George Foreman is regarded as one of, if not the most formidable heavyweight of all time.
After a difficult childhood, Foreman began his professional career back in 1969 and very quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division.
He racked up 37 consecutive victories before being awarded a shot at world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, although ‘Smokin Joe’ was no match for the hard-hitting Texan who floored him no less than six times en-route to a sensational 2nd-round stoppage victory.
He made back-to-back defences against Jose Roman and Ken Norton before he suffered the first defeat of his career at the hands of none other than Muhammad Ali, who stopped ‘Big’ George in the eighth round of their showdown in 1974, which is perhaps best known as ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’.
Despite coming up against an abundance of legendary heavyweights, the one fighter who Foreman claimed he was glad to have not fought during his career may come as a surprise.
Appearing on Late Night With David Letterman, ‘Big’ George was asked about two-time heavyweight championship challenger Earnie Shavers and admitted he was relieved he never faced him.
“I never fought Earnie Shavers, thank goodness.”
Shavers, known more commonly as ‘The Black Destroyer’, had an incredible win-to-knockout ratio and was often credited for having thunderous punching power. He defeated 70 of the 76 fighters he defeated by knockout, although he did fall short on the two occasions he set out to become a heavyweight champion.
He challenged Ali for his WBC and WBA heavyweight titles in September 1977, but was beaten via unanimous decision by ‘The Greatest’ despite a valiant effort. His second and final world title challenge came against Larry Holmes 2-years later, and despite another solid effort from Shavers, it was ‘The Easton Assassin’ who prevailed in an eleventh round knockout victory.
