When 38-year-old George Foreman returned to the boxing ring in 1987 after a 10-year absence, he made no secret of his ambition to reclaim the heavyweight title he lost to Muhammad Ali at the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” in 1974. But that was obviously easier said than done because Mike Tyson was dominating the heavyweight division at the time. So why did the Mike Tyson vs George Foreman fight never happen?

Muhammad Ali warns George Foreman to stay away from Mike Tyson.

Nearly 10 years after losing to heavyweight Jimmy Young in 1977, George Foreman returned to the ring and promptly knocked out Steve Zouski on March 9, 1987. Foreman certainly didn’t pick a worthy opponent when he decided to return. But he did well. He won all five of his 1987 fights by knockout.

In 1988, the same year Mike Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds, Foreman fought only underdogs. He fought nine times that year. Again, Foreman won all of them by knockout. People started talking about the possibility of a Mike Tyson vs. George Foreman dream fight. But there was at least one person who didn’t want to see it. The man who gave George Foreman his first career loss – Muhammad Ali. Foreman once told TMZ Sports that his “Rumble in the Jungle” opponent told him to stay as far away from Mike Tyson as possible.

“George, Mike Tyson hits so hard!! George, Mike Tyson can throw punches you can’t block! That’s the power of the fist! It’s like a warning. Don’t do that, George!”

But George Foreman made no secret of the fact that he wanted to fight Mike Tyson in the ring. What he didn’t know was that Mike Tyson didn’t want to fight him.

Foreman and Tyson were both undefeated at one point.

In 1989, George Foreman fought five more times. Again, he won them all, and the fight got better with each fight. On the other hand, Mike Tyson defended his undisputed heavyweight title twice. He defeated Frank Bruno and Carl “The Truth” Williams, both by knockout.

In January 1990, Foreman faced Gerry Cooney, who had lost only two of his career, to Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks. Cooney was on a comeback streak, having not fought since losing to Spinks in 1987. Cooney felt he could beat Foreman. But it didn’t happen. Foreman beat Cooney, knocking him out in the second round and forcing him to announce his retirement. 

A fight with Mike Tyson seemed imminent, but just 42 days later, James “Buster” Douglas shocked the world. Douglas toppled the iconic Mike Tyson in Tokyo in the most terrifying fight in boxing history. But the audience still did not lose hope for a Mike Tyson vs George Foreman match.

Tyson’s fist could kill Foreman.

After Mike Tyson lost to Douglas, a fight with George Foreman seemed to be on the cards. Rumors swirled that the fight was in the works, and ESPN even ran segments about it and hinted at a date. But the high-profile fight never materialized. Not for lack of trying, of course.

On June 16, 1990, Tyson and Foreman actually appeared on the same event card. Mike Tyson avenged his two 1984 Olympic losses to Henry Tillman by knocking him out in the first round. Meanwhile, Foreman knocked out top-10 contender Adilson Rodrigues with a second-round knockout. But why didn’t they fight that night? Apparently, Tyson didn’t want to fight Foreman at all. “Iron Mike” believed he could be dangerous to his opponent.

Longtime boxing journalist Frank Lotierzo once recounted that Mike Tyson was afraid he would accidentally punch Foreman to death. “ You’ll never believe this, but Tyson wasn’t afraid to fight Foreman. Tyson just didn’t want to fight him. I was there when Don was trying to make the fight. He was telling Tyson that Foreman would bring in a huge amount of money. Plus he was old and slow and wouldn’t have a problem. Tyson stood up and yelled at King, ‘I’m not an animal, I don’t kill an old man.’”

George Foreman admits he won’t fight Mike Tyson.

While there is no doubt that George Foreman would love the chance to face Mike Tyson, he later admitted that he would have a very difficult fight against the boxer once dubbed “The Ugliest Man on the Planet.”

“That guy is a nightmare in the ring. I don’t want to fight that guy. He’s so good and I’m glad about it. I don’t want to fight Mike Tyson. He’s a monster. He’s the kind of guy you see in a nightmare. You want to wake up and say, ‘I’m glad it was a dream. I don’t want to fight Mike Tyson for a second – ever.’”