George Foreman always had a place in his heart for Muhammad Ali despite their infamous bout ending in a knockout for the big man.
The former two-time heavyweight champion of the world revealed what Ali muttered to him moments before their 1974 super-fight years later.
Foreman and Ali met in the world-famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ – an event organized by a young Don King in Kinshasa.
An aged Ali was the massive underdog, having been through many wars during his career. In contrast, Foreman had been ripping through the division and punching his opponent’s lights out.
As the curtain came down on what was history in the making in the Congo, Ali said a final few words to Foreman. He then pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all time.
George Foreman vs Ali
“George, you were just a kid in high school when I beat Liston,” Ali stated, according to Foreman, as the pair went face to face.
After revealing his amusement at the comment, Foreman added: “I almost laughed because I never saw a day in high school.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
Foreman posted about Ali lovingly most recently, accompanied by an image of the pair side by side.
“See, we were always friends. That right-hand punch of his was no way to show friendship, though. Miss Ali big-time. But I still have all of you to say, “Love you.”
Remembering The Greatest
In another reminiscing moment, the oldest to ever win a heavyweight crown – added: “Muhammad had my number. If I’d done it all over No Ali fight,” he admitted.
Further pushing from the public regarding potential fights with Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis during Foreman’s ‘second career’ brought honest answers from the legendary figure.
“I didn’t want any of ‘Big Daddy’ Bowe [and] Lewis was a fight I didn’t want. Mama didn’t raise no fool,” he said before finishing the session on why a clash with Earnie Shavers didn’t happen.
“When I was the champ, we tried to make [the] Shaver’s fight. But he lost important fights. Later on, [it was] pretty much the same.”
A legend in his own right, George Foreman has always been one of the most humble and likable to don the gloves.
Ironically, in losing to Ali, the events made Foreman even more famous. But let’s not get started on the grilling machine.
