Legendary analyst Teddy Atlas believes there is just one heavyweight that hit harder than Mike Tyson and George Foreman.
Both Foreman and Tyson are widely considered to be two of the sport’s most formidable punchers, racking up a combined 112 knockout victories between them throughout the course of their respective careers.
Tyson exploded onto the scene during the mid 1980s where he would become the youngest world heavyweight champion of all time when he dethroned Trevor Berbick of his WBC title back in 1986, stopping his countryman in the second round of their historic clash.
Foreman rose to prominence during the 1970s and, after taking a 10-year hiatus between 1977 and 1987, he would eventually return to the ring and go on to become the oldest heavyweight champion of all time when he knocked out Michael Moorer in the tenth round of their 1994 showdown in Las Vegas.
Whilst revealing his top 10 greatest power punchers of all time, Atlas didn’t hesitate to put two-time heavyweight title challenge Earnie Shavers at number four in his list, the highest spot for a heavyweight, ranking him ahead of both Tyson and Foreman who went in at number seven and number five respectively.
“Number four. Power not in both hands, but man in that right hand… Earnie Shavers. 76 wins, 14 losses, one draw, 70 knockouts. Man, he hits you. He hit you with that right hand. That shows you you what heart [Muhammad] Ali had, shows you what heart Larry Holmes had.”
Hard-hitting Shavers is often considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights to have never won a world title.
He did challenge for a version of the world heavyweight championship on two occasions however, although he would ultimately fall short to Muhammad Ali in 1977 and Larry Holmes just two years later, as mentioned by Atlas.
