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The Superfight That Never Happened: Tyson VS Foreman
The Superfight That Never Happened: Mike Tyson Vs George Foreman
By Geno McGahee
George Foreman when he started his second career in the game of boxing was considered a joke as he plowed through carefully selected opposition. At one time he was the indestructible and undefeatable heavyweight champion, destroying men that are still regarded as some of the best of all time in Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, and Ron Lyle. He ruled in the most difficult era for heavyweights, but that was the 1970s and after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977, he was done with boxing, pursued his religion and faded away.
In 1987, he returned to the ring against Steve Zouski, a tough but limited journeyman, and ?Big George? would end it in four rounds. As the comeback continued, he began to improve, get sharper, use his willpower and toughness and a powerful jab to remain undefeated, knocking out nearly every opponent. In 1989, he knocked out Bert Cooper in 3 rounds placing him in line for a crack at Mike Tyson.
The goal of the Foreman return was money, of course, but also to regain the title and when he looked at Iron Mike, he saw Joe Frazier. Frazier could not dent George and fell victim to the most powerful punch in the Foreman *Censor*: the uppercut. It literally lifted Frazier off of the canvas in 1973, and when he looked at ?The Baddest Man on the Planet,? he saw the same fate. Not only would he be the oldest man to win the championship, but he would defeat the man that nobody thought could lose: Mike Tyson.
On January 11th, 1990, a wrench would be thrown into the works when 42-1 underdog, James ?Buster? Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson to take the World Title. Four days later, Foreman would record the biggest win of his comeback to date with a two round destruction of former contender, Gerry Cooney. Foreman became huge, and Tyson was set back several notches, making a non-title heavyweight bout a huge deal. It was so huge that Don King and Bob Arum were working together in harmony to try to make it happen.
On June 16th, 1990, HBO would present a double header of boxing. George Foreman would face Adilson Rodrigues, a fringe contender, while Mike Tyson would face the hapless challenge of Henry Tillman. Both ended in spectacular knockouts and the two promoters stated that the meeting between the two was eminent. The money was there to be made. The public would have made it the biggest bout in history, but it was not to be. The question was then: why?
I was informed that Mike Tyson did not want the fight with Foreman because of the style match up. Tyson actually feared ?The Punching Preacher,? and elected to pass on one of the biggest paydays that he would have ever received. That was one suggestion, but it is one that former Tyson Team member, Steve Lott dismissed in an interview that I conducted, stating that: ?George never ever moves his head, ever. Cus (D?Amato) would say that it was a lantern in a storm. I don?t think that Mike would be very intimidated or scared or worried about fighting Foreman at all.?
I can?t be sure of why this bout never took off, and perhaps it was a case of money with rival promoters insisting that they had the draw and deserved the bigger cut, or perhaps Don King and Bob Arum didn?t trust each other enough to get together again on a co-promotion, especially one of this magnitude. Whatever the case, the biggest fight in history perhaps never happened and both men went on to have prosperous careers.
The plan to make the fight seemed to be to have one more double header featuring the two heavyweights in against notable but not extremely dangerous competition, and then a bout would occur between the two on Pay Per View, breaking every record set by miles. Tyson would face Alex Stewart, a man that had given Evander Holyfield all that he could handle in their first encounter and Foreman was slated to fight Francesco Damiani for the WBO Heavyweight Title on the same card.
After a delay, Tyson would fight Stewart, and Foreman would not only back away from Damiani after some personal disagreements with the WBO, but would set his sights on Evander Holyfield and get his crack at the Undisputed Heavyweight Title. Mike Tyson would linger, facing Donovan ?Razor? Ruddock a couple of times before going away to prison. The event that everyone wanted to see was long gone?never to be, but RSR now presents a 1990 showdown between Mike Tyson, 38-1, 34 KO?s, against George Foreman, 67-2, 63 KO?s, in a twelve round contest.
First to make his way down to the ring is George Foreman. His typical smile has been replaced by a serious glare, as he realizes that this is a kill or be killed fight. As much as he thought that he had the edge in the fight, there was still that reminder of when he was much younger and backed down, intimidated by a reputation and what might just happen to him. Mike Tyson had used all of his intimidating lines and glares during the pre fight press conferences, stating that Foreman?s family had better ?make funeral arrangements.? Although Foreman played it off and tried to be the cheeseburger eating jokester, there was some of the old George left and he was going to come out to play in this bout.
George entered the ring and the sold out crowd at the MGM Grand erupts. He waves his right arm at the crowd and gives a brief smile. Although no championship is on the line, this is a 12 round event, against what most contend is still the man to beat. This was the People?s Heavyweight Championship and that was nearly as important. A win over Mike Tyson would also shut up the critics that were still dismissing Foreman as a product of hype. More sizzle than steak.
Mike Tyson wastes no time as he storms toward the ring, wearing his typical black trunks, black shoes, and towel with a whole cut through the middle draped over his head. He wants the world to know that he is still the man and sees a big threat but also a big target standing in the ring as he nears. He enters the ring and stares into the eyes of Foreman, and the crowd roars again. The arena is in an uproar, and when Michael Buffer uses his famous line: ?Let?s get ready to rumble,? the noise is deafening. The two biggest draws, arguably, in heavyweight history meet head on.
The crowd has not quieted down as the two combatants stand across from each other in their corners. Foreman weighed in at 250 pounds and seems to be carrying mostly muscle, standing there in white trunks and white shoes, while Tyson weighed in at 219 pounds, well trained and prepared. Referee Richard Steele seems to pause for a minute to take in the magnitude of the event before making the sign to the time keeper to ring the bell. Round one was ready to begin.
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Originally Posted by miles
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