Big George legacy tied to Jamaica - Fennell

THE LATE George Foreman, who died on Friday at 76 years old, arguably, had one of his greatest moments in the ring against ‘Smokin’’ Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica, forever endearing fans of the sport and up-and-coming boxers to the man affectionately known as ‘Big George’.

The year was 1973, and Foreman, already a fearsome heavyweight challenger, had never been defeated but faced a seemingly unbeatable World Boxing Council (WBC) champion in Jamaica.

Backtrack to a year earlier, 1972, when the president of the Jamaican Boxing Board of Control, now the Jamaica Boxing Association, was Mike Fennell.

At the time, staging a heavyweight fight of that kind of significance was not at the centre of anybody’s mind, but Fennell, through a mixture of administrative nous and some luck, made the island a part of boxing history.

Recalling to The Gleaner how the title fight came about, Fennell said that shortly after the February 1972 General Elections, won by the People’s National Party, he received a call from a man staying at the then Sheraton Hotel in New Kingston.

“I was president of the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control and working as manager at Berger Paints. The gentleman asked for us to meet, so I met with him at the Sheraton, where he outlined having a heavyweight championship fight in Jamaica,” said Fennell.

Fennell was skeptical, but the man told him that he had connections with the Frazier camp and could get the fight set up.

“As it turned out, he was not really connected to the Frazier camp, but the proposal that he outlined proved tempting,” said Fennell.

As head of the Boxing Board of Control, Fennell was not allowed to be involved in the promotion of a fight.

“Remember, this was shortly after the 1972 elections, and I met with a number of government ministers about the staging of the fight. We convened a luncheon at the Continental Restaurant on Worthington Avenue in New Kingston. The question was, who was going to talk with Prime Minister [Michael] Manley about this?” he said.

As it turned out, Fennell spoke with the prime minister about the possibility of staging the fight.

“His reaction was to laugh,” he said.

Fennell explained that for the fight to be staged in Jamaica, the Government would have to finance it.

Fennell said that at the time, Frazier was under pressure to defend the World Boxing Council crown or be stripped of the title.

He said that the Government put up US$250,000 to have the fight staged in Jamaica.

“I don’t recall the total amount or who the other sponsors were, but we signed the contracts, and the fight was set for Jamaica on January 22, 1973, at the National Stadium.”

Conflicts of interest

Fennell said he did not delve into the details of the contracts because of the potential for conflicts of interest.

The fight’s promotor was Lucien Chen, who had staged several boxing matches in Jamaica and elsewhere.

“The National Arena was used as the training facility for both fighters,” he recalled.

Foreman knocked Frazier to the canvas six times before the fight was halted one minute and thirty-five seconds into the second round.

The one-sided nature of the fight was a shock, with nobody having ever made Frazier look as helpless.

It took just a minute and a half for Howard Cossell to scream “… and down goes Frazier!” after the champion, whose job it was to get on the inside to avoid the booming Foreman shots, was caught by a short right hook on the way.

It was not to be the last time.

With 13 seconds to go in the first round, Frazier was forced to take a knee after another booming right upper cut.

Before those 13 seconds were over, a straight left put Frazier on his back once again.

To start the second, Frazier came out swinging but going toe-to-toe with the bigger, stronger Foreman was not on the cards, two right hooks turning him around and leaving him bewildered.

When he was knocked down twice in as many combinations from Foreman, referee Arthur Mercante Sr was forced to call it a night even as Frazier seemed unaware of the need to end it.

There was now another problem for the Jamaican organisers: Was Frazier seriously hurt on their watch?

“One of the steps that I took was to set up a medical panel for the fight. Among the doctors on that panel was the late Dr John Hall and Dr Don Christian,” said Fennell.

He said that following the fight he had both doctors visit Frazier at his hotel.

Fennell recalled that the fight was to be shown on closed circuit as well as in theatres in the United States.

“The closed circuit was a bust, and we did not make as much money as was forecasted. This was due mainly to the blizzard conditions in the United States on the night of the fight,” Fennell told The Gleaner.

He said that the worldwide exposure made Foreman an international boxing star.

“It had many a very positive impact on the sport in Jamaica. It gave rise to a number of young boxers, who would go on to make their names on the world boxing stage. Chief among them was Mike McCallum,” he said.

Fennell also said that the fight had a positive impact worldwide on Brand Jamaica, but he was unable to say how well efforts to capitalise on this recognition had gone.

Though late in the day, Fennell still believes that there is more to be done from the exposure that the fight brought to Jamaican shores.