DEONTAY WILDER found a shoulder to cry on in George Foreman after his defeat at the hands of Tyson Fury.
The Bronze Bomber, 34, was comprehensively beaten in his rematch with the British star after their first fight was controversially deemed a draw.
Fury battered Wilder in their rematch with a third fight set for the autumn
Muhammad Ali regained the world heavyweight crown by knocking out champion George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974Credit: AP:Associated Press
And Foreman was a shoulder to cry on for Wilder, with the 71-year-old boxing legend able to relate thanks to his shock defeat against Muhammad Ali in 1974 classic “The Rumble in the Jungle”.
The American Hall of Famer was 40-0 when he headed to Zaire for the eagerly-anticipated fight, but was humbled by Ali in one of the sport’s most-famous encounters.
Last year, Foreman told SunSport he still has “nightmares” about the defeat which left him utterly “devastated”.
Wilder had a similar record too, sitting at 42-0-1 – with his only blemish the draw with Fury, 31, in December 2018.
“ONLY I UNDERSTAND”
During a grilling from TMZ, Foreman revealed: “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.
“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.”
Wilder quickly activated his rematch clause to ensure he would have another crack at Fury – with many pundits believing it to be a mistake.
Despite the criticism, Foreman is adamant Wilder can not only beat Fury in the third and final fight of their trilogy, but do it easily.
The boxing legend-turned-grill-flogger added: [He can] Not only beat him, [he] can do it easily.
“Give him another chance. He’ll show you.”
Mike Tyson recently lent his advice to Wilder too, urging him to rediscover his “zest and confidence”.
Meanwhile, Fury wants Wilder to step aside so he can take on Anthony Joshua in an all-British unification fight.
Tyson Fury says ‘you never get bored of beating Deontay Wilder up’ as he longs for trilogy after coronavirus crisis ends
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
