Known as the “Frightful Five,” Big George Foreman, in an attempt to rebuild his indestructible aura, faced off against five opponents, with members of the press drawing names from a hat to determine the order in which Big George would face his five opponents.

No judges were present. Upon the conclusion of each bout, the next fighter would enter the ring for a maximum of three rounds, for a potential total of fifteen rounds. The fights were not officially scored, but George soundly defeated all five opponents, three by KO, the other two men each went the full distance of three rounds with Foreman.

The five fighters were Alonzo Johnson, Terry Daniels, Jerry Judge, Charley Polite, and Boone Kirkman. Only Polite and Kirkman (Foreman had already defeated Kirkman in 1970 by 2nd round TKO) survived without suffering a KO. Polite and Kirkman were also the fourth and fifth fighters, and were comparatively fresh against a weary Foreman.

Calling the fight from ringside was Howard Cosell and Muhammad Ali. Cosell presented the event as a farce, and the presence of Ali at ringside incensed Foreman, as typical Ali relentlessly taunted Foreman throughout his 5 bouts, at one point yelling to George, “You can whip these five men, but you can’t whip no one me!”

Ali succeeded in stealing the show, focusing both the crowd’s and Foreman’s attention on himself, rather than the event. Foreman was attempting to prove that he was still the same power after his defeat as he was before, but Ali managed to turn the scene from one of triumphant return to that of an embarrassing spectacle.

The exhibition was a failure by George’s standards. Although victorious, the five victories were trivialized by Cosell and Ali, and Foreman was seen as a disturbed ex-champion rather than a legitimate challenge to Ali.

The five victories are not counted among George Foreman’s 76 total victories.

Foreman was the greatest heavyweight of the twentieth century with a knockout ratio higher than any other heavyweight in the history of boxing. The dubious reasons for not earning a rematch against Ali are subjective, especially when considering Foreman’s self-imposed exile from boxing. The legacy of George Foreman is filled with the duality of struggle and success.