January 2002 - July 2006 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation

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|5/29/02 12:13:49 PM|Joe Krause|Chicago||sadmspats@yahoo.com||||10|The accounts
I have of the 2nd Foreman-Peralta fight make it seem it was very one-sided in
Foreman's favor with Peralta basically running for 10 rounds. I think Jerry
would not have been able to run for that long because he was too willing to go
to war. Jerry countering could give Foreman some problem, but Foreman would
catch him and Jerry might slug. The Foreman against Peralta was a little
green, he was about 75% of his max efficiency I believe. |
|5/29/02 01:25:41 PM|Johnny Q|Phila, PA||johnqw@yahoo.com||||10|I’m
enjoying everyone’s letters. A Foreman-Quarry in the 73-74 period would
have been something of a toss-up. No doubt very exciting. This was the very
best period for Foreman, but unlike Norton, and I believe Frazier, Jerry would
have not been afraid of Foreman, and the fight may have easily ended up in a
Foreman-Lyle scenario. Jerry had the necessary ammo, but it would also have had
to depend on Jerry’s variable state of mind. Focused and determined
Jerry, or insecure and self-defeating Jerry? We do know for sure that Jerry and
George did spar in 1968 and Jerry reportedly had the upper hand. We also have
on record George’s admission that he avoided Jerry during his career.
This isn’t saying he would have lost, but the fact that George did not
avoid Frazier, Ali, Norton, but he did avoid Jerry says something. I do want to
say that I think Foreman is among the all time greats. However, he had one of
the most carefully micro managed careers in history, and it’s too bad.
The vast majority of Foreman’s record was against unrated made-for-kill
opponents with Gladiator-style results. The much smaller Chuvalo, his only pre-
1973 credit, was little more than target practice. All the way up to the first
Frazier fight, Foreman was still very sloppy, and down right clumsy as soon as
he got tired. True, he did fight several of the 70s best, (Frazier, Ali,
Norton, Young, Lyle) but that’s basically it, and he still lost to two of
those fighters (Ali, Young) and was nearly kayoed by Lyle. Even after having
been champion, Foreman continued to fill his record with easy opponents, and
avoided the other top ten fighters of the day. Win or loose, he never fought
Foster, Shavers, Holmes, Quarry, Ellis, Bugner, etc. Foreman was fantastic, but
only briefly, and never fully tested. It’s little wonder that he never got
a rematch with Ali. His greatness may actually have been in his 90s fights. He
pulled off an amazing comeback and finally fought the top ranks as he should
have from the beginning. |
|5/29/02 11:43:21 PM|Kent|La Habra, Ca||oriononide@aol.com||||10|Johnny Q, Jerry
not only sparred with Foreman early in George's career and got the upper hand,
he reportedly fractured Foreman's jaw. I don't believe Foreman really ducked a
lot of fighters when he was champion as he probably would have fought a lot of
the contenders if he had not lost to Ali. Chuvalo fought bravely and he did tag
George a few times and it is amazing that he while he appeared out on his feet
in that third round, when the ref. stopped the fight Chuvalo said to him, "are
you crazy?" Maybe it was Chuvalo who was a little bit "nuts." |
|5/30/02 01:14:08 PM|Johnny Q|Phila, PA||johnqw@yahoo.com||||10|No disrespect of
Chuvalo intended. He fought bravely against Foreman, as he did through his
entire career. My point being Chuvalo was only a test for Foreman, and not a
risk. From 1969-1973, while the other heavyweight contenders were fighting each
other, often more than once in order to get a title shot, Foreman was developed
largely by reputation. Forman was finally matched with Frazier without having
ever taken on any of the leading (top 5) contenders, and only after Frazier had
spent himself defeating everyone else. After his 6 minutes with Frazier,
Foreman then took most of a year off before yet another easy fight against Roman
in September, then finally Norton in March 1974. I agree Kent, that Foreman did
not duck anyone out of fear. But loose to Ali or not, his management played it
very safe for him. 69-73 was a long time for an unbeaten professional not to
fight another title contender. Foreman was a great champion, no doubt, but