In "The Fights of Spring," a young man's prospects of ever having sex are ruined because his wish to dodge any blow makes him leap away from any woman's embrace the moment they move toward him. So why can't he ask women to lie or stand perfectly still while he approaches them amorously? Or why can't he restrain himself with handcuffs before telling his wife or another lover to come at him so he can't dodge? And why didn't George (who wants to get on his good side to collect a debt) advise him to do that if the story is true or think of that detail if the story is false? In either scenario, it's likely significant that George is an aging bachelor who likely has no apparent experience with sex and old-fashioned ideas who would balk at anything resembling bondage. As for the young man, it's possible he may have figured this out eventually, but even if he did, he may have still felt cross enough toward George to pretend otherwise and avoid giving him his money.
Does George have memory problems? He never seems to learn from his mistakes in using a Literal Genie who makes most people miserable, and he seems sincere when he brags about always keeping Azazel's secret even though he will constantly blab about the genie.
One reason George may tell so many stories about Azazel is to actively deter people like the narrator from asking for a wish. Maybe he wants to prevent them from suffering like his other friends have from backfiring wishes. Or perhaps fewer, if any, of the wishes really did backfire, and he's lying about their tendency to in order to deter people who he doesn't feel like helping from pestering him for wishes.
