George Foreman is an iconic name in the boxing world.
Before becoming an entrepreneur and ordained minister, Foreman was known for a powerful punch which took him to Olympic gold in 1968 and won him the world heavyweight title in 1973 by defeating Joe Frazier.
He was famously defeated by Muhammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974 but made an astonishing comeback in 1994, at age 45, to regain the heavyweight title by knocking out Michael Moorer.
That made him the oldest ever heavyweight champion in history, a record which he holds to this day, and also made him the second-oldest man to hold a title in any weight class after Bernard Hopkins who did so at light heavyweight aged 46.
In a total of 81 career fights, 68 of his 76 victories came by knockout and he lost just five times having faced plenty of his era’s most famous names from Ken Norton to Evander Holyfield.
A video posted by Lyle Hill shows him speaking to Letterman back in the midst of his career about the biggest punchers he ever faced.
“I’ve had 60 or more boxing matches. Now I only met three genuine punchers in my career. Gerry Cooney, Ronnie Lyle, and a kid called Cleveland Williams. They hit so hard it vibrates your body even if you block it. Lyle hit harder than Joe Frazier with his left hook.”
Cooney was a hard-hitting heavyweight best known for his fierce left hook and his high-profile bouts in the 80s, including a famous title fight against Larry Holmes in 1982 which he lost by 13th round stoppage. Prior to that he was undefeated in 25 fights.
Cleveland ‘Big Cat’ Williams was once named by The Ring Magazine as one of the best fighters to never win a title. He had 82 wins from 97 fights in a campaign spanning from 1949 – 1973, including a fight against Ali which some have branded the best performance of the latter’s career.
