatient, mean spirited raw machine of power. Older George is patient, calculated, throws mostly shorter punches, lots of jabs and a kind heart. Man I miss watching Big George. Such a unique great champion.
Correction to the comment at 4:45 “….considering Foreman had only ever been knocked out once, 23 years prior, by the great Mohammed Ali…” True, Big George hit the canvas but he was worn completely out and could barely stay on his feet. Ali knocked him down but even while he was lying there, his head was off the canvas and he was looking around. He wasn’t “knocked out”.
George was a class act in this fight. The way he took defeat just put him right up there in the eyes of the masses. Shannon Briggs was declared the winner of the contest but George left the ring a true champ. Sometimes it's just the man and the moment.
Absolutely Great!!! Ex pro boxer foundered of Boxing VS UFC and best fight predictor of all times!! Rocky the Eastern Assassin Esterline!! These 2 are the only 2 that in Boxing you just can't hurt them they have proved this there hole career!!!!
Foreman was ROBBED for a clear victory this day. Listen to the commentators and see the scorecard. Briggs was on the backfoot the whole night.... How on earth could the judges see Briggs as the winner?
