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Muhammad Ali Begged George Foreman to Retire to Beat One Man: “I Can’t, But You Can”

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Muhammad Ali begged George Foreman to end retirement to beat one man: “I can’t but you can”

When Muhammad Ali lost to Ken Norton in March 1973, there was a growing sense that the best of the floating butterfly and the stinging bee might be gone.

Norton won by split decision in San Diego, a verdict that likely flattered Ali, who also suffered a broken jaw in the first round.

Ali narrowly avoided a second defeat in the rematchhe rallied slow to secure a split decision after winning the 12th round. With the match at 1-1, we had to wait for a draw.

What worried “The Greatest” so much in the fight against Norton turned out to be no obstacle for George Foreman. A year later in Caracas, Venezuela, the reigning heavyweight champion crushed the chiseled challenger in less than two rounds, knocking him down with hammer blows. The 6-foot-3-inch, 224-pound juggernaut later declared he would defeat Ali in two rounds.

Instead, Ali did the unthinkable. In 1974, at The Rumble in the Jungle, he stopped Foreman in a fight to regain the heavyweight crown. Two years later, Ali and Norton met for the third time at Yankee Stadium in Fresh York. “The Greatest” again received the nod, although the decision proved controversial and Norton immediately ordered a fourth fight.

This never materialized. However, years later Foreman came out on The Jim Lampley Show that his ancient enemy had turned to him for facilitate after Foreman’s retirement in 1977. Ali, wanting to avoid a fourth encounter with Norton, believed his ancient rival could do him a favor.

“I don’t know how he got my number. He called me and complimented me for about twenty minutes and then he said, ‘George, can you do me a favor?’ I said, ‘Of course.’ He said, “Please come back and beat Ken Norton and fight him for me… I can’t beat him. George, you can. He’s afraid of you. I’ll let you apply my training camp and all, but please come back and beat him for me.”

Who knows how history would change if this scenario came true. If Foreman had granted his rival’s wish, he might have gained a chance to take revenge for his most humiliating defeat.

Instead, Foreman remained retired until the 1980s before achieving a different kind of immortality in 1994 when he stopped Michael Moorer to become the oldest heavyweight champion in history.

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Boxing

Johnny Fisher vs Michael Pirotton Results: Latest Fight Outcome and Highlights

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Johnny Fisher vs Michael Pirotton Results: Latest Fight Outcome and Highlights

World Boxing News provides results and updates as Johnny Fisher faces Michael Pirotton on Zuffa Boxing 11 at the Copper Box Arena in London.

Fisher returns to heavyweight action over ten rounds against Pirotton as part of Zuffa Boxing’s latest event in the United Kingdom.

Craig Richards faces Radivoje Kalajdzic at light heavyweight, while Lee Cutler takes on Louis Greene and Cesar Mateo Tapia faces Leo Ruiz at middleweight.

WBN provides results and updates from every bout as they happen.


Results

All times are local BST.

23:41

Johnny Fisher defeated Michael Pirotton by majority decision after ten competitive heavyweight rounds at the Copper Box Arena. WBN scored the fight 98-92 for Fisherwhile the official judges returned scores of 98-92 and 96-95 for Fisher, with the third scoring it 95-95.

22:42

Radivoje Kalajdzic improved to 31-3 with a unanimous decision over Craig Richards, who dropped to 20-5-1 after a good ten-round scrap. Both men had their moments and hurt each other at times before “Hot Rod” got the verdict on the scorecards, which included knocking Richards down for the first time in his career.

21:43

Lee Cutler carded a unanimous decision win over Louis Greene in their ten-round middleweight clash. Judges scorecard 98-92 and 97-93 twice in favor on Cutler, who improves to 17-2.

20:52

Ahead of the three main bouts, Zuffa’s only female fighter, Kayla Allendefeated Edina Kiss via TKO in their super lightweight bout.

20:32

Leo Ruiz overcame Cesar Tapia over 10 rounds at middleweight, scoring a unanimous decision to move to 18-1 as Ruiz Tapia suffered a first loss.

19:29

Alex MacMillan moved to 5-0 with a second-round stoppage of Guillaume Azagier, who went down twice in the opening round and again before the finish at 0:32 of the second.

18:40

Rogelio Romero improved to 7-0 with a third-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Aurel Ignat, ending the cruiserweight contest at 2:12.

18:24

Alexis De la Cerda improved to 10-0 with a unanimous decision over Cain Lewis, taking the eight-round contest 80-72, 79-74 and 79-73.

17:42

Fred Pullen marked his professional debut with a four-round points victory over Leonardo Faretina, who was dropped in the second round.


Remaining Bouts

Johnny Fisher vs. Michael Pirotton — 10 rounds, heavyweight

Craig Richards vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic — 10 rounds, light heavyweight


TV Coverage

The event is available live on Sky in the United Kingdom and Paramount+.

Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap

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"Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap"

World Boxing News provides results and updates as Liam Davies faces Nathaniel Collins in the main event at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham.

Davies and Collins collide over 12 rounds for the EBU European featherweight title at the top of the Queensberry Promotions card.

Luke McCormack faces Kay Prospere for the vacant British super lightweight title, while Bradley Goldsmith takes on Amir Abubaker for the IBF International middleweight title.

WBN provides results and updates from every bout as they happen.


Results

All times are local BST.

23:11

Gerome Warburton defeated Nathan Heaney for the second time running as the middleweight put an exclamation mark on his first victory.

Heaney walks away from the sport having been an entertainer through a long carer, without reaching the heights of a world title.

22:04

Liam Davies improved to 19-1 after Nathaniel Collins retired at the end of the seventh round due to a cut over his right eye. Collins had also been dropped in the opening round as Davies successfully defended the European featherweight title.

21:22

Bradley Goldsmith improved to 17-1 with a seventh-round stoppage of Amir Abubaker to retain his IBF International middleweight title. Abubaker went down in the fourth and three times in the seventh before the finish at 2:42.

20:10

Lewis Richardson improved to 3-0 with a shutout six-round points victory over Ivan Trofimovich, earning a 60-54 decision.

19:56

Luke McCormack moved to 6-0 and claimed the vacant British super lightweight title with a tenth-round knockout of Kay Prospere, who was counted out after a right uppercut at 1:28.

18:55

Michael Hussain moved to 5-0 with a four-round points victory over Nabil Ahmed, earning a 39-38 decision.

18:11

Nelson Birchall moved to 12-0 with a third-round stoppage of Lewis Morris, who went down before the finish came at 1:12. Lasha Guruli also remained unbeaten at 5-0 after edging Hughie Wilson 77-75 over eight rounds.

17:22

Early action saw John Tom Varey and Reese Lynch claim four-round victories to move to 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.


TV Coverage

DAZN provides full worldwide coverage.

Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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Boxing

Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing

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"Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing"

Janibek Alimkhanuly spent months trying to get Hamzah Sheeraz into the ring. Now that Sheeraz has vacated his WBO super middleweight title, Janibek is asking fans to stop saying the former champion ran from him. That is generous. It also leaves Janibek with less to say about a fight he wanted badly.

Janibek’s tone has changed since the purse bid. He was eager to fight, said money was not his priority, and publicly pushed Sheeraz to accept. Queensberry then bid $1,001,809 to stage the ordered defense, beating Top Rank’s $820,000 offer. Sheeraz’s 75 percent share would have been roughly $751,000. Days later, he gave up the belt.

That sequence deserves a closer look. Queensberry put a serious number on the fight, so the bid itself cannot be dismissed as proof that nobody valued it. But winning the right to promote a title defense means little to fans when the champion vacates before it happens.

Sheeraz has objected to Janibek receiving a mandatory shot after his failed drug test. He is entitled to explain that position. Fans are equally entitled to ask why the issue reached a purse bid before he surrendered the title. Janibek’s post supplies no answer.

Perhaps Janibek sees no benefit in branding Sheeraz a coward. Doing so would also make the opponent he chased sound less valuable. Calling Sheeraz a great fighter preserves the idea that this was an important contest, even after the belt and the fight slipped away.

The respect between them may be sincere. Janibek still gets no Sheeraz fight, and Sheeraz no longer has to defend his title against Janibek. A friendly photo does not change either result.

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Boxing 24/7 Wire

Boxing247.com is an independent boxing news publication covering the sport since 2001. It provides original reporting, fight analysis, schedules, results, and informed coverage of major fighters and events worldwide, backed by more than 25 years of professional boxing journalism.

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