Hall of Fame sportscaster Lampley claims that the benevolent Foreman belongs to all of us

Jim Lampley, who is a personal friend and announcer for the International Boxing Hall of Fame, said on Saturday that former world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman would be remembered as a very kind man with a contagious smile.

Lampley, who later worked with the boxer for many years at HBO, made the well-known “It happened!” call in 1994 when Foreman, at 45, shocked Michael Moorer to become the oldest heavyweight champion in history.

In a video interview with Reuters from his Chapel Hill, North Carolina, home, Lampley stated, “He did not look at friendship as a casual process,”

“I formed a link with George because you earned his friendship, and if you did, you had a true buddy to stick with you through thick and thin.

“It took a while.”

In addition to being a renowned pitchman for a number of items, including an electric grill that bears his name, Foreman was a formidable and thunderous puncher who passed away on Friday at the age of 76.

“Once he became that lovable, society-wide pitchman, pitching grills and big-man clothing and mufflers and various products, all of them being sold by that massive smile, he belonged to us,” stated Lampley.

“He belonged to us as a culture and as a nation, and heavyweight champion became only part of it.”

Lampley claimed that he and many other spectators at Foreman’s bout against unbeaten southpaw Moorer didn’t believe the challenger could win.

Lampley claims that Foreman repeatedly assured him in the run-up to the fight that Moorer would eventually stand in front of him and allow Foreman to knock him out, which he accomplished in the tenth round using a sharp right hand.

“Go back to YouTube now and watch the eerie video. It’s unbelievable,” Lampley remarked. “Oh my god, I have to come up with something to say about this,” I thought as he knocked Moorer down. What’s this call about?

“I said ‘it happened, it happened’ because all I could think about was George telling me that ‘he’ll come and stand in front of me and let me knock him out.'”

“I was really speaking to George and saying to him, ‘You told me this and now here it is in front of me, it happened’.”

Lampley claimed that before the Moorer bout, Foreman, who always referred to him as “young man” even though the sportscaster was only three months younger, got inspiration from the song “Impossible Dream” and was well-versed in its lyrics.

“It was deep in his heart that he wanted to do that one thing, win back the heavyweight championship at that advanced age, and he did,” stated Lampley.

“So, a man of conviction, a man of enormous strength, a man of wonderful love and friendship, unique in my personal experience as a sports figure, and I loved him.”