By: Hans Themistode
In a day and age where the sports world is on pause due to COVID-19, Mike Tyson grabbed a few headlines with his sharp display on the boxing mitts. Tyson, 53, recently decided to end his decade and a half retirement in order to jump back into the ring. Somewhat.
The former Heavyweight champion is currently in the gym working on his fitness in order to participate in an exhibition match. Nothing more, nothing less. But former Heavyweight champion George Foreman isn’t buying it.
“[Doing exhibitions], that’s what they do, that’s the way it happens,” Foreman told IFL TV. “I called Dick Sadler, my original trainer back in the 1960s, I’d just won a gold medal, I said I just want to do exhibitions, that’s all, and learn more about boxing. Next thing you know I’m in with the heavyweight champion of the world. So it starts off talking about exhibitions, but then it gets bigger and bigger. And Tyson, I would like to see him back in the ring. He’s an older fella, but a record is always waiting to be broke.”
Foreman, 71, knows a thing or two about returning to the ring at an older age. In 1977 at the age 28, Foreman hung up the gloves, only to return ten years later. He would have to wait an additional seven years at the age of 45 to regain his Heavyweight title. Both a remarkable feat and an anomaly.
While no one has been able to follow in the footsteps of Foreman up until this point, he believes Tyson could become the first.
“I was so happy. He looked like he had turned the clock back at least 20 years. He was looking fit and those punches were coming sharp. If he’s able to go into the woods and dedicate himself to that for about 10 months, he could come back and really be a top contender.”
