35 years ago, when he was well into his unlikely ring comeback, former heavyweight king George Foreman met the unofficial king of the journeymen, Everett Martin – better known as “Bigfoot.”
Both men hailed from Houston, Texas, but there, aside from both men being deeply religious, the similarity ended. Foreman, at age 40, was on an unlikely quest to regain the world heavyweight title he had lost to Muhammad Ali all those years ago. Martin, an unimaginably durable warhorse willing to fight absolutely anyone, must have known he would never become a world champion.
But Martin took pride in testing every man he faced if he couldn’t beat the other guy. Martin did pull off the odd upset – see his wins over Tim Witherspoon and Bert Cooper – but customarily, “Bigfoot” was down to lose, but in so doing he would make the other guy work hard. And Foreman, who was 18-0 in his comeback, with all wins coming inside the distance, had to go all the way to beat Martin.
The two met in Tucson in July of 1989, and fans got a fight that was if not anything approaching classic status, most watchable. “Big George” came in at a comeback-high weight of 258 pounds. Bigfoot, a man who began his career as a super-middleweight, tipped in at 228, and he looked fitter than Foreman did.
But Martin, 17-7-1, upon entering the ring, soon found out how Foreman’s appearance was the least of it. Foreman’s thudding left jab won him the fight, the action never sinking to sleep-inducing levels but at the same time never reaching hi-octane status. Cool, calm, and assured, Foreman wore his poker face as he walked down Bigfoot.
George scored a knockdown in the eighth round, but Martin got back up, and on he rumbled as Foreman trudged. In the end, Martin managed the feat of hoisting a victorious Foreman aloft, the loser taking the loss graciously. Martin had repeated the mantra, “It’s my time, Lord,” throughout the fight, this between rounds in the corner. Instead, the Lord allowed Foreman’s astonishing comeback to roll on.
Today, Foreman, who always gives all his opponents much respect, says Martin – who sadly passed away in the summer of 2022 at age 58 – was one of the toughest men he ever shared a ring with. Ever-present compliments from a classy former champion aside, George might not have been too far off the mark in giving Bigfoot his props. In 60 pro fights, Martin was stopped just 12 times, with most of these stoppages either coming on cuts or at a time when Martin was closing in on advanced age. Among the men who failed to halt Bigfoot are Foreman, Larry Holmes, Michael Moorer (who Martin decked twice), Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Gary Mason, Tony Tucker, Joe Hipp, and Siarhei Liakhovich.
No doubt about it, Martin was tough. Foreman won a wide decision over Bigfoot some 35 years ago, but George knew he had some precious comeback rounds under his belt.
Two great characters, one a legendary heavyweight king, the other a legendary journeyman. Together, they gave us a fight that, while it almost passed without too much notice at the time, is today looked at as a pivotal moment in Foreman’s soon-to-be all-conquering comeback. One scribe wrote, in 1987, that Foreman wouldn’t be able to go the distance “even if no one was hitting him.” George proved otherwise in defeating Martin.
Less than two years later, 42-year-old Foreman took defending heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield all the way. Bigfoot fought on until 2001, with him going out with a 20-39-1(9) ledger that doesn’t begin to tell his story adequately.
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