Reasons

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He would constantly tell anyone

 

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with a microphone after each fight that

 

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he came back

 

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because he knew he could beat Mike Tyson

 

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and wanted to fight him for the title

 

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Through Big George's first ten to

 

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fifteen fights

 

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he was laughed at for the quality of the

 

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fighters he was fighting and wasn't taken seriously

 

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Foreman never made excuses for them and admitted that he was

 

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fighting guys who had no chance of beating him

 

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He said that he wanted to get used to being back in the ring and was in no hurry.

 

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In 1987, Foreman fought five times; in 1988, he fought nine times and in 1989, he fought five times

 

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After 19 fights, Foreman was 19-0 (18).

 

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During the course of those 19 fights, Foreman only fought two name fighters:

 

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former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champ Dwight

 

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Muhammad Qwai (formerly Dwight Braxton), and fringe contender Bert Cooper, stopping both.

 

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On January 15, 1990, Foreman fought former heavyweight

 

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title challenger, the hard-hitting Gerry Cooney.

 

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Cooney was making a comeback after not fighting in almost two and a half years.

 

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Cooney viewed Foreman as an easy win and

 

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figured he could capitalize off of Foreman's name and jump to

 

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the front of the heavyweight picture with an impressive victory.

 

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Going into the fight neither Foreman or Cooney were

 

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perceived to be a real threat to any of the top heavyweights

 

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in the world, let alone Tyson who was just 23 and the unbeaten, undisputed champ.

 

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By January of 1990, Foreman had built up such a following

 

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and fan base that the Foreman-Cooney fight was only seen on PPV.

 

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It took Foreman less than two full rounds to mutilate

 

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Cooney sending him back into permanent retirement.