The refs allowed it and his opponents did not complain about it. It;s not just George who was doing it though he was indeed apt to doing it more often in close quarters actions especially against smaller foes whose only chance was to get near him to avoid his powerful straights and score with their own punches. Ali and other taller and bigger heavyweights also sometimes resort to that but not as frequent as George.
But remember that George Foreman was the biggest and physically strongest heavyweight of that era and even though he was not brutally or forcefully pushing or shaking off his smaller foes, his prodigious strength seemed to magnify what he was doing which was essentially defensive in nature into something as part of his awesome offense.
It was really the call of the refs since the refs believed that George was also entitled to his own space with which to operate and in failing to physically separate the fighters during clinches or even order both to break off each other to resume action, they just gave George some latitude or freedom to re-establish his space where could defend himself and fight effectively. After all, George was not known,for his footwork.
And at the rate those strong heavyweights were throwing those haymakers against each other, no puny ref would dare get in the way to separate those behemoths and run the risk of getting hit by wayward blows.
I don';t think it was a difference in those Frazier fights. I don't think Frazier;s crowding style would have prevented his getting knocked out as George also possessed the meanest uppercuts in the business.
No where near as bad as Whladimir, he gets credit for knockdowns, when he throws people down.
Who said there's not affirmative action in boxing? Blacks need extra help in everything they do simply because they are not capable enough to do the job properly. That ain't no secret.
George and other greats during his time, such as Ali, Frazier and later, Larry Holmes, earned the right to do those tactics unmolested because of their stature. Lesser mortals would've been warned or penalized for sure.
and would it have made a difference to the outcome of the first Frazier fight, had the ref of warned Foreman for excessive pushing?
