George Foreman was a notoriously big puncher but has admitted there was one ‘tough’ heavyweight he avoided in his decorated career.
Foreman had many memorable nights inside the boxing ring. After winning a gold medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics he turned professional in 1969 and by 1973 he won his first world title with a stunning second-round knockout win over the then-undefeated Joe Frazier.
After two successful defences, he went into one of the most famous fights in history, ‘the Rumble in the Jungle’ in 1974 against Muhammad Ali, which ended up being his first professional loss.
Foreman retired in 1977 and took a decade away from the sport becoming an ordained minister before returning and famously winning the world heavyweight title once by stopping Michael Moorer. That fight was in 1994 when Foreman was aged 45 and the oldest man to become champion in that division – a record that is still held to this day.
Speaking to Oxford Union, he was asked why he opted not to fight number-one WBA challenger Tony Tucker despite being ordered to do so after winning that belt of Moorer.
“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 had already been an IBF world champion at that point, back in 1987, but was the shortest-reigning ruler at just 64 days.
