Heavyweight legend George Foreman once made a stunning admission about a certain fighter that he dodged during his career.
‘Big’ George is often regarded as being one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of boxing, enjoying a glittering career which spanned just shy of 30-years, and his recent death only ignited those conversations once more.
Foreman captured the world heavyweight championship for the first time in 1973 when he sensationally knocked out Joe Frazier in the 2nd-round of their bout in Kingston, Jamaica.
He would go on to suffer the first defeat of his career a couple of fights later against Muhammad Ali in ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’, which remains one of the most iconic moments in the long and storied history of the sport. Foreman later stated that “once was enough” when speaking about being in the ring with Ali.
In an interview with Oxford Union, ‘Big’ George revealed details of how he vacated his WBA crown shortly after winning it from Michael Moorer to avoid facing mandatory challenger Tony Tucker, admitting he didn’t want to fight him.
“They tried to force me to fight Tony Tucker after I’d beaten Michael Moorer and I remember looking at Tony Tucker and saying ‘momma didn’t raise no fools’.
I’m not fighting him, and they took the titles. Some people I’m not going to fight. That’s the good reason, I didn’t want to fight him. Too tough. I’ve got to tell the truth.”
Tucker went on to challenge Bruce Seldon for the vacant WBA title in April 1995, although he would suffer a seventh round stoppage and miss out on the opportunity on becoming a two-time world heavyweight champion, having previously held the IBF title in what was the shortest heavyweight title reign in boxing history.
