The heavyweight division in boxing has great legends headed by Muhammad Ali, considered the greatest boxer of all time, but another figure with a place in history is Mike Tyson, who was known for imposing fear in his opponents.
Despite having a place as a heavyweight champion, Talk Sport remembered that Iron Mike was afraid of another legend, George Foreman, who after retiring in 1977, at the age of 38 returned in 1987 with the mission of dethroning Tyson.
In 1990, the legendary Don King, who was the best promoter of his time, placed them on the same card, Mike Tyson knocked out Henry Tillman and George Foreman crushed Adilson Rodrigues, with the intention of generating interest for a possible fight.
Mike Tyson was afraid of George Foreman
The strategy may have failed Don King at the time, although over the years Mike Tyson admitted that he regretted not fighting George Foreman.
According to Bobby Goodman, who was part of Don King’s team, in a 2005 Boxing Scene article, he revealed that Iron Mike was afraid of Foreman and wanted nothing to do with him.
Goodman was present when Don King was trying to convince Tyson to make the fight and recalled that “he told Tyson that Foreman represented a lot of money, plus he was old and slow and would not be a problem”.
But Mike Tyson‘s response was blunt, and he ended the conversation with a devastating phrase.
“Tyson got up and shouted at King, ‘I’m not going to fight that damn animal, if you love that damn animal so much, you’ll fight him!'” Goodman said.
It would later be revealed that the fear was mutual and Foreman admitted in an interview with ESPN that he was also not convinced to fight Mike Tyson, because he was a nightmare in the ring.
“I didn’t want to know anything about Mike Tyson. He was a monster. If he didn’t hit you with his left and then he didn’t hit you with his right, he would bite you,” Foreman recalled.
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