George Foreman, the former heavyweight champion, has revealed that Muhammad Ali once asked him to come out of retirement to fight Ken Norton. Foreman turned down the request because he had started a new career as a preacher.
The revelation came during an interview with Access Hollywood, where Foreman shared details of a conversation he had with Ali in the late 1970s.
"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."
Ali's request came after his title defense against Norton in September 1976. The champ got his revenge over Norton in that fight, having lost to him back in 1973.
Foreman explained his response to Ali's plea:
"I told him I can't come back now; no, I'm a preacher."
'Big' George had retired from boxing after a shock defeat to Jimmy Young. Before that loss, he had been undefeated in his first 40 professional fights and held the WBC and WBA heavyweight titles.
Ali and Foreman had faced each other in one of boxing's most iconic bouts - 'The Rumble In The Jungle' in Zaire in 1974. Ali won that fight by stoppage in the eighth round, using his infamous 'rope-a-dope' technique.
Despite Foreman's refusal to return to the ring, the two boxing legends grew closer. Foreman said:
"We became closer and closer, and to his last days, he was my best friend!"
A third fight between Ali and Norton was considered a few years after their 1976 bout but never happened. Ali's request to Foreman shows he thought Norton might have been afraid of 'Big' George, and believed Foreman could beat him.
