George Foreman Names Who Was Better Between Muhammad Ali And Holyfield After Losing To Both

‘Big George’ is viewed as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, having competed in several different eras spanning nearly 30 years from 1969 to 1997.

Foreman first became world heavyweight champion when he knocked out Joe Frazier inside two rounds in 1973.

He then took on Ali in the famous ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ one year later, with Ali winning by eighth round knockout to dethrone Foreman.

‘Big George’ would retire from the sport in 1977, but returned after a decade away, leading to a clash with Holyfield in 1991.

Holyfield won that fight by unanimous decision, but Foreman did go on to claim world honours again when he knocked out Michael Moorer in 1994, making him the oldest world heavyweight champion in history.

Holyfield made waves recently by claiming that it is him and not Ali that should be dubbed as ‘The Greatest’ due to his own achievements that he believes have surpassed that of Ali’s.

‘The Real Deal’ is the only four-time heavyweight champion, and was the only man to be undisputed at both cruiserweight and heavyweight until Oleksandr Usyk repeated the feat last year.

Ali’s accolades include being the only three-time lineal heavyweight champion in history, thanks to his wins over Sonny Liston, Foreman and Leon Spinks.

Having experienced first hand what it is like to have faced both men, Foreman gave his take on who he believes to have been the best boxer.

“Muhammad Ali [was the best boxer I faced].

He was so gifted technically and his jab was the best I ever faced in the ring. Ali could jab going backwards or to the sides and that shot would always find you. He would catch me with the jab as I was coming forward and it was so difficult to counter that punch. He would spin that jab over and over.’

Along with Foreman, the only other man to have fought both Ali and Holyfield is Larry Holmes, and he has reflected on his controversial bout against ‘The Greatest.’