George Foreman issued a denial when an old photo of himself and the great Archie Moore was posted on social media.
‘Big’ George responded to a member of Moore’s family who stated they ‘loved this’ when replying to Foreman with a picture of him embracing Moore in 1991.
Moore died in 1998 and is revered as one of the greatest fighters of all time.
But the snap, taken at the press conference for Foreman’s 1991 loss to Evander Holyfield in Atlantic City, is not real – according to Foreman.
George Foreman and Archie Moore
“Photoshopped photo here,” said Foreman.
Photoshop photo here. https://t.co/PR8397esAB
— George Foreman (@GeorgeForeman) November 3, 2019
A response came back to Foreman saying, “That’s a Getty Image. Taken for Ring Magazine. Are you saying they photoshopped it? And if so, why?
Foreman gave his reasoning, by saying: “True, Archie and I never embraced under such a banner. I was there – trick.”
The original uploader, who happened to be Moore’s God Daughter, was crushed by the denial.
“Nooo! Is it!?! You just broke my heart. I got so much enjoyment from it.”
Sometime later, Archie Moore’s own daughter J’Marie seemed to agree that something was amiss with the photo.
“Wow, really George what part? People on Facebook were saying Dad was crying. (dad’s god-daughter) and I said it didn’t look like his teeth!”
MENTOR
Mentoring Foreman during his early years and helping him grow into the most feared puncher of his generation, Moore extended his own legacy as a coach.
Alongside Angelo Dundee, Moore was also present for Foreman’s resurrection. It culminated in Foreman becoming the oldest heavyweight title-holder of all time.
A record that still stands today.
Back in the days of training, Foreman said he was always in awe of Moore.
“Archie Moore never mentioned my age. As we trained, he worked me as he would a kid. Encouragement enough, but I always felt like a kid around him.”
Born Archibald Lee Wright in 1916, Moore fought 219 times as a professional. Amazingly, he won 186 of those contests.
