Ali named Tyson as fighter he didn’t think he could beat as he "hit so hard"
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To many in the boxing world, Muhammad Ali is the best fighter to ever enter the ring, however the great heavyweight reportedly once admitted that he would have struggled to beat a prime Mike Tyson.
According to one of Ali’s great rivals George Foreman, the former heavyweight champion of the world admitted that the sheer power of Tyson would have been more than difficult to stop.
Ali and Foreman battled out arguably one of the most famous fights in boxing history, as their historic heavyweight bout in 1974 was nicknamed ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’, which the former would go on to win with a knockout in the eighth round.
The 72-year-old discussed Ali’s great legacy in depth with Fiaz Rafiq for the book 'Muhammad Ali: The Life of a Legend', and revealed the former fighter had great admiration for Iron Mike.
Foreman said: “Muhammad Ali told me himself. said to him, ‘Do you think Tyson could beat anybody?’ He said, ‘Man, Tyson hits so hard.’
“He felt Tyson hit harder than anyone he’d faced. He told me once that he didn’t have the confidence he could have beaten Mike Tyson.”
Who is the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time? Let us know in the comments section below.
Ali secured 56 wins in his remarkable heavyweight career, but decided to hang up his gloves after back-to-back defeats to Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick in 1980 and 1981 respectively.
Tyson then arose onto the heavyweight scene four years later in 1985, and became the youngest heavyweight champion in history one year after this, thanks to victory over the man who had previously defeated Ali – Berbick.
Iron Mike had always been a huge admirer of heavyweight great Ali, and insisted if the pair were to ever meet in their prime form it would be the man 24 years his senior who would come out on top.
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Back in 2020, World Boxing Super Series held a simulation eSPORT tournament between the greatest heavyweights of all-time, and during it, Tyson who prevailed in the final over Ali thanks to a unanimous decision.
Despite the fantasy win though, Iron Mike told Yahoo Sports that he believes that wouldn’t be the case in real life.
He said: “I know it's a fantasy game. Most likely I would win the fantasy, but I wouldn't win the real fight. Ali's the greatest there's ever been.”
- Mike Tyson
- Muhammad Ali
- Boxing
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