By , Lindsey Foltin
Published June 04, 2016
George Foreman was one of Muhammad Ali's most intimidating heavyweight rivals throughout his boxing career.
The two foes faced off in the match dubbed "Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974, one of the most historic boxing events of all-time. The highly-anticipated fight lived up to the hype, resulting in Ali winning by knockout to regain the heavyweight title from Foreman.
While Foreman held a grudge against Ali for years for taking the heavyweight title from him, the two reconciled their differences in 1981 and grew to become "the best of friends," as Foreman once put it.
When Foreman learned that Ali had been hospitalized Friday morning, he reached out to Ali's family, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 KRIV, who spoke with Foreman shortly after Ali passed away Friday night. Foreman said he offered words of comfort to Ali's daughter, who was concerned about the media coverage surrounding her father's grave condition.
"I said, 'look, he is Mr. Media,'" Foreman told FOX 26 KRIV. "'There's no one who loved media and the press more than Muhammad Ali. This is his day, and just like he came on the scene by way of the press, he's going off enjoying the fame that he left the family.'"
Foreman was very emotional when Ali passed away and said he wasn't ready for his close friend to go.
"It's really sad. I always tell everybody all of us were pretty much connected. We're just like one guy. George Foreman, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, it was just one. We were one guy. So the world is going to be a lot different for me with those guys not being around, already kind of horrible.
"It's like a part of me just passed with him. It's hard for me to think about being in a world without Muhammad Ali being alive."
While Foreman is mourning the death of his "brother" now, he said Ali's spirit will live forever.
"Believe me, he didn't die. He's still alive. Because whenever someone tries to make a stand about anything, stand up for something they believe in, it's like we'll all be saying another Muhammad Ali. He's alive forever."
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/george-foreman-says-world-will-be-kind-of-horrible-without-muhammad-ali