World News – CA – Former UFC champion compares himself to boxing legend George Foreman

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski vows to channel Boxing Hall of Fame George Foreman as he tries to reclaim his title

Arlovski is one of the few aging UFC heavyweight fighters who can still compete with some of the elite youngsters in his division The 41-year-old is booked again for another main card fight in UFC Fight Night : Santos vs Teixeira on Saturday

Ahead of the fight, « The Pitbull » remains convinced he can defy the laws of time and has compared his long career to that of Foreman, a boxing legend who became a champion in his mid-forties and defended his belt until he was 48

“I take care of my body,” Arlovski recently told reporters on UFC media day. “I choose what’s most important to me now There aren’t many fighters out there. UFC over 40 who are still fighting « 

« Me, Alexey Oleynik, Yoel Romero and Anderson Silva who fought last weekend, listen, I have a good example in George Foreman, who became champion at 46, » he said. added « Mark my words, because I am in prime time in the near future »

Despite having won just four wins in his last 15 fights under the UFC banner, Arlovski still had a chance to prove himself worthy of a possible heavyweight title crack. He is set to face Canadian heavyweight contender Tanner Boser, who wins back-to-back KO

Boser is well aware of Arlovski’s legendary status but insisted that none of this would matter as soon as they met inside the octagon

« I knew who he was, of course, and I had seen reruns on Spike TV or whatever, » Boser recently told Cageside Press « I saw his fights with Tim Sylvia, I knew about it from him, and I really applauded him for his winning streak, when he came back to UFC « 

The 29-year-old also admitted that despite enjoying watching the former UFC champ’s fights, he doesn’t consider himself a « fanboy »

« I would say I applaud [Andrei] Arlovski more than I do, » Boser added « I’m obviously not into this one But is this a guy I’ve watched a lot? No I have certainly seen most of his fights, but he was never a guy that I was too much of a fan of But I always loved watching him fight and I have a lot of respect for him « 

Arlovski was once one of the most feared heavyweight fighters in the world, earning a reputation as a big hitter through his vicious KO power

The Belarusian-American mixed martial artist’s last victory came in May when he defeated Philipe Lins by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Weidman

Former heavyweight champion George Foreman gestures ahead of the heavyweight title unification boxing match between Ukrainian IBF and WBO title holder Vladimir Klitschko against British WBA champion David Haye in Hamburg July 2, 2011 Photo: Reuters

Andrei Arlovski, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Tanner Boser, Mixed Martial Arts