George Foreman, Ronnie Shields Check In A-OK After Hurricane Hit

The grim news that Mother Nature’s sometimes unforgiving side hit Houston hard has been jolting American citizens, as we saw and heard footage of floodwaters rising to unimagined heights.

Harvey landed Aug 25 and dropped buckets of water, to the point that some 100,000 homes have been affected in the Houston area. Perhaps as many as 40,000 homes in that southeastern Texas region have been kayoed.

The NY Times set the death tally, so far, at 38 persons taken by the hurricane, storm and flooding.

We touched base with some boxing notables to make sure they are accounted for post-Harvey. George Foreman grew up in Houston, and is church, where he preaches, is located in Houston. I messaged the living legend, checking in.

“We are fine,” said the heavyweight titan, who has a ranch in Marshall, more than 200 miles from Houston, northward, away from the hard-hit coast. “Family is safe. One daughter was in Kingwood, and was rescued by boat. Now they are safe.” Kingwood is just 46 miles northward of Houston, so it bore the brunt of some of that downpouring.

Ronnie Shields, the ace trainer who handles 160 pound smasher Jermall Charlo, lives outside Houston. “My family and I are OK,” said the tutor who does work out of the Plex Gym in Houston. And same goes for your crew of hitters, Erislandy Lara, Jermall, Edwin Rodriguez, et al?

“Everyone is OK, thank God,” he stated.

One more: NYF writer Kelsey McCarson is a Houston resident. He and his missus Rachel emerged the drenching none the worse for wear, he informs us.

Good news, then. On the bright side, all the footage of good souls working to rescue humans and pets has provided some needed uplifting from the deluge of storm coverage.