Looking Back at George Foreman’s Unappreciated Defense!

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By David “The Journeyman” Vaught

I often see debates within boxing forums that compare fighters from different eras. Head to head matchups between men who never fought, known as “fantasy fights”, are very popular too. It can be fun and sometimes very interesting to see knowledgeable boxing fans describe how they believe the fight would have played out. Using stylistic differences, similarities in opponents each man faced, and comparing the quality of that opposition often leads to a wealth of information and little-known facts.

However, something that I’ve noticed in these debates is that George Foreman’s defense, especially in his first reign, is often grossly underrated. This may be because it is somewhat misunderstood, especially by younger fans or fans who are new to the sport. That’s because George still embraced a defensive style which had been all but abandoned before he became a well-known boxer.

He kept aggressive opponents off balance and used their aggression to his advantage. He would put his hands behind their neck and pull them out of position or push their shoulder as they were trying to set up a punch, effectively taking the sting out of that punch. As a fighter lunged forward, Foreman would step to the side and use their momentum against them, much like a Matador avoids the charging bull. The best example of this, of course, being the bouts with Joe Frazier.

He was great at parrying punches and using his long reach to maintain distance. He often kept his arms outstretched to block punches, rather than going into a defensive shell or moving his head. He had excellent foot work; it just wasn’t the type of footwork most fans are used to seeing. He stepped aside and pushed men off balance in order to land the wide hooks and devastating uppercuts that would otherwise have been easy for fighters to avoid. Now, I’m not saying that his style was perfect, but it served

Foreman well in his early career. He then took a ten-year hiatus from boxing and came back with a different strategy, the crossed arm defense, which he adopted with the help of his old friend Archie Moore. So, although George is remembered for his unbelievable punching power, he had an excellent, yet unorthodox defense as well.

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