A rival of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier once revealed which of the legendary heavyweights took the better punch.
Ali and Foreman are widely considered to be two of the greatest heavyweights to have ever graced the sport, proving their credentials throughout the course of their respective accomplished professional careers.
Their 1974 showdown in Kinshasa, more commonly known as ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’, is often regarded as being one of boxing’s most memorable moments. Despite going into the fight as a heavy favourite, Foreman was stopped by Ali in the eighth round to surrender his world heavyweight championship and suffer the first defeat of his career.
Ali had one of the best chins in boxing history, absorbing bombs from punchers like Sonny Liston, Earnie Shavers, Frazier and Foreman himself without ever being knocked out in his prime years. He would later be stopped by Larry Holmes when he was well past his best.
Foreman had equally impressive durability; despite being hit flush by huge punchers across two eras, he was only stopped once in his career, by Ali more due to exhaustion than a single punch.
One fighter that shared the ring with both men and Frazier is Canadian ‘heavyweight legend’ George Chuvalo, who challenged unsuccessfully for the world heavyweight championship on two occasions during his 22-year professional career.
In a round of ‘Best I Faced’, Chuvalo – who had 64 knockouts from 73 wins – named Ali as the one opponent he faced that had the best chin overall, having shared the ring with ‘The Greatest’ twice.
“Muhammad Ali. According to his trainer, Angelo Dundee, I had him out in Round 5 of the rematch, but he bluffed his way out of it and waved me in. I clipped him with a left hook to the point of the chin and, although it wasn’t hard, it was perfectly placed. He did exactly the same thing with Ernie Shavers a few years later. Still, over the twenty seven rounds we thought his chin was definitely the most reliable.”
Chuvalo first faced Ali back in 1966, suffering a unanimous decision defeat in their showdown for the undisputed championship. They clashed for the second time six years later, although Chuvalo would not get his revenge, suffering yet another points defeat to ‘The Greatest’. In between those two encounters, he was stopped by ‘Big’ George inside three rounds – though he was notably on his feet at the finish.
In fact, the Canadian had incredible durability himself. He was never knocked down in 93 fights, though did suffer another stoppage loss to Joe Frazier due to a horrendous cut.
