Legendary trainer-turned-analyst Teddy Atlas once predicted the outcome of a fantasy clash between heavyweight legends George Foreman and Mike Tyson.
‘Iron Mike’ is regarded as being one of the most feared fighters of all time, rising to prominence during the mid 1980s where he would become the youngest world heavyweight champion of all time when he defeated Trevor Berbick in November of 1986.
As for Foreman, the Texas-native captured the world heavyweight championship on two occasions throughout the course of his storied career. ‘Big George’ etched his name into the boxing history books in 1994 when he defeated countryman Michael Moorer to become the oldest heavyweight champion ever. It was just a few years prior that a fight with Tyson bad been floated, but it never materialised.
Speaking on Vlad TV, Atlas, who coached Tyson for a period during the early stages of his career, said Foreman was ‘greater.’
“Call me a hater, come on go ahead, he’s greater for me than Tyson, and Tyson’s great but he’s greater.”
In a more detailed prediction on his own YouTube channel, Atlas said:
“You ain’t gonna like this Tyson fans … Foreman’s style was wrong for Tyson. He would’ve came in trying to slip and bob and I think it would’ve been a replay of the fight with Foreman and Frazier, twice, and we all know what happened in that – Foreman knocked him out.
“Bad style match up, the right punches to catch him, the size advantage. And they are from the same era do we don’t even have to play the game to conform and adjust. Foreman was naturally the bigger guy. He would’ve been able to catch Tyson coming in, time him. Foreman had a great chin. Tyson would’ve landed maybe a left hook, Foreman could’ve handled it.”
The late great Foreman rose to prominence during the 1970s, proving himself to be arguably the best heavyweight on the planet for a period of time. He would go on to share the ring with a number of legendary fighters along the way, including the likes of Evander Holyfield, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.
Known for his thunderous punching power, Foreman defeated 68 of the 76 opponents he faced during his tenure via knockout, suffering just a handful of defeats before his career came to an end after he was beaten controversially by Shannon Briggs in 1997.
