Teddy Atlas: Call Me a Hater! George Foreman is Greater Than Mike Tyson (Part 11) 

Max Kellerman once said something to the effect of ‘If you could combine the physical abilities of the 1970s George Foreman with the mind of the 1990s George Foreman, you’d have the greatest heavyweight of all time.”

I’ve known this story for decades but never heard it so eloquently told. Well done Mr. Atlas.

George foreman and lennox lewis are both criminally underrated

People forget Foreman was a bad man. Before the preacher, before the foreman grilled. George was a street guy. Very mean from what I’ve read. Triple OG

Teddy's understanding of fight psychology transcends the sport.

I 100% agree with him!!! Foreman was a monster with pure strength, the best chin in the sport, and a master of many styles.....

Big George is a legend. Had he not retired in the '70s he would have been synonymous with heavyweight boxing like Tyson is.

Foreman was from that old school of Boxing he knew he couldn’t let Moore feel that power yet so he let Moore do what he wanted and as soon as Moore felt so confident he stood right in Formans face and that’s a mistake, Forman showed him why he was the Original OG and lights out

Foreman versus Holyfield is still one of the best brawling heavyweight fights I ever seen

Teddy told M.M. what was coming. His instructions between rounds are legendary. I've watched that fight a hundred times never gets old. Old P.P.V's are my T.V. Thanks RU-vid for all of these classics! In fact it's on again. George's dream speech is legendary at the beginning of the HBO program. Follow that star!

I really like what Teddy said at the end about how George ought to do something in the way of motivational speaking. God blessed Big George. George ought to pass some on now.

Teddy broke down the Forman story perfectly like he said it was about redemption and fighting the ghosts of his past when he became heavy weight champion again and also the oldest to do it! Remarkable

The only people who rank Tyson ahead of Foreman all time are people who aren't authorities on boxing. So, it's not really remarkable in any way that Teddy also believes what every other person in the sport believes.

Teddy is a very special person, what a dream it would be to have someone with this much wisdom in your life. Anyone who has had him in their life should feel blessed.

I got Foreman over most fighters lol 😂

HOW is that being a hater ?? Any REAL Boxing fan knows beating Frazier is better than beating LHW Michael Spinks or 40yo Larry Holmes. Those are Tyson's best Wins. Tyson's best accolade is being youngest HE Champ, not who he beat 💯

This is rather obvious to most boxing fans - Mike Tyson isn't the greatest heavyweight of all time but he is the most phenomenal. Foreman has more signature victories than Tyson but you can never deny the stunning abilities of the devastating 20 year old sensation.

People who truly study the history of Boxing know that George Foreman is greater than Tyson. To come back at 40 and win the title is something only the greats can do. And Tyson was never close to achieving that in any come back of his

Foreman is straight up one of the strongest heavyweights in boxing history, physically and mentally.

I've been saying George Foreman is the #1 heavyweight of all time, all over RU-vid, for years. Looks like other people are finally catching up and feel safe to share the same opinion I have.

George Forman did have a better record and fought better people

I recall this fight vividly. It was really a young vs old with Michael Moore having much more to lose. I remember being very torn after this fight. George was at the top of his game and super popular. We all wanted to see him win and be champ but it was sad to see Moore lose. Moore was not a bad guy.

Thank you Teddy ! Our whole existence is based on redemption!

1.Ali 2. Louis 3. Holmes 4. Jack Johnson 5. George Foreman

He's not lying even if it is biased

No way Tyson is better than Foreman. Tyson’s best win was against a 38 year old Larry Holmes who came out of retirement to fight Tyson and had only one month to get ready for the fight.

I don’t think Tyson would last longer than 3 rounds if both would fight in their prime. Foreman is probably the most feared heavyweight in history with Sonny Liston. Also Foreman went 12 rounds in his 40's with Holyfield in his prime, While Tyson got Beat like drum to a stoppage in the 11th round.

The sheer reverence Teddy has for Big George is inspiring! For someone like Teddy to say what he did about George, it means A LOT!

Teddy has been nothing but true and honest from what I've seen his entire career! One of a kind just like Cus!

I could hear Teddy talk for so long, he just drops such incredible gems of wisdom.

Moorer kept walking into Foreman's right hand all night. The miracle is the fight lasted as long as it did.

It's not even a bad take. Foreman beat Frazier twice and against Moorer at an advance age after retiring for a decade. Tyson unfortunately peaked too early and lost all his super matches against Holyfield and Lewis.

Mr. Atlas had major indigestion in this interview 😂

I know a fireman who is also a medical technician at Houston Methodist. He is by no means a small man. He met Foreman when he had a surgery done there and he says the man’s fist is the size of a cinder block.

Slim George was a monster. Long arms, power. Hard to handle...

im not ashamed to admit , that brought a tear ro my eye , that was beautiful

If Ali Hadn't Thought Of The Rope A Dope There Is No Doubt In My Mind George Would Be Called The Greatest. The way he destroyed Joe & Ken that gave Ali trouble both in 2 rounds. Unbelievable

You can really tell how much Teddy reveres and respects Big George.

Foreman had a great career, he was the most fearsome fighter of the golden era 70s - astonishing came back after decades to reach the top of boxing again - and he's still cooking now with his grills 😁

The George Foreman grill is the greatest invention of all time.

One of the happiest sports memories, Big George dropping that right hand and Moorer falling like a Sequoia tree in the woods.

FOREMAN IS GREAT MAN...... AND MY RESPECT LEVEL FOR MR. ATLAS HAS REACHED NEW HEIGHTS.... ALL GREAT MEN... FOREMAN, ALI, TYSON, MOORE AND ATLAS....

"I failed" not alot people would admit that. Something fighters and trainers today could learn from.

I've lost count how many times I've watched the Foreman - Lyle fight. Sheer barbarism.

I’ll never forget seeing Teddy in a small tv screen on the recording of the fight as Moorer went down, he looked dejected as the rest of us all were overjoyed that George had won the title back at 45. Incredible night!

Tyson was great to watch, but he never beat the best of his era. A career spands more than 5 years. The Tyson fans just make every excuse under the sun. He didn't fight killers like Mercer, Morrison, McCall, Foreman, Bowe either. Foreman is easily in the top 10 best ever heavyweights. A superior resume. I don't think any version of Tyson beats Foreman either. Especially the young Foreman. He would have sent Tyson into orbit.

He isn't wrong. Foreman is definitely a better fighter than Tyson. And because Evander actually stepped up and defended his title against Foreman, I'd say Evander is better than Tyson too.

Mike Tyson was far from perfect, he did some bad things that we all know about but many years on he has changed character, accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized on many occasions for certain things. He also had some shortcomings in the ring during his career when he did not live up to expectations, didn't deliver on the night and perhaps did not reach his full true potential. But I feel it is unfair to constantly take a negative stance on what Mike did or did not do during his life. He achieved truly great accomplishments as a young athlete. He still holds the record of youngest HW Champion ever, even after nearly 40 years. By age 21 he had collected up and unified the title which had been broken up and fragmented into different belts. He had a true love for boxing as a teenager, studied the legends of old to emulate them. He fulfilled the life-long dream of his old mentor. Avenged a brutal defeat of his boyhood hero Muhammad Ali. He defended himself on many occasions as the smaller man against big fighters that wanted his blood. His name "Tyson" had become the number one target that people wanted to take out. He's only seen as an executioner of victims that didn't fight back but that wasn't true. He went into the ring scared on many occasions and had to face adversity from men that did fight back. He just made it seem that way as the "executioner" because part of his art of war was to use the intimidation factor. Mike was not perfect, but deserves more respect from Teddy, but they have bad blood, so it is not easy for Teddy to let go of those demons and maybe never will.

This guy man Teddy is always the first person to point out someone else’s shortcomings, Mike is always the first to point out his own shortcomings And that’s where both of these men are different

The love we have for Tyson ain't because he was the greatest. Its cuz he came from the dirt and he was the underdog with a big bite. Mike Tyson beat the odds and he brought hell with him when he did. The peoples champ forever

People think Tyson was unstoppable in his prime he was amazing no doubt but he lost all his biggest matches.

Tyson was great but there are many heavyweights above him all time

I’m glad Teddy talks positive about Foreman here because before this all I could remember is Atlas saying that George was a con man with a bully persona and he lost to Ali because of lack of character.

I get where Teddy is coming from, but his diminishing of Mike's accomplishments kind of irks me. He is discounting what a huge feat it was for a scared kid from Brownsville to get in that ring time after time with that fear and doubt in his heart and rise to the pinnacle of the sport more quickly than anyone else in history. He struck fear into the hearts of the scariest men on the planet and had the whole world believing he could walk through walls. You could feel the electricity in the air when Tyson was about to come to the ring because you knew you were going to see something special. Saying Mike never had to actually overcome anything I feel like is completely unfair. Teddy knows what he's talking about and to a degree he's right, but despite his protests to the contrary when it comes to Mike I also feel like whatever he's sipping is slightly spiked with sour grape-flavored Hate-orade

Atlas you could see the heartbreaking he went through the Moorer fight. Every round he warned Moorer of that right hand of George. Moorer a lapse of concentration and George wins the championship.

Anyone who thinks Tyson is greater than Foreman doesn’t know shit about boxing

Even Tyson's great trainer Cus D'Amato told Tyson to never fight George Foreman because Tyson would be knocked out by Big George because Tyson's style which would walk right into Foreman's power was made to order for the freakish punching power of Foreman.

Foreman is top 3 heavyweights in the history of boxing with with Ali and Joe Louis

Respectable opinion by teddy atlas that’s how he feels George Foreman was a great fighter powerhouse he won the belt at an older age but Tyson was young getting busy in that ring

Of course he is.

George was not destroyed by the title lost. He felt stupid, and angry. He desperately wanted a rematch, that was denied. What made him feel not invincible was the tremendous fight with Ron Lyle

Teddy is trying to rewrite the story. He was dogging Foreman the whole time. It's literally on video

Teddy Atlas is bang on the money .. I love this fella I could listen to him all day & night

Foreman fought Ron Lyles b4 being out of boxing 10 yrs. That’s 1 of the very best heavyweight slug fests in the history of the sport. There were 5 knock downs.

This is so heavy and most will never understand

Of course, it’s not even close.

Teddy told Moorer EXACTLY what was coming If you haven't seen it please watch that fight

Give this man some Water he got hiccups 😂

Teddy can cite all the negatives but the fact is: Mike Tyson is the youngest heavyweight champion ever at the age of 20 years and 4 months.

Mike The Greatest to me dont care what this clown says Tyson was 🔥 aint no one as young as Mike was, was ever on that level

There is something physically wrong With Teddy Atlas.

Nobody (who is serious and know boxing) think Tyson is ahead of Foreman

IMO, we never got to see Tyson's true potential. Cus died too early in his career and after that he lost a lot of his discipline. So ill agree that Foreman was better but I personally think Tyson had a higher ceiling.

Foreman would have destroyed Fury, Wilder, Joshua and Usyk. He was even a champion until he became 48 but got badly robbed against Briggs and then just rode onto the sunset...

Foreman was too powerful ❤

Teddys a hater? Nah love Teddy. The passion!!!

Tyson never beat anybody who was considered to be on his level or greater

Totally disagree with Foreman being greater than Tyson. Tyson in his prime vs. Foreman in his prime would have been interesting, but Tyson skill wise was better. Ali himself said that Tyson would have beaten him and Ali was a bad boy jack! Let's be real, Tyson beat Tyson because if Cus were with him his whole career we'd be having a waaaaayyyyy different discussion about who the greatest ever was or would be.💯

Prime, focused Mike is untouchable

Amen brother. Atlas tells it like it is .

Teddy needs to let it go with Mike . I truly believe that if he didn’t have something against Mike he would have a different stance on him . Teddy will never let it go

Foreman is better than Tyson in every aspect. A bigger, badder puncher and better boxer. Any version of Foreman would’ve destroyed Tyson.

Boxing exposes a man's soul like nothing else. Teddy Atlas is a master of the arena. He can identify bum or hero, man or mouse in mere seconds.

Mike Tyson outside of being the youngest Heavyweight Champ ever really didn't accomplish much compared to his peers , He's not better than Lennox Lewis (not even close) nor better than holyfield

He is. Far superior record and it's not even close. Any version of George KOs Mike which is why he wanted no part of him

Foreman definitely greater than Tyson

I watched foreman fight when i was younger but that was once he was an older man, then i watched the movie and i assumed it would be wack but it turned out to really be a great story and love to hear teddy tell this, he really is a great man

Foreman actually beat the count against ali and got up and walked off

These clips are great.. thanks VladTV

Before George Foreman was selling grills, he was selling knockouts. 40-0 before Ali with 36 by KO. Ali is the GOAT

Really hate to hear people say Ali broke Foreman down. HEAR ME he let Foreman beat the crap out of him to tire Foreman out…Ali suffered for that the final years of his life greatly. It wasn’t worth it.

He was so calm right till the end … till he knocked out Moore .

You can tell he HATES Tyson 😂. Give him the 🎤 and he’ll shit on him any chance he can get.

Every fighter in their prime ranked. 1. Ali. 2. Foreman. 3. Joe Louis. 4. Larry Holmes. 5. Tyson. 6. Marciano.

Two things can be true at the same time, 1, he’s definitely a hater & a Tyson hater fasho, 2, Foreman is better than Tyson.🥊

Say what you want to say from 3:00 up will give the toughest man alive Goosebumps. Teddy Atlas is the greatest boxing story tell of all times. That man is the Morgan Freeman of boxing. If mike Tyson makes a movie this man got to narrate it. How raw truthful and uncut it would be and pay him and pay him well.💯💪🏿

So how come George said he wanted no part of Mike Tyson? Lol. No one moved and punched faster and harder than Mike Tyson combined.

Here’s the thing; it’s not that he’s “wrong”, its that he LOOKS for openings to discredit Tyson (call me a hater, but if Tyson never happened…ABSOLUTELY NO ONE AT ALL would have the slightest clue who Teddy Atlas even was/is)

Mike lost to every good fighter he faced, left his good trainers and lost that mental edge. And wasn’t one to come back and adjust in a tough fight.

This was well said Mr. Atlas👏🏾