George, It’s Time to Quit !

The sudden decision of Riddick Bowe to retire from the ring wars at the age of 29 set up an opportunity for a vintage deal for boxing. George Foreman could have made it unanimous by also announcing his retirement: a riddance to both of them.

Riddick Bowe was not a serious offender, despite the 40-1-1 record he compiled, mostly against a long line of victims-in-waiting. Bowe, a nice guy, sort of handsome and with a physique bequeathed to him by Atlas, had one shining weakness: He couldn’t fight very well, and therefore was miscast as a boxer despite a brief status as heavyweight champion of the world.

At 48, George Foreman seemingly plans to be the fighter in perpetuity. Twenty-three years after being sucker-punched into that knockout by Muhammad Ali in Zaire, Foreman is still padding around the ring with his 250-270 pounds. He has been fending off attackers with what can be called the Twin Oaks defense, those huge arms crossed over his chest with which he soaks up most punches. Footwise he has all the speed of a romantic snail. Boxing it ain’t.

Foreman hasn’t been on his toes in 10 years, but in that time has probably collected more purse money than Mike Tyson with the help of pay-per-view fans fascinated by the sight of a 48-year-old heavyweight still plying his trade, such as he can. Foreman’s career can be divided into 10-year cycles. His comeback is in its 10th year, and before that he had taken a 10-year retirement from the ring, itself a record.

Outside of the ring, Foreman’s role now is that of an amiable, genial guy who talks sweetly. He thrives on his many TV commercials and can make a hamburger disappear in one bite and a half.

There’s no faulting Foreman’s personal life. He is a family man, an ordained minister and sponsor of facilities for disadvantaged kids. Bully for him. But there has been a sea change in his personality. He wasn’t always a nice guy.

Twenty-four years ago he startled the boxing world by flooring champion Joe Frazier three times in the first round and knocking him out in the second. Foreman could punch and he was fearless. But the new heavyweight champ wasn’t very charming. At the post-fight news conference, when asked about his immediate plans, Foreman stalled: “I’m the boss now. I call all the shots.” End of news conference.

As a champion, Foreman was impressive until he ran into that rope-a-dope strategy that got him KO’d by Ali. After beating Frazier, Foreman knocked out Ken Norton in two rounds, the same Norton who would fight Ali three times and beat him twice, only to be robbed of one decision.

But for Foreman that was then. This is now. Despite all those victories he has been piling up against the tomato cans offered up to him, Foreman for the past 10 years has been an overweight lummox, reduced to his one good weapon, the jab. He throws his right frequently but mostly it’s an air ball. He has survived on his ability to take a punch, a semi-compliment. He doesn’t duck many.

Yet he has an ability to charm the judges. Foreman lost the first eight rounds of a 12-rounder against the willing and eager Lou Savarese and got a split decision he didn’t deserve. One judge gave Foreman only four rounds.

There would be no great sense of loss to boxing were George Foreman to decide that enough is enough already.

It is remembered that Bowe was, indeed, champion for a spell, after beating the consummate boxer, Evander Holyfield. That served to nail down Bowe’s reputation as an in-and-outer. He lost the first rematch with Holyfield, a fellow in-and-outer who lost the title to somebody named Michael Moorer. In the third meeting, Bowe stopped Holyfield in the eighth round.

Boxing is more predictable now that Bowe has called it quits. His zest for the boxing wars was always questionable, though his physical courage never was. He was unacquainted with a straight punch and the uses of the uppercut and he threw more overhand rights than an entire pitching staff, missing the pate. Bowe’s 40-1-1 record speaks more to the quality of his opponents than to his skills as a fighter. He won his last two fights not in any blaze of glory. In both fights he was getting thrashed badly by the Polish axe man, Andrew Golota, when, happily for Riddick, he was fouled in each fight. What possessed Bowe even to accept a second fight with a compulsive low-blow specialist is a question to be directed to his manager, Rock Newman.

Bowe’s chief sponsor, Time Warner’s HBO, created his retirement with understanding. “Riddick Bowe realized that to be successful at this level of boxing there had to be a raging fire inside you,” said Seth Abraham, the nice fellow who runs HBO Sports.

Bowe has a few million left from his boxing days and HBO has done a nice thing for him--he was given a two-year-contract to serve as goodwill ambassador for HBO’s Reaching Beyond the Ring program that raises money for youth-related activities. That fits Bowe better than the boxing career that was alien to him.