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| Date | April 26, 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBU and lineal heavyweight titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreman wins via SD (118–110, 115–112, 113–114) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
George Foreman vs. Lou Savarese , billed as Power Brokers was a professional boxing match contested on April 26, 1997, for the WBU and lineal heavyweight titles. [1]
After successfully defending both his lineal world heavyweight title and the lightly regarded WBU heavyweight title in an uninspired win against little-known Crawford Grimsley in November 1996, it was announced in March 1997 that George Foreman would return to the ring face undefeated fringe contender Lou Savarese. [2] The 31-year old Savarese was a perfect 36–0 and was coming off the biggest win of his career, having knocked out Buster Mathis Jr. in the seventh round the previous November, and came into the fight as a 7–5 favorite over the now 48-year old Foreman. [3] [4] Foreman once again reunited with legendary trainer Angelo Dundee, whom had been his corner since he had challenged Evander Holyfield for the undisputed heavyweight title in 1991. Said Dundee about Foreman before the fight "He's in the best shape I've ever seen him since his comeback." [5]
In what was a close fight, Forman earned a split decision victory, with two judge's scoring the fight 118–110 and 115–112 in his favor, while the third scored the fight for Savarese 114–113. Foreman started the fight as the aggressor and opened up a four-inch gash above Savarese's left eyelid that hindered Savarese the rest of the fight. Savarese, forced to fight Foreman on the inside due to his eye injury, gave an impressive performance, throwing and landing many punches throughout the fight, though Foreman was able to withstand them. In the eleventh round, Foreman, wanting to win by knockout, swung wildly at Savarese, though Savarese would withstand Foreman' blows. Also in the eleventh, Savarese was deducted a point for an inadvertent low blow during the final minute, though the deduction had no bearing on the final scorecards. [6]
Following his win over Savarese, Foreman was given the opportunity to face Lennox Lewis for Lewis' WBC heavyweight title, with Foreman first having to win an "eliminator" bout against a contender. The WBC supplied Foreman with a list of acceptable opponents, including future heavyweight champions Chris Byrd and Hasim Rahman and the recently returned former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion James "Buster" Douglas, though Foreman ultimately picked Shannon Briggs.
Confirmed bouts: [7]
| Weight Class | Weight | vs. | Method | Round | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | 200+ lbs. | George Foreman (c) | def | Lou Savarese | SD | 12/12 | Note 1 |
| Heavyweight | 200+ lbs. | Maurice Harris | def. | Sam Hampton | TKO | 4/10 | |
| Heavyweight | 200+ lbs. | Willie Williams | def. | Earl Clark | UD | 6/6 | |
| Welterweight | 147 lbs. | Fernando Vargas | def. | Claude Staten | TKO | 2/4 | |
| Heavyweight | 200+ lbs. | Derrick Jefferson | def. | Ralph West | KO | 1/4 | |
| Heavyweight | 200+ lbs. | Josué Blocus | def. | Russell Pugh | KO | 1/4 |
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United States | HBO |