Mike Tyson and George Foreman are widely considered to be two of the greatest heavyweights to have ever laced up the gloves.
‘Big George’ rose to stardom during the early 1970s, shortly after he captured heavyweight gold at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. He would go on to win the world heavyweight championship on two separate occasions during his career, defeating the likes of Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Michael Moorer along the way.
Tyson established himself a serious contender quite a while after Foreman, entering the paid ranks as an 18-year-old back in 1985. He made boxing history in 1986 when he captured the WBC heavyweight title with a victory over Trevor Berbick, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion of all time in the process.
Speaking to Fight Library, former heavyweight contender Lou Savarese, who shared the ring with both Foreman and Tyson during his career, didn’t had higher praise for Tyson.
“There’s guys that are powerful and there’s guys that are quick. He’s quick and powerful. Foreman was so strong but he was slow at starting. Tyson was just so quick. That’s what made him special. And he’s a student of the game, a lot of people don’t realise that. They saw Tyson getting in trouble. But before when he was with Cus [D’Amato], he was really training hard and he was a student of the game and he knew a lot about other boxers.”
Savarese fought Tyson in June 2000, and was stopped just 34 seconds into the first round, while he was beaten by split decision when taking on a then 48-year-old Foreman in the penultimate fight for ‘Big George’ in April 1997.
‘Iron Mike’ was known for his thunderous punching power and lightning quick hand speed, which proved to be too much for the majority of his opponents throughout the earlier stages of his storied professional career.
He would rack up victories over the likes of Michael Spinks, Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno along the way, proving himself to be one of the greatest heavyweights in the long history of boxing.
