George Foreman was involved in some of boxing’s greatest battles (Image: Getty)
George Foreman has admitted he dodged a clash with Tony Tucker because he was “too tough” to face in the ring. The legendary pugilist enjoyed a remarkable 28-year tenure in the , beginning in 1969 and concluding in 1997, with an incredible record of 76 wins and 5 losses.
Alongside capturing the prestigious WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBU heavyweight titles, Foreman also secured an gold medal before hanging up his gloves. Although he faced numerous formidable opponents, including icons like Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, Joe Frazier, and Shannon Briggs, he chose to relinquish his WBA title in 1995 rather than step into the ring with Tucker.
Speaking on his decision in 2016 during a talk at the Oxford Union, Foreman said: “They tried to force me to fight Tony Tucker after I’d beaten Michael Moorer and I remember looking at Tony Tucker and saying ‘momma didn’t raise no fool’. I’m not fighting him, and they took the titles.
“Some people I’m not going to fight. That’s the good reason, I didn’t want to fight him. Too tough. I’ve got to tell the truth,” reports . Having seized the WBA and IBF belts with a tenth-round KO against Moorer in November 1994, Foreman was then instructed to defend his WBA title against Tucker, the mandatory challenger of the association at the time.
Foreman chose not to defend his title, leading the WBA to strip him of it. Instead, he decided to defend his IBF title against Axel Schultz in 1995. During the contest, Foreman won the vacant WBU title through a majority decision – a title he defended the following year while also securing the vacant IBA strap with a unanimous decision victory over Crawford Grimsley.
He held onto his WBU belt with a split-decision win over Lou Savarese in April 1997, before retiring after a majority-decision defeat to Briggs in November, ending a career filled with triumphs. Tucker was on a 33-fight winning streak when he clinched his first world title in 1987, defeating Buster Douglas with a tenth-round TKO to secure the IBF belt.
George Foreman fought a number of the world’s hardest hitters throughout his career (Image: Allsport)
He gambled his title for a shot at WBA and WBC belts later that same year, but was ultimately defeated by a unanimous decision loss to the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’. Tucker went 14 fights unbeaten before getting another chance at heavyweight glory, once again falling short against Lennox Lewis in May 1993 in another points loss.
After securing victories over David Graves, George Stephens, Cecil Coffee, and Dan Murphy, the WBA insisted that Foreman give Tucker the opportunity to challenge him for the belt. However, Foreman declined, resulting in him vacating his title.
Boasting an impressive record of 52-2 at the time, Tucker finally got his chance to fight for the title in 1995. He squared off against Bruce Seldon, hoping to reclaim heavyweight gold.
Tony Tucker (left) was a force to be reckoned with (Image: Allsport)
However, ‘TNT’ was forced to concede defeat when he retired in the seventh round at Caesar’s Palace due to severe swelling on his left eye. Tucker had another opportunity to achieve heavyweight glory in June 1997, when he went up against Herbie Hide for the vacant WBO title.
Regrettably, he suffered a second-round TKO. Despite this setback, he won two of his next three fights before hanging up his gloves with a victory over Billy Wright in May 1998. His overall record stood at 57-7-1 (No Contest).