Foreman Wins Fifth Fight of His Comeback by a TKO in Third Round

George Foreman, showing flashes of his old punching power, battered a game Rocky Sekorski into submission in the third round Friday night for his fifth straight knockout during a comeback that started at age 39.

Foreman, who held the heavyweight championship from January 1973 to October 1974, methodically pounded Sekorski with jabs and savage right hands before referee Richard Steele stopped the bout at 2:48 of the third round.

“I want to fight for the championship of the world,” Foreman said after the fight. “I want Mike Tyson.”

Foreman, showing only a little flab over his trunks at 244 pounds, patiently stalked the overmatched Sekorski, landing easily with jabs that snapped Sekorski’s head back and following them with right hands.

Sekorski, of St. Paul, Minn., managed to land a few right hands of his own in the second round, but by the third, he was nearly defenseless as Foreman landed about 30 consecutive punches to the head before the fight was stopped.

“I’ve fought champions in all parts of the world, and Foreman hits harder than any of them,” said Sekorski, 209, whose record fell to 20-8.

Foreman, 50-2 with 47 knockouts, easily had his best outing since beginning a comeback in March after a decade of inactivity in the ring. During those 10 years, his weight ballooned to more than 300 pounds.

For the first time in his comeback, Foreman also faced a fighter who tried to give him a fight, with the 26-year-old Sekorski refusing to fall even as Foreman battered him relentlessly.

“Joe Frazier didn’t give me as tough a fight as that,” Foreman said, referring to his second-round knockout of Frazier to win the heavyweight title nearly 15 years ago. “He hit me with a good right hand. I didn’t want a fight that tough.”

Foreman looked relaxed and comfortable in the ring before a sellout crowd of 2,500 at Bally’s Hotel and Casino and an ESPN audience.

Following the first two rounds, the 6-foot 3-inch former champion stood in his corner, a foot propped on his stool as he talked with his corner men as though he were chatting with friends on a street corner.

“It’s so boring to sit down between rounds because I’m so full of excitement,” Foreman said.

Foreman, who earned $10,000 for the fight, said the television exposure was a big step in his comeback attempt.

Foreman said he would like to fight a half-dozen more times before trying to get a bout with Tyson late next year.

“It’s just a matter of me getting an opportunity,” said Foreman, who lives in Houston. “In reality, I can do it right now, but give me another six fights so I can dress it up for the promoter.”

In a preliminary bout, former World Boxing Assn. featherweight champion Stevie Cruz, 127 1/2, lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Jeff Franklin, 127, of Las Vegas.

Cruz, of Fort Worth, fell to 28-3, while Franklin improved his record to 18-2-2.