George Foreman claims Mike Tyson could KNOCK OUT Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury and even thinks ‘Iron Mike’ can become heavyweight champion again

A heavyweight title is not out of Mike Tyson's reach and the former champion even has the ability to knock out the current kings of the division.

That's according to George Foreman, who liked what he saw from ‘Iron Mike’ who returned to the ring for a charity exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr, which ended in a draw.

Although he didn't get the win, Tyson’s physical condition and crisp punching impressed plenty of fans who felt a draw was unfair on the 54-year-old.

Speaking after the bout, Tyson maintained he would continue to fight exhibition bouts for the sake of charity – but nothing more.

Yet Foreman, who became the oldest heavyweight champion in boxing history when he knocked out Michael Moorer, age 45 in 1994, believes the sky is the limit once again for the New Yorker.

“If he gets in shape like he’s in now, and then gets his timing back, and all the other things fall into place, he can have an opportunity to fight for the title,” the Hall of Famer told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday.

“If he can be managed right, a champion, the right champion, will come to him. And if the right one comes, he can knock him out."

“Tyson looked great," Foreman added. “He really did.

“And Roy Jones had to use every old skill out of the book to keep himself from being knocked out.

“I just couldn’t believe what I saw. And that was just an exhibition. Just think if [Tyson] had some activity the last two years. He’d be in line to be the champion of the world again at 54, 55.’’

When Foreman made his boxing comeback in 1987 after losing his world titles to Muhammad Ali at the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, the possibility of him fighting Tyson became all the more real.

‘Kid Dynamite’ was en route to claiming the undisputed world heavyweight titles against Michael Spinks and looked set to dominate the heavyweight landscape for years.

However, Ali allegedly told ‘Big George’ to steer clear of Tyson because of his ferocious punching power, while Tyson himself was also allegedly reluctant to share a ring with the 6ft 3ins slugger.

According to folklore, legendary trainer Cus D’Amato warned Tyson against fighting Foreman if the opportunity would ever arise.

The duo watched tapes of Foreman’s fights with Joe Frazier and D’Amato noted how the bigger man loved to fight against smaller foes who tried to swarm in on him.

Bobby Goodman, who was Don King’s matchmaker for years, believes the youngster even went as far as to scream at King.

“You’ll never believe this but Tyson is scared s***less of Foreman and wants no part of him,” he told 'The Sweet Science'.

“I was there when Don was trying to make the fight. He was telling Tyson that Foreman represented huge money, plus he was old and slow and would be no problem.

“Tyson got up and screamed at King saying, ‘I’m not fightin’ that f****** animal. If you love the motherf***** so much, you fight him!'”