Having knocked out all bar one of his professional opponents thus far, there are few who would argue that former WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder is one of the hardest punchers of all time.
George Foreman is another fighter who belongs in that category, with his clubbing power and incessant pressure making him the most feared heavyweight on the planet in the late 1960s.
And ‘Big George’ has actually had his say on Wilder’s famed power – and he believes he still needs to prove himself alongside the elite of the blue ribbon division’s history books.
In a resurfaced interview with TMZ Sports released just after his second stoppage of Luis Ortiz, Foreman named Joe Louis, Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson all greater knockout artists than ‘The Bronze Bomber.’
“He’s good, but he hasn’t approached Joe Louis, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson, he hasn’t approached that kind of recognition yet – no way.”
“For me, he has to have a performance like Mike Tyson did against Trevor Berbick. I was down visiting Vegas when I saw that and I thought, “This guy is a nightmare!” When he gets a Tyson type knockout of Berbick I’ll put him up high but, right now, nah!”
“I wouldn’t want to be the person testing between those two, but Tyson could hit man.”
“Wilder is a good fighter, but he’s not in the picture for the greatest ever.”
Wilder has added one more knockout to his record since the interview – a first round stoppage of Robert Helenius.
Fans were hoping Wilder would get the chance to bolster his resume against Anthony Joshua, however long held plans for the pair to lock horns in Saudi Arabia appear to have collapsed.
The Alabama man may look to revisit a fight with Andy Ruiz Jr, for which talks have also been had throughout this year.