17.12.06 – By James Slater: No, not THAT Jimmy Ellis. The title of this article is not referring at all to the 1960’s heavyweight champ from Louisville, the same town The Greatest hailed from. Ellis, as fight fans will remember, was Ali’s chief sparring partner and eventually went on to claim a portion of the heavyweight championship in his own right. Jimmy was a decent enough heavyweight, certainly when one considers the fact that he began his fighting career boxing in a much lower weight class.
No, the fighter who’s name is written next to Big George’s in the above headline was a club fighting heavyweight brawler who was somehow put in against the forty-two year old heavyweight legend back in December of 1991. The fight was one of the easiest Foreman had in his entire comeback. Indeed, some scribes actually wrote that the original Jimmy Ellis, then many long years retired, would have put up a better showing than did his young namesake. The fact that George was paid the staggering amount of five million dollars proved just how much of a phenomenal success the comeback he’d launched after a ten year hiatus had become.
George was boxing for the first time since his admirable performance against world champ Evander Holyfield. Big George had shown everyone how his return to the ring had been one that carried serious intentions with his brave and competitive showing against “The Real Deal” and as a result he was now respected as a genuine heavyweight contender. Then he signed to fight Ellis. Okay, George’s old bones might have been somewhat entitled to a fairly easy return bout after the punishing affair he’d been subject to with Holyfield. But there is easy and then there is Jimmy Ellis. Unbeaten he may have been, but this aside not another positive spin could be put on his modest credentials. He certainly didn’t belong in the same ring with the huge punching legend from Texas. And so it was that the boxing media had a field day with George’s latest choice of handpicked opposition. Who would he pick next? They asked, George Burns? No, he’d be too dangerous, one scribe cracked!
Still, George wasn’t too bothered. The king of the one liners, chances are if a joke was told at his expense he’d probably made it up himself first anyway. Never short of a self deprecating sense of humour, Foreman was now loved by the fans. Hence the possibility of him fighting such a harmless stiff as the hapless Ellis without any fan outrage. And for five million at that! HBO, much to their reluctance, televised, and Big George’s legion of admirers turned out to see the spectacle. A glorified sparring session was all that followed, and that description of the bout may be being kind. George basically did as he pleased for a couple of rounds before prompting the referee, Richard Steele, to dive in and save the badly overmatched Jimmy in the third. Unfortunately, Steele couldn’t even do that too well, as he inexplicably stood there and allowed George to tee off on his thoroughly beaten foe for unnecessary punch after unnecessary punch. Finally, after the brave but way out of his depth club fighter had taken around three or four shots too many, Richard at last saved him from further punishment. It was strange refereeing indeed from Steele who, earlier that year, had jumped in to rescue what he called a badly beaten fighter in Donovan “Razor” Ruddock in his fight with Mike Tyson. Steele had also received bad press for stopping the Chavez-Taylor fight, with a mere two seconds to go, the year before. Both times, Steele said, he’d acted in the name of safety. Why this safety didn’t apply to Jimmy Ellis was something of a mystery.
In any case, George had won again – both in the ring and from a financial standpoint. And his comeback towards reclaiming what was once his personal property, i.e the heavyweight championship of the whole world, would continue. If he was to earn a second crack at it, however, he would have to refrain from fighting any more boxers the calibre of Jimmy Ellis. HBO would, from then on in, demand a much higher quality of opponent.