The Boxing History Blog

 George Foreman George Foreman spent ten years out of boxing, practicing as an ordained minister at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Texas, which he founded and built. He accredited the loss to Muhammad Ali as, “The best thing that ever happened to me” as it led him to “get my message out” through preaching. In a BBC article, he stated that his preaching started small on street corners and with friends, before growing. “We began meeting informally at various homes in Houston, and before long, the crowds became too large for most houses to accommodate “Eventually, we bought a piece of land and an old, dilapidated building on the north-east side of Houston.” He also founded the George Foreman Youth and Community Center , just down the block from his church. It was a large warehouse that was abandoned by a building contractor before completion. Foreman formed a charitable foundation that bought the warehouse, paid for refurbishments, and kitted it out with weights, boxing equipm...

Nigel Benn With three wins under his belt after surrendering his Commonwealth middleweight title to Michael Watson, Nigel Benn stayed in America and challenged Doug 'Cobra' DeWitt, the inaugural WBO middleweight champion. DeWitt proved his durability by taking Thomas Hearns the full twelve rounds in an unsuccessful bid for the North American Boxing Federation middleweight crown in October 1986. DeWitt was born in Youngstown, Ohio on 14th September 1961 and later moved to Yonkers, New York. He started boxing at fifteen and three years later turned professional, outscoring Peter Pennello in March 1980. The Hearns defeat was the seventh blemish on his record of 27-4-3 (17 KO's), with Ben Serrano, Robbie Sims and Milton McCrory all outscoring him. He also lost his next contest, a third-round TKO to Jose Quinones in February 1987 (Benn took care of Quinones in the first round in December 1989). Three wins and a draw later got him a shot at Sumbu Kalambay for the W...