The following article was the cover story originally published in the November 2009 edition of Undefeated Magazine. Marking the magazine’s first full color, glossy publication.
George ‘Monk’ Foreman III: Son of A Legend
By Michael Campbell
With the support of his father, the former heavyweight champion of the world, “Monk” Foreman won his third boxing match as a professional prize fighter defeating Marvin Ray Jones on September 26th, at the Coushatta Casino in Kinder, Louisiana. About two hours drive east of Houston, at the same location where he made his boxing debut, George Foreman III (3-0, 3 KOs) scored another knockout victory in a career that is on the fast track.
The building of a championship contender is a
process, and building up the son of an icon is a delicate one. After only one year of serious training, Monk has the simple goal of learning to execute in front of live fans, the training that he is learning in the gym. Without any amateur experience, he is learning his craft in the pro ranks. Monk said about his debut, “Instincts just took over when the bell rung.” Foreman won that fight in June over Clyde Weaver via 1st round TKO and then in July scored a 2nd round TKO over George Burrage in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
But starting off could have been the hardest part. He recalled getting his father’s approval, “After I got my degree, then I could bring up boxing in conversations at home.” Monk studied Business and Sports Management at Rice University before embarking on his boxing career.
“There’s no substitute for good old fashioned hard work. I saw how hard he worked and it inspired me to see him pushing past his limits. I was glad to know that I was going through it too and that conditioning-wise, I’ll always be prepared.”
“I would say one of my biggest hurdles was to show my dad that I was serious. So when we were up training in the woods, I had to give it my all, to show him I was willing to give up my life just to get through the training session. He definitely had to see me do that in order to be comfortable with me getting into the ring.” George Sr. takes a hands-on role in Monk’s progression, even getting into the ring with his son for sparring.
“The (first) sparring sessions were very interesting. He gave me no pointers, we didn’t even talk. He came in and wrapped his hands, he didn’t talk, didn’t even look at me. It was like a fight! He wanted to see what I was all about. I danced around, tried to do the Ali on him, started to do the rope-a-dope, but he hit me, so I got off the ropes. Every mistake I made, he made me pay for. It really taught me that boxing is more of a chess match not a brawl.”
He continued about their training together, “Dad trains me in the ring and also working on the heavy bags and speed bags, but we also do a lot of strength training on the ranch pulling heavy machinery, digging holes, and chopping wood, things of that nature. He wants to make sure I have the body of a boxer, not just the mind and skills.”
Monk isn’t the first of George Sr.’s children to box as a professional. His sister Freeda worked herself into shape and had six bouts. From her, George III says, “I learned the type of hard work that boxing requires. And she talked to me about the mentality that a fighter has to take into the ring.”
Another sibling, George Foreman IV, whose nickname is “Big Will”, is involved with Monk’s training. Will was a running back on the football field in college and could be the best athlete in the family. He’s now moved to Houston and is studying at Texas Southern University. After assisting with Monk’s strength and conditioning training, he decided to take up boxing so that he can be one of Monk’s sparring partners.
Being a son of a worldwide icon comes with its share of negatives including many internet naysayers. Monk’s experience with two reality TV shows has prepared him for the public scrutiny and criticism. “I’ve learned very well how to take it,” he said. “You should be overjoyed that people just want to take time to talk about you.”
For now Houston fight fans must take the drive east to witness young Foreman’s progression. His promoter Ron Weathers is working with the Coushatta Casino Resort to ensure his gaining of experience before introducing him to his hometown.
“The challenge is not rushing him,” Weathers said. “It’s hard to show restraint because he can look brilliant at times.” The promoter’s duty is to groom his charge building towards bigger fights and challenges. “We want him polished first,” Weathers said about bringing Monk to fight in Houston. “Right now he’s still learning against the guys he’s fighting. We want to make a good fight when we make a big splash here at home.”
Monk echoed the sentiment, “Once I fight in the ring the way I train in the gym, I will come home to show my hometown what I have been working on. All my family and friends will attend so I want to look my best. I want my home to be proud of me, I don’t want to come back (and fight here) until I have a great skill set.”
George III benefits from having witnessed firsthand the latter half of his father’s professional career and is well studied in the sport. He shared, “I spend a lot of time watching fight films. I watch Joe Louis on how to keep poised and be the perfect boxer. I watch Sugar Ray Robinson on how to make boxing be a pretty thing as opposed to being something rugged. I watch Bernard Hopkins for old school techniques and imposing a rough and tuff mentality on the opponent. Of course I watch my father. And I watch Ali on how to make it pretty. How to run and get away from a guy while not making it look boring.”
In addition to watching classic fighters, Monk got to train alongside a middleweight champion of the world when George Sr. took on conditioning training for Jermain Taylor before he faced Armenian Arthur Abraham in Germany as part of the “Super Six, a six-man super middleweight tournament. After victories over Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright, & Raul Marquez, Taylor lost late in fights versus Kelly Pavlik and Carl Froch. The consensus opinion was that he had problems with stamina.
Papa Foreman put Taylor and Monk through exhausting drills and exercises. Getting to witness the training a former world champion puts himself through before a title fight was an invaluable experience. Monk learned, “There’s no substitute for good old fashioned hard work. I saw how hard he worked and it inspired me to see him pushing past his limits. I was glad to know that I was going through it too and that conditioning-wise, I’ll always be prepared.”
As he keeps learning and improving, Monk makes it clear what his ultimate goal is, “I want to be in contention for the heavyweight crown and to represent the USA and Houston.”
