A former associate of Mike Tyson has claimed that the two-time heavyweight world champion was afraid of one particular fighter during his time in the ring.

Tyson was once the self-professed 'Baddest Man on the Planet' due to his brutal knockout power and the terrifying rage he possessed in the ring.

His explosiveness and vicious punches led to a meteoric rise in the sport as just a youngster in the 1980s.

All of Tyson's first 19 professional fights were won by way of knockout, with 12 of them coming in just the first round of the bout.

He became the youngest boxer ever to become heavyweight champion after beating Trevor Berbick to win the WBC belt at just 20 years of age.

Tyson seemed scared of nobody during his peak years. However, Bobby Goodman - Iron Mike's promoter Don King's matchmaker - has stated that the now 58-year-old did not want to face the legendary George Foreman.

'Georgie, you'll never believe this but, f***ing Tyson is scared s***less of Foreman and wants no part of him,' Goodman is quoted as saying in a 2005 article by Boxing Scene.

'I was there when Don was trying to make the fight. He was telling Tyson that Foreman represented huge money, plus he was old and slow and would be no problem.

'Tyson got up and screamed at King saying, 'I'm not fighting that f***ing animal, if you love the motherf***** so much, you fight him!''

Foreman - a former heavyweight champion himself - initially left boxing eight years before Tyson burst onto the scene, following a bout of illness after a defeat to Jimmy Young.

He went on to find faith after the 'near-death experience' he claimed to have endured after the fight and put his focus on religion for the many years that followed.

However, Foreman had never formally retired from the sport and made a surprising return at 38 years old in 1987 while Tyson was in the midst of his reign as undisputed heavyweight champion.

Initially, the veteran had no intention of fighting Tyson, who was boxing's biggest and best fighter at the time. Nevertheless, serious negotiations regarding about started in 1990.

However, the fight never came to be after Tyson was convicted of rape in 1992 and sentenced to six years in prison.

By the time he was released in 1995, Foreman had retired - for good this time - and Tyson would never get to have Big George on his CV.

Despite Goodman's claims from 20 years ago, Tyson has previously revealed that not facing Foreman was a big regret of his career.

'I would have liked to fight George Foreman,' Tyson told The Ring last year. 'There have been many fans who wondered who was the bigger puncher.

'I would have liked to put an end to the discussion – one way or the other.'