Former two time heavyweight champion George Foreman revealed that he counseled Deontay Wilder in the aftermath of his technical knockout loss to Tyson Fury back in February at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Wilder suffered his first career defeat, and lost his WBC heavyweight crown, when he was dropped twice and stopped in the seventh round, after his corner threw in the towel.
The first time around, in December 2018, it was Fury who hit the deck twice, including a vicious knockdown in the twelfth round. The contest ended in a controversial twelve round split draw.
Foreman explained that he suffered the same type of defeat, when he was stopped by Muhammad Ali during “The Rumble in the Jungle” – which saw Foreman lose his title and suffer his first career defeat in 1974.
There is now a third fight coming, with Wilder exercising an immediate rematch clause.
The trilogy bout is being targeted for a date in early October. It was initially pegged for July, but then pushed back due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“I had a nice conversation with Wilder, nice conversation with him. 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 tells TMZ Sports.
“He’s gonna have to live with [the Fury loss] but I can show him how to live with that and come back better. We talked a lot on those lines.”
Foreman believes Wilder, with the correct adjustments, can beat Fury and he can win the trilogy fight in style.
“Not only beat him, [Wilder] can do it easily,” George says, adding, “Give him another chance. He’ll show you,” Foreman said.
–boxingscene.com
