Tag: Rumble in the Jungle

Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier I to air on U.S. TV (ESPN) for first time since 1991

For the first time since 1991, the first of three fights between Muhammad Ali and arch rival Joe Frazier will appear on U.S. television.

ESPN has planned a special treat for boxing fans.

For the first time since August 1991, the first of three fights between Muhammad Ali and arch rival Joe Frazier will appear on U.S. television. The fight, labeled “The Fight of the Century,” has never aired on an ESPN platform.

The telecast highlights 11 consecutive hours of classic fights beginning at noon ET this Saturday (April 18). All three Ali-Frazier fights will be showcased, as well as Ali’s classic encounter with George Foreman.

These fights also will be available on ESPN+ beginning Saturday.

Here is the full lineup for Saturday (all times ET):

Noon — Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman
1 p.m. — Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman
2 p.m. – Oscar De La Hoya vs. Julio Cesar Chavez I
3 p.m. — Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad
4 p.m. — Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns
4:30 p.m. — Mike Tyson vs. Trevor Berbick
5 p.m. – Mike Tyson vs. Larry Holmes
5:30 p.m. — Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks
6 p.m. — Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay I
7 p.m. — Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I
9 p.m. — Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II
10 p.m. — Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III

George Foreman thinks Deontay Wilder can beat Tyson Fury in third fight

George Foreman told TMZ that Deontay Wilder’s loss to Tyson Fury reminds him of his own KO loss to Muhammad Ali in 1974.

Tyson Fury’s knockout of Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22 reminds George Foreman of his own stoppage loss to Muhammad Ali in the classic 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle.”

For that reason, Foreman told TMZ, he understands what Wilder is feeling. Foreman (40-0 at the time) and Wilder (42-0-1) were both undefeated before their emphatic, championship-losing setbacks.

Big George said he recently spoke to Wilder.

“I had a nice conversation with Wilder, nice conversation with him,” Foreman said. “… We talked because I was in a position where I lost unexpectedly with the title in Africa. Only I know what he’s going through.”

Foreman went on: “He’s gonna have to live with [the loss to Fury] but I can show him how to live with that and come back better. We talked a lot on those lines.”

Wilder and Fury fought to a controversial draw in December 2018, as most observers thought Fury deserved the decision even though he went down twice. Fury, adopting a more offensive strategy, battered Wilder en route to a seventh-round stoppage in the rematch.

Wilder has exercised a clause in their contract that allows for a third fight.

Bad idea? Foreman doesn’t think so. He believes Wilder can win.

“Not only beat him, [Wilder] can do it easily,” Foreman said. “… Give him another chance. He’ll show you.”

Foreman engineered arguably the greatest comeback in boxing history. He left boxing in 1977, returned a decade later and regained a heavyweight title by stopping Michael Moorer at 45 years old.

Anything is possible.

George Foreman offers to work with Deontay Wilder

George Foreman knows a thing or two about hitting hard; he also knows something about coming back from a devastating knockout loss.

Heavyweight great George Foreman has a suggestion for how Deontay Wilder can improve his fight game: Come train with me.

“Big George,” one of the most devastating punchers in boxing history, put out an open invitation to fellow hard-hitter Wilder shortly after the latter’s surprising seventh-round knockout loss against Tyson Fury last Saturday in Las Vegas. Fury dominated Wilder from the opening bell, dismantling the Tuscaloosan behind an uncharacteristically aggressive style.

“Maybe it’s Time for Deontay Wilder, to come spend a 2-4 weeks with me” Foreman wrote on Twitter. “Happy for Fury; but see a need for Wilder.”

In his heyday, Foreman, much like Wilder today, had one of the great wrecking-ball right hands. Also like Wilder, Foreman suffered a devastating loss when he went up against Muhammad Ali in 1974 in the so-called “Rumble in the Jungle.” Ali, a heavy underdog, knocked Foreman out in the eighth round. Foreman would mount an incredible comeback, albeit more than a decade later, when he became the oldest heavyweight titleholder in heavyweight history at 45.

Given the similarities, Foreman thinks he can offer a helping hand to Wilder.

Foreman’s comment arrives after Wilder voiced a highly unconvincing mea culpa. He blamed his performance on the weight of his ringwalk costume and threw co-trainer Mark Breland under the bus for throwing in the towel, which prompted referee Kenny Bayless to stop the fight.

“I am upset with Mark for the simple fact that we’ve talked about this many times and it’s not emotional,” Wilder told Yahoo Sports! “… I told my team to never, ever, no matter what it may look like, to never throw the towel in with me because I’m a special kind. I still had five rounds left. No matter what it looked like, I was still in the fight.”

If Wilder moves on from Breland, who has been with him from Day 1 in the professional ranks, he’ll probably hire someone else to work with head trainer Jay Deas as he prepares to a likely third fight with Fury.

Foreman? Crazier things have happened.