Evander Holyfield shared the ring with some of the greatest heavyweights of all time during the peak of his storied professional career.
‘The Real Deal’ wrote his name into boxing history back in 1990 when he became the first fighter ever to win the undisputed world championship at cruiserweight and heavyweight, a record that was unbroken until Oleksandr Usyk achieved it in May of 2024.
The bulk of Holyfield’s success came during the 90s where he racked up victories over the likes of Riddick Bowe, Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes, proving himself to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time along the way.
Speaking to ESNEWS, Holyfield made no mistake in naming ‘Big George’ Foreman as the hardest hitting opponent that he ever faced, as he claims his countryman made him feel like he had lost all of his teeth after hitting him in the penultimate round of their 1991 clash.
“The guy that hit me the hardest was George Foreman. He hit me one time in the eleventh round, and I came back to the corner and I said, ‘did he knock all my teeth out?'”
Foreman is still regarded as being one of the best heavyweights to have ever graced the sport, enjoying an accomplished career where he became the world heavyweight champion on two separate occasions.
Perhaps the most famous victory of his tenure came in 1994 when he defeated Michael Moorer to capture the unified WBA and IBF heavyweight titles, becoming boxing’s oldest ever world heavyweight champion in the process at 45 years and 299 days old.
