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6 Years After His Death, Rival George Foreman Reminisces ‘Friendship’ With Muhammad Ali in Rare Picture Post

Published 12/19/2022, 9:30 AM EST

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In the mid 70s, George Foreman was strutting his upwards in the world of boxing. He was dominating the heavyweight division and had a stellar 40-0 record. However, on October 30th, 1974, he suffered the first defeat of his career at the hands of Muhammad Ali. Almost 48 years later after that fight, ‘Big George’ recently posted a Tweet expressing his love for Ali.

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Foreman recently wrote on Twitter, “See we were always friends; That right hand punch of his was no way to show friendship though. Miss Ali big-time; but I still have all of you out there to say “Love you.”  

The ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight between Ali and Foreman started off with both of them showing off their fighting prowess. However, Ali outclassed Foreman, who was the undisputed heavyweight champion at the time, in the 8th round of the match. 

George Foreman opens up about his conversation with Muhammad Ali during their fight 

The vast majority of people concur that the Ali vs. Foreman fight is the greatest heavyweight fight of the 20th century. Several thousands of onlookers were riveted to their seats as the two titans traded blows. Foreman once revealed what Ali said to him, “George you a kid in high school when I fought Liston you don’t belong in here.” 

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Foreman wanted to laugh at Ali’s statement as the former never went to high school. The two opponents later put their differences aside and became friends. Even ‘The People’s Champion’ gave Foreman plaudits out of love and respect in the latter years.

Since the 1980s, Ali had been taking medicine to treat his Parkinson’s. His medical condition grew worse as the years passed. Sadly, the disease caused ‘The Greatest’ to pass away in 2016 at the age of 74.

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It came as a great loss to the world. After Ali’s death, ‘Big George’ stated, “Yeah, lost – a giant tree just fell and Muhammad Ali – there’ll never be another. What I learned from Muhammad Ali is that he was one of the most conditioned athletes in the world.” 

 Meanwhile, what do you think about Foreman’s recent Tweet about Ali? Let us know in the comments below.  

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Written by:

Shashank Wankhede

775Articles

One take at a time

Shashank Wankhede is a Boxing writer at EssentiallySports. When it comes to boxing, the blockbuster film 'Rocky' sparked his interest in the sport. He holds Muhammad Ali in great regard and is a sincere admirer of his narrative, struggle, and accomplishments.
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Edited by:

Ajinkya Aswale