Boxing
Tyson’s greatest rival reveals the hidden truth about their rivalry: ‘I didn’t want anything to do with that guy’
Which heavyweight champion said they “didn’t want anything to do with” Mike Tyson?

From the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in history to one of the most formidable names in boxing, Mike Tyson’s legacy was built from a career of almost superhuman performances in the ring.
Tyson held the undisputed world title from 1987 to 1990, but there is one name that he never faced, someone who openly admitted that he wanted “nothing to do with” ‘Iron Mike’.
On the opposite side of the coin to Tyson, Foreman was the oldest world champion in boxing history, and believe it or not, he never stepped in the ring with Tyson during their time at the top.
Tyson 'was a nightmare in the ring'
Speaking to Max Kellerman, Foreman admitted that he called the New York native “Mike ‘Nightmare’ Tyson”, adding that “the guy was a nightmare in the ring, I mean really.”
“If he missed you with his left, then miss you with his right, he’d bite you. I didn’t wanna have anything to do with that guy. No way!”
The one time when the two, ‘Big’ George and ‘Iron Mike’ were linked to a fight was just after Tyson’s release from three years in prison in early 1995; at the time Foreman was the world heavyweight champion and had just come out of his famous bout against Muhammad Ali, known as ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’. Alas, it didn’t materialise and we never got to see two of the biggest names in sport go head to head.
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