Mike Tyson was famously known as the “Baddest Man on The Planet,” but even he had boundaries.
According to Bobby Goodman, former matchmaker for promoter Don King, Tyson was actually afraid of fighting George Foreman.
In a 2005 article from Boxing Scene, Goodman is quoted as saying: “Georgie, you’ll never believe this but, Tyson is scared of Foreman and wants nothing to do with him.”
“I was there when Don was trying to arrange the fight.”
“He was telling Tyson that a fight with Foreman meant huge earnings, and that Foreman was old and slow, posing no threat.”
“Tyson stood up and yelled at King, ‘I’m not fighting that animal, if you love him so much, you fight him yourself!'”
Foreman initially retired in 1977 but made a comeback after a ten-year break from boxing at 38 years old.
By that time, Tyson had become the youngest heavyweight champion ever at just 20 years old.
In 1990, promoter King attempted to set up a potential fight by having both boxers compete on the same event.
Tyson defeated Henry Tillman, and Foreman won against Adilson Rodrigues, but negotiations quickly fell apart.
Iron Mike later went to prison in 1992 for a rape conviction, serving three years.
Meanwhile, Foreman became the oldest heavyweight champion at 45 when he defeated Michael Moorer in 1994 while Tyson was incarcerated.
Tyson returned to boxing in 1995, reclaiming the championship that year, before retiring in 2005 after two losses.
Foreman also retired by 1997 and ironically admitted he also didn’t want to fight Tyson.
He once told ESPN: “That guy was a nightmare in the ring. I wanted nothing to do with him.”
“I didn’t want to face Mike Tyson. He was a monster. If he missed with his left and then his right, he might bite you.”
“Those are the kind of people you see in nightmares. You want to wake up and be glad it was just a dream.”
“I didn’t want any part of Mike Tyson – no way.”
After his boxing career, Foreman launched a successful line of cooking grills.
Tyson returned to the ring for an exhibition fight against YouTuber Jake Paul, 28, last November, losing on points.
