Foreman tells of his conversation with Wilder
Los Angeles: George Foreman has divulged that he had a conversation with Deontay Wilder and gave him advice following his defeat to Tyson Fury.
The heavyweight legend saw comparisons between his historic shock knockout at the hands of Muhammad Ali in 1974 and Wilder’s stoppage by Fury in February.
Foreman revealed to TMZ: “I told Wilder, I had a conversation with him, I said, ‘Now, once a rematch is made, the title is vacant again.’
“You’ve gotta look at it like that, you can’t say, ‘I want my title back,’ you’ve got a rematch so your title is there. Just grab it again.
“I had a nice conversation with him, it was a two-way thing. I expressed some things that we needed to talk about and he was interested in listening to them. And the guy is a very sensitive man.
“Deep down he’s just a sensitive guy and we spoke on that basis.”
When asked if it was more boxing technique or general life advice, Foreman explained: “It’s all of the above, all of the above.
“Because I was in a position where I’ve lost unexpectedly with the title in Africa. Only I know what he’s going through, only I.
“He’s gonna have to live with that, but I can show him how to live with that and come back better. We talked on those lines.”
Foreman never got the chance at revenge over Ali, but did make a stunning comeback and became boxing’s oldest ever heavyweight champion 20 years later.
Wilder however has an immediate trilogy fight set up with Fury.
When asked if he believes his fellow American can beat the Brit this time, Foreman concluded: “Not only beat him, he can do it easily.
“As a matter of fact, he could’ve won that boxing match.
“Things people take for granted, they go into trainers, overwhelmed with all this publicity, and they just don’t know how to take advantage of that day. That’s what happened to him.”