" Muhammad Ali didn't punish me that much, but he knocked me out ! " George Foreman said in his interview after regaining the World Heavyweight Title from Michael Moorer at the age of 45. Watching again for the nth time how he became the oldest man ever to win the heavyweight title bring back memories of how things did not work out for him against an ageing Muhammad Ali. Without that upset win, heavyweight boxing would have been boring for nobody, not even Mike Tyson, would have beaten himin his prime. Don King would hear none of it, fitting Tyson against Foreman even when the latter suffered loses against Holyfield and another "great white hope Morrison".
One thing missing in Foreman's fight against Muhammad Ali was the fear factor - he thought Ali could not hurt him. From his own admission, he said he kept saying to himself that he just ran out of wind and Ali never hurt him. However, in his interview at the program 700 Club after he won the title from Michael Moorer, he laughingly admitted that it was a right hand that put him down for good. He was just so over confident, having tasted leather from stronger punchers and making mince meat out of Frazier and Norton, that the Ali fight would just be another million dollar pay check for bigger fights.
Muhammad Ali said, on the other hand, that it would be stupid not to fear the like of George Foreman. But he too was confident that he could out smart him in some way, tire him out since Ali knows that Foreman's stamina was yet to be tested in combat. And of course he also knew that for that big win to happen he must be able to handle a lot of pain. He trained harder than any of his previous fights. made other all people believe even his handlers that he would dance all night and go back to his old style - " float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" - but deep inside he knew he no longer have that old spring in his legs. One thing a fighter see that no other people see outside the ring, is the eyes of his opponent. He also feels the changes the way he breath, the lessening sting in the punches, and the sense of frustration when he is unable to mow you down. That's when your hours of training pays off. your instinct will dictate when to strike at the right moment.
" Every fisherman knows the danger that awaits them when they sail the deep sea, yet everyday they go fishing. " said Vincent Van Gohn. Courage they say is not the absence of fear but our ability to overcome it. Training ourselves to handle the pains prepares us to face those fears. Every experienced hunter will tell you - a lion won't attack its target unless it is running away, it waits until fear overcomes its prey.
" He who could not endure the bad will not live long to enjoy the good. "
-- Yiddish Proverb
" Fear can keep us up all night long but faith makes on fine pillow."
-- Philip Gulley
" People sleep well at night only because there are men who are stand up to do
violence on their behalf. " -- George Orwell
" No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it. " -- F.D. Roosevelt
" In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always win,
- not through strength but by perseverance. "
-- H. Jackson
" Force no matter how concealed, begets resistance. " -- Lakota proverb
" If they make a better shield, we make sharper spear. " -- Zulu proverb
" A tree grows strong by holding itself against the wind.
Life is what we do when we are young. If you don't sweat
when you are young, you will beg when you are old. "
-- Ewe proverb
" Competition is a painful thing but it produces great results."
-- Jerry Flint
" I'm a little wounded but I am not slain ;
I will lay me down for to bleed for a while ;
Then I will rise and fight you again. -- John Dryden
" What count is not the size of the dog in a fight -
its the size of the fight in the dog that counts. " -- Dwight Eisenhower
" Its not dying for one country that wins war : its having the the
other poor bastard die for their country that wins war. "
-- Gen, George Patton
" When you see a wall, find a way to go through it,
if you cannot find a way to go around it. " -- Michael jordan
" You can build a throne out of bayonets,
but you can't sit on it. -- Gerald Hachman
" It is not power that corrupt but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts
those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts
those who are subject to it. "
-- Aung San Suu Kyi
" Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand,
the spines of others are stiffened. "
-- Billy Graham
" Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed."
-- E. L.
" Fear is your best friend. It teaches you how to fight,
and it teaches you how to win. " -- Rocky Balboa
No comments:
Post a Comment