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...

Evander Holyfield  Chasing Tyson After beating Carlos De Leon in April 1988 to become undisputed cruiserweight champion, Evander Holyfield put on twelve pounds and stepped up to the heavyweight division. His first opponent was James 'Quick' Tllis. The bout took place on 16th July 1988 in Las Vegas. Tillis' first loss came in a WBA heavyweight title challenge to Mike Weaver, losing a fifteen round unanimous decision in October 1981. He suffered his second loss to future WBC champion Pinklon Thomas, losing in the eighth round in August 1982. He was stopped in the same round three months later by Greg Page in a USBA heavyweight title match. Four wins got him a shot at the vacant NABF championship against Tim Witherspoon. The bout took place on 23 September 1983. Witherspoon wasted no time in picking up the vacant belt, needing only two-minutes and 16 seconds of the very first round. He won another four fights, but dropped a ten round unanimous decision t...