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I fought Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield 17 years apart but neither was the hardest puncher I ever faced
George Foreman’s passing earlier this year stunned the boxing world as the former heavyweight champion and one of boxing’s most iconic figures sadly died at the age of 76.
During his lengthy career, Foreman took on some of boxing’s biggest names as he featured in numerous heavyweight classics against the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Michael Moorer, and Evander Holyfield.
When knocking out Moorer in 1994, Foreman became the oldest heavyweight champion in history as he lifted the crown at the age of 45 and it also came 20 years after he had lost the heavyweight title to Ali.
After retiring in 1997 following a loss to Shannon Briggs, Foreman's popularity did not slow down as he remained one of boxing’s shrewdest voices in his analyst role for HBO as well as putting his name to kitchen appliances with the George Foreman grill becoming a household item.
In a career that spanned so many generations moving from Ali all the way up the 1990s when Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson were the major stars, Foreman shared the ring with many huge punchers, but who hit the hardest?
"This guy hit me so hard that it didn’t even hurt,” said Formean when speaking about Ron Lyle with The Ring regarding their 1976 classic that Foreman won in five rounds.
“Joe Frazier caught me with the left hook, but he couldn’t hit like Lyle and although Muhammad knocked me down, I was exhausted and still got to my feet. Lyle was the hardest hitter. The thing about Lyle was he was completely unafraid and challenged me at ring center.
“Nobody, other than Sonny Liston in sparring, stood and punched it out with me with any success. Joe Frazier only tried once and even the great Muhammad Ali couldn’t back up quick enough. Ron Lyle would not back up.”
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