Foreman, Weighing 267, Stops Zouski

Former heavyweight champion George Foreman, returning to the ring after a 10-year absence, looked fat and slow but still had the power to stop journeyman heavyweight Steve Zouski at 2:47 of the fourth round Monday night.

Foreman, 267--50 pounds more than he weighed when he knocked out Joe Frazier for the title in 1973-- jolted Zouski with a right to the head, followed by a left to the temple and another left to the cheek in the fourth round of the scheduled 10-rounder. Zouski swayed wearily and started backing away as referee Henry Elespura stepped in and stopped the fight.

Foreman, 38, showed little sign of being able to live up to his hope of returning to championship form. He lumbered toward Zouski in the first round, feeling his way around slowly, before throwing his first solid left jab two minutes into the fight.

Zouski, 32, 55 pounds lighter than Foreman, merely pawed with a few ineffectual punches. Meanwhile, Foreman was cheered wildly by the 5,555 fans at Arco Arena.

Foreman, who won the Olympic gold medal as a heavyweight 19 years ago, improved his record to 46-2 with 43 KOs. He hadn’t fought since losing a 12-round decision to Jimmy Young in San Juan, Puerto Rico.