George Foreman Refused To Fight The One Man Muhammad Ali Begged Him To Face: “I Couldn’t Do It”

‘Big’ George Foreman and Muhammad Ali are two of the greatest heavyweights in boxing history.

Their 1974 battle, which was billed as ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’ is regarded as one of the most iconic bouts that the sport has ever seen. Foreman was the defending WBC and WBA heavyweight champion when he clashed with Ali in Zaire, having been victorious in all 40 of his professional outings.

Foreman was undoubtedly the stronger man and heavier puncher of the two, although this was no match for ‘The Greatest’ who put his infamous ‘rope-a-dope’ style into practice, as he wore ‘Big’ George down before stopping him in the eighth round to capture the heavyweight championship once again.

Fast forward 3-years, Foreman had suffered a shock defeat to Jimmy Young which would lead him into retirement from the sport to pursue a career as a preacher. Shortly after making this decision, the former heavyweight champion revealed how he was contacted by Ali who had ‘begged’ him to reconsider his actions and fight Ken Norton, who had defeated ‘The Greatest’ back in 1973.

In an interview with Access Hollywood, ‘Big’ George revealed the details of the conversation he had with Ali in the late 1970s.

“He said, “George can you do me a favour. Please come back. He’s afraid of you, and you can beat him. I’ll give you another title shot.”

I told him I can’t come back now; no, I’m a preacher. We became closer and closer, and to his last days, he was my best friend!”

Ali had got his revenge over Norton in a successful title defence in September 1976, but was called on to face his heavyweight rival once again just a few years later, although a third fight between the pair never came to fruition.