Foreman Has to Have Decision, Morrison Wins Clean and Fast

George Foreman defeated Crawford Grimsley on Sunday, winning a unanimous decision in their 12-round heavyweight fight.

At stake was the IBU title, not considered one of the major boxing championships.

Neither fighter was able to land any decisive punches. Only in the final round did the they manage to exchange a sudden flurry of blows.

Foreman landed several punches which at one point moved Grimsley toward the ropes. Both were bleeding at the end of the bout.

“He was a good fighter,” Foreman said immediately after the fight. “He had a lot of heart. These young fighters, they seem to run from me.”

For much of the fight, Foreman kept Grimsley away with left jabs, appearing to be waiting for a chance to deliver one heavy punch that never came.

Foreman (75-4) looked somewhat flabby around the waist and was slow and heavy on his feet. But otherwise he showed few signs of his 47 years, remaining standing in his corner between rounds.

Foreman panted slightly in his corner after the eighth round, but by that time Grimsley was looking even more tired. Throughout the round Grimsley retreated from Foreman’s advances, at times walking around the ring away from his opponent. Foreman followed, taking short steps.

Foreman had problems with his hand wraps unraveling in the final two rounds and in an earlier round, slowing down the fight. The referee had to call time, which slowed down action further.

The two boxers fought amid rows of empty seats for a match which received minimal publicity in Japan. Grimsley (20-1) was little known by anyone in the boxing world.

But the crowd was clearly cheering for Foreman in his first fight in 18 months, often gasping when he landed solid blows to Grimsley’s head and body. It was also his first appearance in Japan since 1973.

Foreman, who weighed in at 253 pounds, had been stripped of the World Boxing Assn. and International Boxing Federation titles because he failed to fight certain opponents. He has said the Tokyo fight is the first of his last three fights.

Foreman, a two-time heavyweight champion, had said he was tackling two fights--one in the ring and the other for the integrity of boxing.

He was good-natured and generous after the fight, putting on Grimsley’s sunglasses.

“I’m a gentlemen,” Foreman said. “He decided to go the 12 rounds. I’m not going to hit him from behind his back. As a preacher I can’t chase around someone and hit them in the back.

“Tonight I’m gonna have 16 cheeseburgers and some sushi for dessert.”