Legendary promoter Bob Arum believes one active heavyweight in particular tops the late-great George Foreman when it comes to punching power.
With a knockout percentage of 89.5%, ‘Big George’ cemented himself as arguably the biggest punching in boxing history during his storied professional career.
The Texas-native held the world heavyweight championship on two occasions, with his first title triumph coming in 1973 when he toppled countryman Joe Frazier in the second round of their showdown in Jamaica.
Foreman would go on to rack up knockout victories over the likes of Ron Lyle, Gerry Cooney and Ken Norton in the years that followed his win over Frazier, although he would take a 10-year break from the sport between 1977 and 1987.
Upon his return to the sport, Foreman went on an impressive win streak before he captured the world heavyweight championship once again when he stopped Michael Moorer in round 10 of their clash in 1994 to become the oldest heavyweight champion ever.
One man who knows better than most about how heavyweights of today compare to those of the past is Top Rank CEO Arum, who has been involved in boxing since the 1960s.
Speaking to BT Sport, Arum claimed that former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder is the ‘biggest puncher since Foreman’, although he does brandish the Alabama-native as a ‘one trick pony’.
“Wilder is a one-trick pony. He is not a very good boxer, as a matter of fact is an atrocious boxer. But he has that one weapon and that is this massive right hand which to me looks like the hardest-hitting right hand that I’ve seen – certainly since George Foreman.”
Out of the 44 opponents that he has defeated during his career, Wilder has amassed an outstanding 43 knockout victories. Known for his thunderous one-punch KO power, Wilder previously held the WBC world title between 2015 and 2020, until he was eventually dethroned by Tyson Fury.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ made his long-awaited return to the ring back in June when he stopped Tyrrell Herndon in the seventh round of their non-title bout in Kansas, and is now expected to be back in action in early 2026.
