George Foreman proved himself to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time throughout the course of his storied professional career.
‘Big George’ made his professional debut way back in 1969, just one year after he walked away from the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City with a heavyweight gold medal.
He would go on to become the world heavyweight champion on two occasions along the way, the first of these triumphs coming in 1973 when he stopped fellow countryman Joe Frazier in the second round of their clash in Kingston, Jamaica.
Foreman wrote his name into the boxing history books 21 years on from his historic victory over Frazier when he stopped Michael Moorer in the tenth round of their clash to become the unified WBA and IBF champion and the oldest heavyweight champion of all time, a record that remains unbroken to this very day.
In a feature with The Ring Magazine, ‘Big George’ revealed world title challenge Ron Lyle as the best fighter that he ever shared the ring with, overlooking the man that they called ‘The Greatest’ – Muhammad Ali, who Foreman met in the iconic ‘Rumble in the Jungle.’
“I have to say Lyle because he gave me the toughest fight of my career. He hit me so hard, knocked me down, got knocked down and picked himself up. That was the hardest fight I ever had in my life.
With Muhammad Ali I could do whatever I wanted, but I got tired and he was able to knock me down. If I had been more respectful of Ali I could have coasted at stages in that fight, and preserved energy, but I couldn’t coast with Ron Lyle because he would have killed me.”
Known for his thunderous punching power, Lyle fell short to Foreman when they met in a non-title showdown in January 1976, suffering a fifth round stoppage defeat to his countryman at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Lyle challenged for the undisputed heavyweight championship on just one occasion during his professional career, losing to Muhammad Ali when they clashed in May of 1975.
