Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer, once admitted there was one heavyweight he didn't think he could beat: George Foreman. This surprising revelation came from Ali himself before he passed away in 2016.
Ali's boxing career was full of incredible moments. He won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. At just 22 years old, he grabbed his first world heavyweight title by beating Sonny Liston in six rounds. He went on to beat Liston again, along with other big names like Floyd Patterson and Henry Cooper.
But Ali's career hit a rough patch in 1967. He was stripped of his titles for refusing to be drafted into the military during the Vietnam War. He made his comeback to boxing in 1970, only to face his first defeat against Joe Frazier.
Ali didn't let that loss stop him, though. He came back strong and regained the world heavyweight titles in a fight against George Foreman. This match, known as the "Rumble In The Jungle," became one of the most famous boxing matches ever.
After that, Ali avenged his loss to Frazier, beating him twice. But as he got older, Ali started to slow down. He lost fights to Leon Spinks, Larry Holmes, and Trevor Berbick before hanging up his gloves for good.
Even with all his wins, Ali once said something surprising about George Foreman. In an interview, when asked if he thought he could beat Foreman, Ali said:
"Me neither. I was nervous."
This quote, which can be found in a TikTok video, shows that even the great Muhammad Ali had doubts sometimes.
Foreman had a pretty impressive career himself. He won his first world heavyweight championship in 1973 by knocking out Joe Frazier in the second round. After losing his titles to Ali, Foreman took a 10-year break from boxing. But he came back strong in 1994, knocking out Michael Moorer to regain the world heavyweight championship at 46 years and 169 days old - making him the oldest world heavyweight champion ever.
Sadly, both these boxing legends are no longer with us. Ali passed away in 2016, and Foreman died this past March at the age of 76. Their stories, though, will always be a big part of boxing history.
