IN: George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1969 to 1977, and from 1987 to 1997. Nicknamed "Big George", he is a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist. Outside the sport he is an ordained minister, author, and entrepreneur. After a troubled childhood Foreman took up amateur boxing and won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

In 1972, still undefeated and with an impressive knockout record, Foreman was set to challenge undefeated and Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier. Despite boycotting a title elimination caused by the vacancy resulting from the championship being stripped from Muhammad Ali, Frazier had won the title from Jimmy Ellis and defended his title four times since, including a 15-round unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Ali in 1971 after Ali had beaten Oscar Bonavena and Jerry Quarry. Despite Foreman's superior size and reach, he was not expected to beat Frazier and was a 3:1 underdog going into the fight.  The Sunshine Showdown took place on January 22, 1973, in Kingston, Jamaica, with Foreman dominating the fight to win the championship by technical knockout. In ABC's re-broadcast, Howard Cosell made the memorable call, "Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!" Before the fight Frazier was 29-0 (25 KO) and Foreman was 37-0 (34 KO). Frazier was knocked down six times by Foreman within two rounds (the three-knockdown rule was not in effect for this bout). After the second knockdown, Frazier's balance and mobility were impaired to the extent that he was unable to evade Foreman's combinations. Frazier managed to get to his feet for all six knockdowns, but referee Arthur Mercante eventually called an end to the one-sided bout.  Foreman was sometimes characterized by the media as an aloof and antisocial champion. According to them, he always seemed to wear a sneer and was not often available to the press. Foreman later attributed his demeanor during this time as an emulation of Sonny Liston, for whom he had been an occasional sparring partner. Foreman defended his title successfully twice during his initial reign as champion. His first defense, in Tokyo, pitted him against Puerto Rican Heavyweight Champion Jose Roman. Roman was not regarded as a top contender, and it took Foreman only 2 minutes to end the fight, one of the fastest knockouts in a Heavyweight Championship bout.

When was the Sunshine Showdown?

OUT: January 22, 1973,


IN: Kennedy was born in Inverness, the son of Mary and Ian. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic, and was educated at Lochaber High School in Fort William. He went on to study for a Master of Arts degree in Politics and Philosophy at the University of Glasgow. At university he became politically active, joining the SDP, as well as the Dialectic Society.

In his last general election as leader, in May 2005, he extended his strategy from the 2001 election targeting the seats held by the most senior and/or highly regarded Conservative MPs, dubbed a "decapitation" strategy. The expectation was that without these "key" figures, the Conservatives would be discredited as the official opposition allowing Kennedy and the Liberal Democrats to claim that they were the "effective opposition". At the same time they also hoped to capture marginal Labour seats attracting (particularly Muslim) Labour voters who were dissatisfied because of the invasion of Iraq which Kennedy's party had opposed. They had succeeded with this tactic in by-elections, taking Brent East and Leicester South from Labour.  Just before the election, it had been anticipated by the media and opinion polls that the Liberal Democrats could win up to 100 seats and place them close to the Conservatives in terms of seats as well as votes. They won 62 seats (22.1% of the vote), their greatest number of seats since 1923 but significantly less than most observers had expected the party to win.  They made a net loss of seats to the Conservatives, only managing to win three seats from them (Solihull, Taunton and Westmorland and Lonsdale) with their biggest "scalp" being that of the Shadow Education Secretary Tim Collins. They failed to unseat leading Conservatives such as the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Oliver Letwin, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, Shadow Secretary of State for the Family Theresa May and the Leader of the Opposition Michael Howard. The "decapitation" strategy was widely seen to have failed.  They won significant numbers of seats from Labour, winning particularly in student areas such as Bristol, Cardiff and Manchester, but did not see the breakthrough in areas with large Asian populations that some had expected, and even lost Leicester South. They succeeded in regaining the seat of Ceredigion, their first gain from the Welsh party Plaid Cymru.  Kennedy heralded the Liberal Democrats, who now had a total of 62 seats, as the "national party of the future", but in the wake of the general election, Kennedy's leadership came under increased criticism from those who felt that the Liberal Democrats could have surged forward with the official opposition Conservative Party having been relatively weak. Many pointed the finger of blame at Kennedy for failing to widen the party's appeal. Others, like the former Deputy Chairman of the Federal Liberal Democrat Party, Donnachadh McCarthy, resigned, citing the party's shift to the right of the political spectrum under Kennedy in pursuit of Conservative votes.

What position was Kennedy running for in 05?

OUT: