Trivia time - Name George Foreman's "Toronto Five"

[sweetviolenturg]

OK, without using google or boxrec try to name the five opponents that Foreman fought in one night in Toronto in 1975. This series of exhibition matches has always fascinated me from the time that I was a kid & first became interested in the sport.
I had the opportunity to fight on the undercard of Foreman's fight vs Mark Young in Rochester in 1989 & had lunch with "Big" George on the day of our fights. During which I probably asked him more questions about that night in Toronto than about the entirety of the rest of his career.

Foreman & I January 1989 -

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Polite
Judge
Johnson
Kirkman
Daniels

 

[loyalyolayal]

OK, without using google or boxrec try to name the five opponents that Foreman fought in one night in Toronto in 1975. This series of exhibition matches has always fascinated me from the time that I was a kid & first became interested in the sport.
I had the opportunity to fight on the undercard of Foreman's fight vs Mark Young in Rochester in 1989 & had lunch with "Big" George on the day of our fights. During which I probably asked him more questions about that night in Toronto than about the entirety of the rest of his career.

Foreman & I January 1989 -
View attachment 528745

That is so awesome.

What's the highest rank you reach in your prime?

 

[sweetviolenturg]

Polite
Judge
Johnson
Kirkman
Daniels

Spot on, bro.
Now for some extra credit can you name the two originally scheduled opponents that were supposed to be among "the Toronto Five" but who pulled out & were replaced?

 

[sweetviolenturg]

That is so awesome.

What's the highest rank you reach in your prime?

Me? I was a journeyman fighter so I never reached the world ratings. But, I was a regular sparring partner for many world champions & contenders.

 

[loyalyolayal]

Me? I was a journeyman fighter so I never reached the world ratings. But, I was a regular sparring partner for many world champions & contenders.

Respect.

Though I feel a little sad you never had your cinderella moment.

 

[sweetviolenturg]

Respect.

Though I feel a little sad you never had your cinderella moment.

Thanks, man. Honestly, I feel as though I did though just by virtue of having had a pro boxing career & having had the opportunity to work with the people that I did. That was awesome in & of itself really.
Peace.

 

[Seano]

Literally no one aside from their management or close friends could name those 5 off the top of their heads.

I know one broke George's ribs.

 

[Seano]

Polite
Judge
Johnson
Kirkman
Daniels

There's no way you didn't look this up.

 

[actjac]

Before seeing the correct list here I guessed Boone Kirkman and Charlie Polite and when I saw Terry Danniels I said "oh yeah" and the others jogged my mind. later . . . Of the five that day Boone Kirkman actually gave the best competitive accounting of himself.

 

[Shoemaker]

Polite
Judge
Johnson
Kirkman
Daniels

Seriously impressive if you didn't have to look that up. I forget the names of opponents all the time. Hell, I forget the names of some champs sometimes. But I'm awful with names and faces. My wife is always making fun of me, because she'll be watching a show and I'll say "hey, it's so-and-so from that one movie" and she responds "Nope. Not even close." I'll have the person wrong, and the name I said isn't even in the movie I referenced. It's comically bad.

 

[sweetviolenturg]

Literally no one aside from their management or close friends could name those 5 off the top of their heads.

I know one broke George's ribs.

Well, while I'm acquainted with Foreman I wouldn't call myself a close friend & I'm definitely not related to him but I know the names of those five men ( plus the two originally scheduled opponents who were supposed to face George that day but were replaced at the last minute ) about as well as I know the names of my own kids. I can't help it, I'm a bit of a savant when it comes to boxing trivia. Especially when it comes to that era of heavyweights.

 

[sweetviolenturg]

Before seeing the correct list here I guessed Boone Kirkman and Charlie Polite and when I saw Terry Danniels I said "oh yeah" and the others jogged my mind. later . . . Of the five that day Boone Kirkman actually gave the best competitive accounting of himself.

Yeah, Kirkman was a legit top 20 contender & he was motivated to redeem himself for his 2 round KO loss to Foreman at MSG a few years earlier in their careers.

 

[DeJulez]

OK, without using google or boxrec try to name the five opponents that Foreman fought in one night in Toronto in 1975. This series of exhibition matches has always fascinated me from the time that I was a kid & first became interested in the sport.
I had the opportunity to fight on the undercard of Foreman's fight vs Mark Young in Rochester in 1989 & had lunch with "Big" George on the day of our fights. During which I probably asked him more questions about that night in Toronto than about the entirety of the rest of his career.

Foreman & I January 1989 -
View attachment 528745

Pretty wild night.
Ali screaming from ringside the entire time and calling the fight with Howard Cosell.
Trainers punching trainers.
I think Foreman slugged his own trainer at one point.
Foreman and Judge start fighting again after the fight. Foreman and Daniels start fighting again after it's stopped as well.

One of the videos is a little better quality. Both are good tho

 

[sweetviolenturg]

Pretty wild night.
Ali screaming from ringside the entire time and calling the fight with Howard Cosell.
Trainers punching trainers.
I think Foreman slugged his own trainer at one point.
Foreman and Judge start fighting again after the fight. Foreman and Daniels start fighting again after it's stopped as well.

Yeah, it was quite the circus. I like to rewatch it every once in a while just for laughs. It's a good time.

 

[DeJulez]

Yeah, it was quite the circus. I like to rewatch it every once in a while just for laughs. It's a good time.

Apparently it was Marvin Gaye's idea...

 

[sweetviolenturg]

I used to own the on-site poster but I sold it a few years back when I consolidated my boxing memorabilia collection.

As you can see it was printed before Mac Foster & Pedro Agosto fell out & were replaced by Charlie Polite & Jerry Judge.

 

[Seano]

Well, while I'm acquainted with Foreman I wouldn't call myself a close friend & I'm definitely not related to him but I know the names of those five men ( plus the two originally scheduled opponents who were supposed to face George that day but were replaced at the last minute ) about as well as I know the names of my own kids. I can't help it, I'm a bit of a savant when it comes to boxing trivia. Especially when it comes to that era of heavyweights.

I've been a boxing fan for nearly 40 years and have watched those very fights a dozen times. I honestly don't believe anyone just recalls all 5 from memory, without some personal association or they watched them the night before. Especially a guy like Charley Polite, who was literally nothing in the world of boxing aside from that fight.

 

[sweetviolenturg]

I've been a boxing fan for nearly 40 years and have watched those very fights a dozen times. I honestly don't believe anyone just recalls all 5 from memory, without some personal association or they watched them the night before. Especially a guy like Charley Polite, who was literally nothing in the world of boxing aside from that fight.

Well, I don't know what to tell you other than that I've been a rabid boxing fan since I was 14 in 1976 & that I have an eidetic memory when it comes to trivia & fighter's records. Which was nurtured by a near-complete set of The Ring Record Book & Encyclopedia from the early '50s to the '70s that my first trainer/manager Johnny Sudac gave to me shortly before his death.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Well, I don't know what to tell you other than that I've been a rabid boxing fan since I was 14 in 1976 & that I have an eidetic memory when it comes to trivia & fighter's records. Which was nurtured by a near-complete set of The Ring Record Book & Encyclopedia from the early '50s to the '70s that my first trainer/manager Johnny Sudac gave to me shortly before his death.

I have some of the latest record books (namely The Boxing Register & The Ring Record Book) as well as some older miscellaneous editions. I still subscribe to The Ring magazine and Boxing News mainly because they're the two oldest boxing mags still in circulation, so mostly for their history. BTW, another popular magazine, Boxing Monthly, recently covered your trivia question in the lead-up to Mayweather vs McGregor.
Weird and wonderful - Boxing Monthly

Do you use social media at all like Twitter? Lots of boxing heads (journos & historians) on there play trivia by the minute to pass the time with friends, co-workers and acquaintances (followers). Foreman vs Five was recently discussed there as well including the original lineup, posters (a couple different versions), and lots of trivia related detail to it.