George Foreman Calls Tyson Fury “The Maverick”

Former world champion George Foreman knows a thing or two about the pressures of being a heavyweight king,, and he sympathizes with Tyson Fury‘s current struggles.

Foreman recently spoke to The Telegraph and said that he is a fan of Fury for being able to be the first boxer to beat Wladimir Klitschko in a decade, opening the door for other heavyweights to gain more popularity as the next generation of boxers start being put onto boxing’s spotlight.

“Fury is distinctive,” Foreman said. “He’s the maverick. And I think that right now he is at the height of his popularity. Sorry to say, but his troubles brought that. Nobody paid much attention before but now you read that ‘boxer suffers this and that’ and he becomes the same as the rest of us out there. We want to see more of him. It makes him human. We need him, boxing needs him – and he needs us. We all need boxing to get better, so I hope he instantly gets back on his feet.”

The legendary heavyweight boxer also talked about the dangers of being a champion, and how it could potentially bring a lot of trouble for mainstream boxing stars and champions.

“There’s no apprenticeship with the role,” Foreman said. “You are either the heavyweight champion of the world or you’re totally not. Once you get to be the champ of the world, all kinds of trouble comes your way. A lot of blessings as well, a lot of wealth. But you have to be prepared and armed against the trouble.”

Fury is currently medically deemed unfit to fight and had surrendered the heavyweight titles that he won after he defeated Klitschko in 2015.