It would begin like any other typical day. As the sun rose, the trade winds gently blew in on a sunny Sunday morning. While many were already up and preparing for church services, others were having breakfast or still asleep.
Not long after sunrise, the buzz of engines could be heard from the sky.
At 7:55 am, the fate of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the world for that matter, dramatically changed in an instant.
Descending from the clouds, a mass of Japanese war planes, painted with a red symbol of the rising sun on their side, unleashed a surprise, devastating attack on the United States Naval Base in the south pacific.
The Japanese strike force involved six aircraft carriers which included the Shōkaku, and the Zuikaku. These carriers would launch upwards of 400 aircraft into battle. The attack, which also included submarines, came in two separate waves.
Within 90 minutes after the assault began, over 2,000 Americans had been killed. Numerous vessels were destroyed including the USS Arizona, which was sunk, and the USS Oklahoma which had capsized.
The United States was instantly propelled into World War II leaving President Franklin Roosevelt to note, “December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.”
50 years later, to the day, December 7, 1991, the United States Color Guard was in the ring alongside ring announcer Michael Buffer. Buffer would then share what all of us knew, “Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of a day that shall indeed live in infamy and the beginning of the US involvement in World War II. Let us all wish for peace on earth.”
The packed house inside the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada was anxiously awaiting the entrance of “Big” George Foreman.
The crowd had already been warmed up after having seen Rafael Pineda spectacularly knockout Roger Mayweather with one punch in the ninth round of their televised undercard bout.
The main event was about to take center stage.
At 42, Foreman (69-3, 65 KOs) was making his first appearance in the ring since losing a valiant 12 round decision to undisputed Heavyweight champion Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield less than eight months ago.
The former 1968 Olympic Gold Medallist was not taking any chances on tonight’s comeback opponent. Foreman had selected the undefeated former Boise State football player Jimmy Ellis (16-0-1, 15 KOs) who had been drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders, as a linebacker, in 1987.
Hoping to do better in the prize ring than his predecessors Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Mark Gastineau, Ellis hired friend and former teammate Howie Long as his co-manager. Although he had no amateur experience, Ellis, 27, believed he was more than ready to meet Foreman.
Indeed, this was a huge step up for Ellis who in two years of being a professional had 17 fights and a total of 36 rounds under his belt. The competition he had faced was largely unknown and suspect to most fans and boxing insiders.
The bout was televised live on HBO with Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, and Gil Clancy seated at ringside to call the action.
With Ellis now in the ring, the crowd roared as Lee Greenwood’s “I’m proud to be an American” blasted through the arena. Foreman, chewing gum and appearing relaxed and focused, was now walking towards the ring.
In contrast to Ellis, Foreman brought with him 256 rounds of experience. Having fought numerous world champions and future Hall of Famers, the question still remained, could he still compete with this young man at the ripe old age of 42?
After the National Anthem and prefight festivities, Buffer introduced the fighters and referee Richard Steele provided final instructions.
Round 1 began with Foreman, in red trunks with white and blue trim, firing his telephone pole left jab at Ellis. Knees bent and bobbing his head from left to right, Ellis, donned in black trunks with blue trim, tried to work his way inside to bang away at “Big” George.
The two continued to bump inside at close quarters. A big man at 6’3” and 228 pounds, Ellis was determined to get his pound of flesh from the 6’4” Foreman who outweighed him by 29 pounds.
Lampley keyed in on the early action, “George is standing still and pounding jabs against Ellis’ forehead. Ellis is trying to get to George’s midsection.”
As Ellis stepped up and in, he whaled away, swinging wildly at Foreman’s belly. He was, however, already bleeding from the bridge of his nose. The Foreman jab was doing damage early as his forehead was slowly turning pink.
The crowd applauded wildly at the end of the first round. The two had set a fast pace and took turns hammering away at one another.
Foreman, as had become his custom, stood in his corner while trainer Angelo Dundee provided instructions. The key advice was to keep Ellis on the outside and remain smart, “Strong jab! Looking beautiful. Don’t gamble for nothin’!”
As the second round began, Ellis pressed forward while Foreman slowly moved backward behind his sledgehammer jab. At the midway point of the round, Foreman landed a thudding left hook that sent Ellis into the ropes.
As the crowd rose, so did Lampley’s voice, “There’s a left and Ellis is wobbly! Heaviest handed puncher in the business and he knows how to finish better than anybody!”
Now on weak knees, a courageous Ellis chose not to hold but to fire back instead. Foreman was now the aggressor and battered Ellis with a barrage of hooks and uppercuts. Ellis was leaving himself wide open to the Foreman power as he swung with wide, sweeping hooks.
With less than a minute remaining in the round, Foreman blistered Ellis with right and left uppercut bombs. A dazed Ellis, who was now out on his feet, grabbed and held on for dear life. With his hands at his sides, Foreman glanced at Steele with an ‘aren’t you going to stop this’ look on his face and quit throwing punches.
Lampley, recognizing Foreman was no longer interested in hurting Ellis, hollered over the roar inside the Convention Center, “George doesn’t want to finish him off! George is carrying Jimmy Ellis late in the second round!”
As Foreman reluctantly went back to work, the timekeeper inadvertently rang the bell 15 seconds early signifying an end to the round. Ellis, who certainly wasn’t going to complain, then stumbled towards Foreman’s corner.
Lampley continued, “And Jimmy Ellis has no idea where he is!”
Quickly his trainer ran across the ring to bring him back to his own corner. A shocked Ellis told his team, and the ring doctors now in his corner, “I’m alright man. I’m alright.”
Glancy would later report that the Ellis corner was telling Steele not to stop the fight because their man can take a good punch. Steele laughed and replied, “Not that good.”
With the third round now underway, a fearless Ellis again stepped forward and looked to engage Foreman. The decision proved fatal as Foreman again began to tattoo him with everything but the kitchen sink.
Clancy observed, “He doesn’t have a leg under him. Ellis is just fighting on courage alone.”
With the third halfway gone, and having proved his chin was as strong as his heart, Ellis was saved by Steele’s decision to stop the bout. Lampley captured the closing moment, “And finally Richard Steele has seen enough.”
With the holiday season kicking into high gear, Foreman gave his fans an early Christmas present by ending the affair by way of a TKO at 1:36 of Round 3.
In what ended up as being a colossal mismatch, the post-fight numbers only reinforced Foreman’s dominance. He landed 40 of 49 punches in the third round alone. In total, he threw 173 punches and landed 122 of them. Ellis threw 91 total punches, landing just 26.
Merchant would soon interview Foreman who would tip his hat to Ellis, “I hit him with a lot of hard shots. He must have been a hell of a football player. The guys got a chin like a piece of stone.”
Ellis didn’t argue the stoppage, “A punch is a punch, but George Foreman is a great puncher. I felt like I could have continued, but I have no quarrel with the referee.”
Foreman would march on, winning the Heavyweight crown less than three years down the road. As for Ellis, this was his last moment on the big stage.
