Mike Tyson Once Revealed His Pick For The Hardest Puncher In Boxing History

While boxing has seen countless devastating power punchers and knockout artists across the sport's storied history, one man stands out above the rest.

This man is "Iron" Mike Tyson.

Ask nearly any boxer or boxing fan who has packed the biggest punch in boxing history and they're almost certainly going to answer with Tyson. The fact that 44 of his 50 professional wins came by way of knockout serves as further evidence that Tyson should be considered the hardest puncher in boxing history.

However, the one person in the boxing community who might not agree with Tyson being the sport's hardest puncher is Tyson himself.

The 58-year-old was interviewed by FightCamp back in 2022. When the topic of boxing's hardest puncher came up, Tyson didn't mince words.

"[It's George Foreman]," he said. "I can’t match somebody’s power who’s that big and that much, man. The only thing that allowed me to be exciting was that I did it faster than the other guys.”

It's worth noting that Tyson and George Foreman never fought against each other. However, Tyson alluding to Foreman's size (6'4" and 260 pounds during his boxing peak) compared to Tyson being 5'10" and 220 pounds during his prime does make his argument logical. Not to mention that 68 of Foreman's 76 professional boxing wins came by way of knockout.

Still, punching hard isn't all about being the bigger man. Most would argue that Tyson's technique, tenacity, and talent he was blessed with more than made up for any size disadvantage he had against some of the sport's other big hitters.