Fearsome twosome former heavyweight World champions Sonny Liston and George Foreman RARE black & white 6" x 4" photo SIGNED by George Foreman.

Condition mint

Price: £85

Born George Edward Foreman in Marshall, TX on January 10, 1949. Once a rebellious teen, "Big George" found boxing as an outlet while in the Job Corps. Foreman's successful amateur career included the 1968 National AAU heavyweight championship and the heavyweight gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games.

He turned pro in 1969 and wasted little time meeting and defeating top opposition including Gregorio Peralta and George Chuvalo. The hard-punching Foreman met heavyweight king Joe Frazier on January 22, 1973 and dispatched the champion in two rounds. He defended his title successfully twice against Jose "King" Roman (KO 1) and Ken Norton (TKO 2) before losing the title to former champion Muhammad Ali in "The Rumble in the Jungle" on October 30, 1974. Following a series of exhibition bouts, Foreman bested Ron Lyle over 5 action-packed rounds in January 1976. That year he also defeated Frazier and Scott LeDoux before dropping a 12-round decision to Jimmy Young in 1977, after which Foreman had a religious experience and retired from the ring to become an ordained minister.

But a decade later, Foreman embarked on one of the most improbable, yet successful, comebacks in sports history. Reentering the ring, he racked up wins over Dwight Qawi, Bert Cooper and Gerry Cooney to earn a shot at Evander Holyfield's heavyweight title on April 19, 1991. Although he lost the decision, Foreman's outgoing personality and affable manner endeared him to sports fans. After wins over Alex Stewart and Pierre Coetzer, Foreman lost a decision to Tommy Morrison for the WBO title.

However, on November 5, 1994, the 45-year old Foreman defeated Michael Moorer to regain the heavyweight championship and became the oldest man to ever hold the crown. Foreman retired from the ring with a 76-5 (68 KOs) record following a controversial loss to Shannon Briggs in 1997. Still active in boxing, Foreman serves as expert commentator for HBO's World Championship Boxing.














A multi-talented fighter, it could be said that Sonny Liston's best weapon was intimidation. He had one of the best jab's in boxing and knockout power in each hand, but Liston's balefull scowl often had opponets defeated before the first bell.

Born one of 25 brothers and sisters, Liston led a troubled life and learned boxing while serving time in prison for armed robbery. He turned pro in 1953 and rapidly ascended the heavyweight ranks, leaving a stream of knockout victims in his wake.

He posted wins over top contenders such as Cleveland Williams, Nino Valdes, Zora Folley and Eddie Machen to position himself for a title fight. He became heavyweight champion of the world on September 25, 1962 when he kayoed Floyd Patterson in one round. He granted Patterson a rematch 10 months later but the result was the same: Liston by knockout in the first round.

Liston's reputation as an invincible champion was shattered when he quit on his stool between the seventh and eigthth rounds against challenger Cassius Clay 1964. A rematch was staged a year later and Clay -- known then as Muhammad Ali -- scored a first-round knockout. Some say Ali landed a "phantom punch," and Liston's reputation was forever tarnished.

In his last bout, Liston stopped a young heavyweight named Chuck Wepner in 1970. Unfortunately, when he retired from the ring his life remained schrouded in controversy. On December 30, 1970, Liston was found dead in his Las Vegas apartment. The apparent cause of death was an overdose of drugs.