I’ve no doubt about it - Foreman would have beaten Tyson

Yours Truly with George Foreman in 2016. Picture: Birmingham Mail

I SPENT a magical afternoon in the company of George Foreman – the heavyweight great whose death, at the age of 76, was announced last Friday. Just me and him.

Foreman, shoulders wide enough to span time-zones, had agreed to the meeting before a 2016 “night with…” engagement at Resorts World.

Moon faced and beaming, Big George was a far cry from the menacing, brooding beast who spread terror in the 1970s golden era of heavyweight boxing: that persona, the Texan explained, was manufactured by those propelling him to stardom.

He was uncomfortable with the surly image, but it worked.

The mask had long been removed when I met the champ. He was convivial, courteous and candid about his career.

What started as a regimented interview for the Birmingham Mail, with PR people in attendance and a strict time frame in place, soon became a loose, enjoyable chat between boxing fans.

George, who appeared to forget he was present to plug his forthcoming engagement, let the meeting run on and on – much to the discomfort of those who organised the day’s media schedule.

The one time public “bad ass” was bathed in bonhomie, he belly-laughed his way through anecdotes.

To an extent, the father of 12 – five of them called George – was a mishmash of contradictions.

One of his biggest regrets, he confided, was not taking the legendary 1974 loss to Muhammad Ali – an exhausted Foreman was destroyed in the eighth – with more grace. He should’ve held up his shovel sized hands and admitted the best man won, rather than dish out one “hard done by” tale after another.

“Muhammad Ali beat me in Africa and I didn’t accept it,” he drawled. “I could’ve been a bit more complimentary of him. I should’ve been nicer to him. I should’ve said, ‘well done, the best man won’. That’s my only regret. But we became great friends afterwards.”

Within minutes of making the confession, George provided me with a fresh excuse for failure in Zaire.

“Someone put something in my water, absolutely,” he said.

“That’s why the rope-a-dope became an issue. I told (fight publicist) John Condon I’d been doped, someone had messed with the water, and he said, ‘you were rope-a-doped’. That’s where the phrase came from.”

George seemed keen to ensure the “Rumble In The Jungle” conspiracy theories rumbled on.

His bitterness over that first blemish on a wrecking ball career and the loss of his world title is understandable.

It left an indelible stain that discoloured his magnificent achievements. Ask a casual fan to name a Foreman fight and they’ll say Zaire. Ask a casual fan to name a Foreman opponent and they’ll say Ali. Ask a casual fan what they remember Foreman for and they’ll say losing to Ali in Zaire.

That is an injustice. Foreman, in my book, was one of the all-time great heavyweights. He was the hardest hitting heavyweight champion. And, by returning after a 10 year retirement to regain his world title at the age of 45, he achieved something that will never be repeated.

The sport saw two very different George Foreman’s.

Muscular and malevolent, the former Olympic gold medallist literally bounced Joe Frazier off the canvas in two rounds of chilling destruction to take the world title. His hammer blows also turned Ken Norton’s legs to rubber in two. The press dubbed him a monster.

With a body like Buddha, Foreman achieved remarkable things after returning to the ring, aged 38, in 1987. He was slower but smarter and, despite moans of a potential mismatch, gave world titleholder Evander Holyfield a hard night before losing on points.

The fairytale comeback was completed in 1994 when, well behind on points, he poleaxed Michael Moorer in the 10th to take the IBF and WBA belts.

“He wasn’t better than Mike Tyson,” say armchair fans. “Tyson would’ve beaten him.”

In my view, he was and he would.

Frankly, the questions annoy me. Tyson was an excellent and dangerous fighter, but his spectacular knockouts and outlandish soundbites proved addictive to an emerging social media audience.

He never did what every all-time great has done – climb off the floor to win. Foreman famously battled back from the brink in a barnstormer with Ron Lyle.

So what’s Foreman’s ranking in the list of all-time great heavyweights? I have him at number five.

Jon Pegg…places Foreman sixth or seventh in all-time greats list

“He’s certainly in my top 10,” said Birmingham manager and historian Jon Pegg, “maybe even six or seven.

“Most punchers didn’t take a punch like he did and as he got older he added patience to his game. People talk about his power, but his accuracy and timing were incredible. He was setting Michael Moorer up for that finishing shot all night.

“I’m a big Tyson fan, but Foreman did what Tyson couldn’t – he got off the floor to win. Would he have beaten Tyson? Maybe – Foreman on his night could beat anyone on their night.

“The fact he was a bit salty after the loss to Muhammad Ali is understandable – it was his first loss, he’d been made out to be invincible. But he became totally at peace with it and had a lot of appreciation for Ali. He made up for it in later years.”

Pegg added: “Foreman had the punch, he was well schooled, he was tough enough to hang in there.”

And, I can assure you, he was a very nice man.