Muhammad Ali Told George Foreman To Avoid One Heavyweight When Making Comeback: “He Hits So Hard”

Muhammad Ali and George Foreman are two of boxing’s most legendary fighters.

They met in one of the most famous boxing matches of all time back in October 1974 when they fought in front of 60,000 fans in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in what is still fondly remembered as ‘The Rumble in the Jungle.’

Foreman was the undefeated champion heading into the fight, taking on former title-holder Ali, who many onlookers believed to be past his best.

Ali proved the doubters wrong though, upsetting the odds and displaying his famous rope-a-dope tactic on his way to a eighth round knockout win.

Foreman retired not long after in 1977, but then made a remarkable return to the ring a decade later, and even went on to become the oldest world heavyweight champion in history at the age of 46 years and 169 days.

It initially came as a surprise when Foreman announced his intention to return, and he has revealed to TMZ Sports that his old foe Ali warned him about facing one fighter in particular, and that man was Mike Tyson.

“Mike Tyson could hit man, even Muhammad Ali who had not faced him, when I told him I was coming back he said ‘George, that Mike Tyson can hit.’ That’s punching power there.

Yeah [he told me not to face Mike Tyson], it was a caution like my big brother.

He said ‘George, Mike Tyson hits so hard.’ He said it with a little more action with his words than just hard. It was like a warning ‘don’t do that George.'”

Foreman was then asked who he felt might win between Ali and Tyson.

“You couldn’t have Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali at the same time, it just couldn’t happen. Those things are invented by the stars, one star has to be out of the way so that the other can develop, no way they could have existed together, too much talent.”

‘The Rumble In The Jungle’ may go down in the history books, but Foreman has named the one fighter he fought that he feels was even better than Ali.