Shannon Briggs, the judges, and George Foreman s last fight. By Thomas Hauser
ON November 22, 1997, 48-year-old George Foreman fought 25-year-old Shannon Briggs at the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City for what was styled as the lineal heavyweight championship of the world.
Foreman, at age 45, had claimed the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation heavyweight titles on November 5, 1994, with a stunning tenth round knockout of Michael Moorer. Four months later, he was stripped of the WBA belt for refusing to make a mandatory defence against Tony Tucker. Then, after successfully defending his IBF crown against Axel Schultz, he was stripped of that too for not fighting a mandated rematch against Schulz.