NO. 2 GEORGE FOREMAN
Years active: 1969-77; ’87-’97
Record: 76-5
KOs: 68
KO percentage (of wins): 89
KOs inside 3 rounds: 45
Notable KO victims: George Chuvalo, Jerry Cooney, Joe Frazier (twice), Ron Lyle, Michael Moorer, Ken Norton, Chuck Wepner
Background: One generation of boxing fans witnessed the chiseled Olympic gold medalist slug his way through the heavyweight division from 1969 to 1977. The next generation watched in delight as the jovial, pudgy – but still immensely strong – ex-champ picked up where he left off a decade earlier. Both versions of George Foreman could tear your head off. “He hit me harder than any other fighter,” said Evander Holyfield, who outpointed the second incarnation of Big George. “He didn’t knock me down but with one shot, I thought he knocked my teeth out.” Many people feared for Muhammad Ali before his fight with Foreman in Zaire in 1974. And why not? Foreman (40-0, 37 KOs going into that fight) had destroyed everything placed in his path to that point. He had stopped 11 of his previous 12 opponents within two rounds, including Joe Frazier (to win the heavyweight championship) and Ken Norton. Alas, Ali, as clever and durable as any big man ever, used “rope-a-dope” to wear Foreman down and eventually knock him out. Few were so fortunate. Foreman “retired” in 1977 but returned a decade later and continued his reign of terror, laying waste to the majority of those he fought. He failed in a few attempts to regain a title before securing a fight with beltholder Michael Moorer in 1994. Moorer, a good boxer, was ahead on all cards when a right from Foreman split his gloves and put him down for the count. Thus, Foreman, 45, became the oldest to win a heavyweight title. That power.
More quotes: Joe Frazier: “You ask me how well did he fight, I don’t know. But I can tell you one thing: He punched good.” … More Frazier: “Damn, that boy can bang.” … Holyfield: “Glad I never got hit by him when he was young.” … One more Frazier: “Fightin’ George Foreman is like being in the street with an 18-wheeler comin’ at you.” … George Chuvalo (TKO 4): “George Foreman was very heavy handed and there was a different feel to his shots. The best analogy would be Joe Frazier and Jerry Quarry hitting you was equivalent to being struck by a car at 100 miles per hour, but when George landed it was like being hit by a mac truck at 50 miles per hour. There was more weight in his punches.”