George Foreman has listed his greatest heavyweights of all time, with little love shown for the modern day champions and plenty for the trailblazers.
In a career spanning 30 years and 81 fights, ‘Big George’ was a two-time heavyweight champion and holds the record of being the oldest man to ever hold the belt. Of his 76 wins, 68 came by way of knockout.
The Olympic Gold Medalist has listed his top ten heavyweight boxers, as reported by The Sun, and it’s a solid group of names – proven by the fact that he himself hasn’t made it.
Foreman grants the number one spot to Joe Louis, a man who started his boxing career in 1934. Known as one of the most influential boxers of all time, ‘Brown Bomber’ has a storied life both in and out of the ring. Louis reigned as champion for 12 years – the longest in history for any weight class.
Next up is Rocky Marciano, the only heavyweight champion to finish his career undefeated – although there are a couple trying to join the club just now. ‘The Rock from Brockton’ was relentless and powerful despite a smaller stature than many of his opponents. Size didn’t matter to Marciano though, proven by an 87.8% knockout-to-win ratio.
Number three truly is going back into the history books. John L Sullivan is known as the first recorded heavyweight champion of boxing as we know it. Many regard his superstardom as one of the main catalysts in bringing about sports journalism. He had his last fight in 1892, retiring with a record of 42 wins from 46 fights.
Foreman goes on to include some fighters he faced in the ring, including Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield.
George Foreman Heavyweight Greats:
- Joe Louis
- Rocky Marciano
- John L Sullivan
- Jack Johnson
- Muhammad Ali
- Floyd Patterson
- Lennox Lewis
- Mike Tyson
- Evander Holyfield
- Jack Dempsey
Of course, perhaps once things are all said and done for the likes of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, they may get a look in.