Foreman Sends Powerful Message

Father Time has yet to catch up with Grandfather George Foreman. The two-time former heavyweight champion may move like a tank, but he also has retained heavy artillery in both hands. His power shots were the difference as he prolonged a remarkable career by winning a split decision over Lou Savarese on Saturday night at the Convention Center.

Judge Al DeVito gave Savarese (36-1, 30 knockouts) a narrow 114-113 victory, but Foreman (76-4, 68 KOs) was the winner on the cards of Barbara Perez (115-112) and Shafeeq Rashada (118-110).

If Savarese had a chin as delicate as Michael Moorer’s, he would have been a goner. “I don’t understand how he stood up with some of those shots I was giving him,” Foreman said. “I don’t know where he got the strength.”

Because of his age, reputation and sledgehammer right hand, Foreman was able to command a $4.5-million purse; Savarese received $500,000. Since the stunning 10th-round knockout of Moorer in November 1994 that made Foreman the oldest heavyweight champion in history at age 45, Big George has played the role of circus strongman in boxing’s sideshow. But the atmosphere wasn’t exactly electric in the West Hall of the Convention Center, where 7,102 showed up to see whether Foreman could handle an opponent 17 years younger.

The fight opened with Savarese jabbing and working the body with left hooks and Foreman following patiently. Savarese landed a hard right uppercut near the end of the first as trainer Tommy Gallagher shouted, “No respect.” But in the second and third rounds, Foreman’s jab began to take a toll. Savarese tried to fight in the clinches, but his rights were mostly blocked or just grazed the older man’s head. By the third round, Savarese had a cut over his left eye.

Midway through the fourth, Foreman rocked Savarese with a left uppercut followed by a right uppercut. Instinct tells most people to move their head to avoid punches, but Savarese was a stationary target for Foreman’s jab. In the fifth, the fighters exchanged bombs early, Savarese connecting with a lead right and Foreman coming back with a big left hook. But after Foreman landed a couple of one-two combinations, he tired badly and let Savarese dominate the action for the rest of the fifth and the sixth.

It was like two elephants waltzing for most of the seventh until Savarese scored repeatedly with his right in the final minute of the round. Foreman seemed to get a second wind in the eighth and again began jabbing effectively. Savarese came on with a barrage of rights, but Foreman finished a close round with two thudding left hooks to the head.

The ninth was Foreman’s best of the fight as he crashed a left hook and followed with a right to the head. Fighting off the ropes, Foreman snapped Savarese’s head with a left hook then continued to work his jab like a battering ram. The 10th was another close round, but Foreman landed the heaviest shots, his jab being a power punch.

If nothing else, Savarese answered the questions about his chin in the final two rounds as he absorbed several awesome left hooks. Referee Eddie Cotton took a point from Savarese in the 11th for a low blow after two previous warnings about blows to the back of the head. Even at 48, Foreman had plenty left in the 12th for another display of his bone-jarring power.