"I didn't want any part of Mike Tyson"

Apparently people on this thread have ADHD or they're hard of hearing.

-Foreman's immediate response to Max Kellerman is a light hearted jab at Tyson "if he missed you with his left and right, he'd bite you. I wanted no part of that". This lets you know from the beginning to take his responses with a grain of salt. George does this ALL the time.

-Foreman says neither of them wanted to fight each other because they both could really hurt the other. It's a pretty honest and accurate statement and is similar to what he said about Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis "one guy is scared and the other guy is glad that he's scared".

-Foreman says Tyson and his trainer Cus were "very smart" and were fully aware of Foreman's ability to neutralize shorter fighters. He goes on to mention how his short trainer would hold the heavybag and prepare him for delivering body shots and big uppercuts.

So there you have it, despite dancing around the issue and making jokes about Tyson biting, Foreman eventually reveals how he really feels about the matchup; that his style was all wrong for Tyson. He literally said this more than 15 years ago on Letterman's talk show where he predicted he'd KO Tyson in 1-2 rounds.

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People lack critical thinking skills and hear what they want to hear. Foreman is a classic politician: he wants to present himself in the best light. As a 70 year old man with grand children, it wouldn't look good or classy for his first response to be "oh, Tyson? Id knock him out easy. He was scared of me" because then people would call him a braggart old man clinging to his glory days.

Then there's this, straight from the horse's mouth just 3 years ago:

"There were a couple of times, serious negotiations were going on with the Mike Tyson fight. Mike Tyson just didn’t want to fight me"

https://www.*******.com/foreman-we-serious-talks-mike-tyson-want-fight--108954

 

He plays to whatever his intended audience is and what he thinks will make the best story at the time. He's in salesman mode like 90% of the time he's in public or being interviewed.

 

I believe they were both scared of each of other to some degree which is why there's barely any talk about it.

 

Yep, Tyson that fought Holyfield and Bruno was still a tough mofo. The first fight against Holyfield proof he could still take alot of punishment and went to distance round. There's interview with Tommy Brooks (who trained Holy at the time) said Mike only trained for 2 weeks for Holyfield fight so he was surprised Mike actually able to went that far.

Also, people love to blow up Foreman victory over Moorer and how he won it at 45 but I wonder why nobody actually claim that punch being "lucky punch" unlike when Rachman or Mccall stopping Lewis back then....? also Moorer was the only notable fighter Foreman beat since he came back from retirement, he lost to second rate champs such as Morrison & Briggs. Foreman was big heavyweight and Moorer was blown out cruiserweight. Look at how Tua destroyed him lol. Beating Moorer is only credible when you considered Foreman age... yet, majority of one punch KO by any other fighters often considered as "lucky punch"

 

Doesnt proof much, its like many other fighters out there who'd claim they'd take on anyone and beat them. You can also see Tyson post fight interview after hea beat Stewart (or maybe Tillman) , where Jim Lampley named his few possible next opponent (Lewis, Holyfield, Foreman etc), Tyson merely said "I'll fight anyone, line them up"

 

Foreman and Leonard are the worst. It's fun but ultimately silly to put much stock in anything Foreman says about other boxers.

 

If George Foreman wasn't afraid to get in the ring with a real "Badman" in Sonny Liston when he was still young and green , sparring with Liston on multiple occasions. I don't think Tyson would scare him in any shape or form. Foreman many times talked other fighters up in interviews and was very complementary too them. If Foreman actually said he would be afraid of fighting Tyson, take that comment with a grain of salt.

 

Foreman would have uppercut Tyson into Bolivian.

 

Personally, I don't think either guy was very interested in a meet after Mike got out of prison. George had clearly lost interest after winning the title and Mike wanted as little fuss as possible, as evidenced by vacating instead of facing Lewis and going after Seldon's title instead.

 

This match-up, I've never really decided to be honest how it would go. But I reckon Foreman wouldn't take it lightly but at the same time he'd be confident. George was a tough guy, he'd hang in there against Tyson best shots. If he s still there after the fifth then Mike's confidence starts ebbing away. That's of course if he actually survives an early onslaught.
But it is an hard fight to Fathom as we know Tyson could be beat but George was hardly a spring chicken..

 

That’s completely disrespectful and false to call his comeback a farce and to imply it was fixed. Absolute disgrace. Man earned it. And last I checked Bowe and Lewis avoided their fare share of fighters as did Tyson. A smart manager will steer their fighter from bad fights.

 

He does change his story a lot. The 80s George would have been kayo'd by Mike, but I give it to George post-prison Mike. George would have caught him coming in eventually. Post-belt winning George would have lost though, probably.

I think George would have had more trouble with Bowe and Lewis.

 

Early 90s to Moorer Foreman, yeah I agree. Anytime before or after, not so much.

 

I hear no lies.

George was no dummy and crafted his comeback very well.

Now, he can sit on his millions $$$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

One of the best ways he played it safe was not fighting Holmes at 50. I get the feeling Holmes would have stuck and held his way to a relatively yawn-filled decision victory, and made George look bad.