There is no doubt two-time heavyweight king George Foreman has a lofty place amongst the greatest heavyweights, indeed all fighters, regardless of weight class, in boxing history. Yet today, the ever-modest 67 year-old says he does not feel he deserves to go in his OWN list of the greatest big men in history.
Speaking with Yahoo! Sports ahead of a meet-and-greet evening in London this Saturday, “Big” George was asked to break down his choices for the best heavyweights in history.
It was a truly landmark event not only in boxing, but in the careers of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, in black music and in the career of the man behind it all, Don King. It was “The Rumble in The Jungle” of 1974 and, in honour of The Greatest, who as we all know passed away in June of this year, promoter extraordinaire King is planning a sequel, a “Rumble in The Jungle II” as it were.
“What f*****g excitement!” a well known boxing promoter speaking in 1990 on the possibility of a Mike Tyson-George Foreman super-fight
It remains one of the most talked about “dream fights,” or super-fights that never took place. It is the biggest of all heavyweight collisions: George Foreman Vs. Mike Tyson. The fight came close to happening in the early 1990s, but, as living legend Foreman recently explained when speaking on the CBS Sports radio show Brown and Scoop, for some reason the fight didn’t happen: “I couldn’t get him, I just don’t know why,” Foreman said. “I tried.”
Antonio Tarver, who recently called out British heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte, wants a lot of things: a fight with Whyte, which he feels will lead to a shot at IBF heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua, which he feels would lead to a win that would see him surpass the legendary George Foreman as the oldest-ever heavyweight champ. It might be a long road, but Tarver feels the Whyte fight will see him achieve his latest dream.
Whyte, who boxes in Leeds on July 30, responded to Tarver’s calling him out on Twitter, and Tarver responded to Whyte’s claims that he would “smash him to pieces.” Tarver made it clear, when speaking with Sky Sports, how he wants Joshua and a shot at history, and that a win over Whyte would get him there.
With the recent sad passing of the great Joe Frazier, and the even more recent – in fact still numbing – passing of The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, the world was robbed of two of the finest heavyweight world champions in history. Indeed, Ali and Frazier, who of course gave us THE most fierce and most celebrated rivalry in all of sports, were the king of kings. Ali and Frazier may no longer be with us on this physical plane, but they will live forever.
This distinction, or honour, is one only truly special fighters receive – Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Louis included. But who are the finest, the greatest, the most special former world heavyweight kings who are still with us? In short, who are the greatest living former heavyweight rulers?
Big George Foreman, with the passing of the great (or greatest) Muhammad Ali, has become the oldest living former world heavyweight champion, and the 67-year-old legend sure has a number of tales to tell. Foreman has literally seen it all, done it all, and lived to tell the story of it all. George has had some quite amazing life, no doubt. But despite all he has witnessed, the incomparable Ali still leaves George somewhat mystified and in awe.
These past two weeks have seen Foreman share with us all his memories of Ali, and George has paid great tributes to the former three-time king. One of the more interesting things Foreman had to say about his one-time archenemy came on the latest episode of Jim Lampley’s The Fight Game. Foreman spoke of an unexpected phone-call from Ali, “in the late ’70’s.”
When discussing “Iron” Mike Tyson, and his Icarus-like ascent and descent from the summit of heavyweight boxing in the 80s and 90s, the debate always turns to the dream fights. How would the version of Tyson who crushed Trevor Berbick have dealt with the Muhammad Ali who carved up Cleveland Williams? How would the Catskills man have stacked up against “The Brown Bomber” Joe Louis? Could he have matched leather with Marciano, Frazier or Dempsey? While we will never have definitive answers to these questions, there are three intriguing fights that were at the negotiation stage during Tyson’s terrifying and controversial rule over the sport of kings. These three bouts, had they come off, could have irrevocably changed the history of the sport’s banner division for years to come. Here we take a look at the first of these match-ups: Mike Tyson vs George Foreman.
“This is my opinion of bringing Professional boxing to the Olympics.
Myself having been a past member of the USA Team, I dislike the idea and see nothing good coming of it. It will only put the dream of the `Ordinary boy and girl,` farther out of reach. As we can see with Pro basketball there is no Rags to Riches anymore, just the pick of the litter. The Amateur boxer is the life line of the Olympics.
Thank you. George Foreman
Living legend and former four-time heavyweight king Evander Holyfield is currently in the UK, and tonight on “The Bunce Boxing Hour,” the finest cruiserweight in the division’s history was asked, amongst other questions, just who hit his famously granite chin the hardest during his amazing, over twenty-five year pro career.
“The Real Deal” didn’t hesitate as he brought up one man’s name with something that looked like a shiver, “George Foreman,” he answered. “Big George.”
Former heavyweight champion George Foreman believes that American Deontay Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs) has what it takes to unseat WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) this Saturday night in their fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Foreman thinks that the 6’7” Deontay has to fight the way that brought him this far by him being aggressive and not letting up on the shorter 36-year-old Stiverne.
Foreman thinks that Deontay needs to be smart but aggressive at all times. He can’t play it safe against Stiverne and expect to win.
“If he stays aggressive, Deontay Wilder wins but he’s got to fight downhill and stay aggressive against Bermane Stiverne. As long as Wilder remains aggressive, then I think I could have [Stiverne] out of there in three or four rounds,” Foreman said via RingTV.com.