George Foreman has shed light on who was the physically strongest heavyweight he ever shared the ring with.
Despite having the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and and Evander Holyfield on his glittering resume, Foreman named the late Sonny Liston as the strongest man he ever came up against.
“Sonny Liston was the first role model I had. No doubt the scariest human being I’ve met in the ring, the only man to make me back up consistently.”
“Sonny Liston had this dynamic jab and he’d get you going and you could not stop him. Then if you tried to overcrowd him, he’d hit you with his right hand.”
“He was a really strong and powerful man, probably the strongest I’ve ever dealt with.”
‘The Big Bear’ was known for intimidating his opponents before a punch had even been thrown, something Foreman admitted he tried to implement in his own persona as he climbed the heavyweight ranks.
“Sonny Liston didn’t talk much at all. He’d kind of look at you and you’d think “I don’t want that!” He wasn’t putting on being mean, he just wasn’t the nicest fella you’d meet.”
And I said “If that’s the way you’ve got to be to be the heavyweight champ, then I’m going to be that!”
Sadly for boxing fans in the 1960s, Foreman and Liston only ever sparred, although a fight between the two destructive punchers in smaller gloves with no headgear would have been a sight to behold.