The late-great George Foreman had one name in mind for the strongest fighter that he ever crossed paths with during his career.
The storied career of ‘Big George’ is split into two parts. The first part began back in the 1970s after his success at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City which he walked away from with a gold medal.
Foreman eventually captured the world heavyweight championship in 1973 when he stopped Joe Frazier in the second round of their showdown in Jamaica, although his reign came to an end one year later after he was beaten by Muhammad Ali.
After taking a 10-year hiatus from boxing between 1977 and 1987, Foreman eventually returned to the sport when he experienced a number of financial difficulties. After he was beaten by Evander Holyfield and Tommy Morrison, Foreman finally captured world honours once again.
He etched his name into the boxing history books in November of 1994 when he defeated WBA and IBF champion Michael Moorer to become the oldest world heavyweight champion of all time, a record that remains unbroken to this very day.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, Foreman didn’t hesitate to name Ron Lyle as the strongest fighter that he ever shared a ring with during his professional career.
“Ron Lyle. He was the strongest man I ever faced in any fight. The likes of Shannon Briggs, and men like that, didn’t affect me because they were just ordinary fighters.
“They didn’t make an impression and I just chased them around. The men I faced in the seventies were more fearsome than the ones I faced in the eighties and the nineties, with the exception of Evander Holyfield. Evander could have competed in any era.”
Known for his formidable punching power, Lyle is widely considered to be one of the best heavyweights to have never captured a version of the world championship, falling short to Muhammad Ali in May of 1975.
