Boxing legend George Foreman does not consider Deontay Wilder as the number one knockout artist of all time.
Last Saturday, the American knockout sensation once again showed his power after finishing Luis Ortiz in their rematch in Las Vegas.
Outboxed in the first five rounds, Wilder turned to his massive right hand in the seventh round to knock out the Cuban powerhouse.
Shortly after the win, the WBC heavyweight champion, who has defended his title for ten straight times, declared himself as the ‘hardest hitting puncher’ of all-time.
“I think I earned my respect to say I’m the hardest hitting puncher in boxing history. Period.”
“I do time and time again. I give people great fights and great knockouts.”
“You’ve got to give me my credit. It’s sad that it took me over 40 fights to get the recognition that I truly deserve.”
No Way
Wilder’s professional boxing record can attest to his trademark knockout power.
41 out of his 42 wins came by way of knockout. That is a 95% KO percentage, one of the highest, if not the highest, ever in the heavyweight division.
Though numbers don’t lie, ‘Big’ George Foreman is still far from convinced that Wilder is the best puncher in boxing history.
In a short interview with TMZ, the Olympic gold medalist and former two-time heavyweight champion said Wilder is still behind some boxing greats in that recognition.
“He’s good but he hasn’t approached Joe Lewis, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson. No, he hasn’t approached that kind of recognition yet. No way.”
“For me, he has to have a performance like Mike Tyson did over Trevor Berbick. Boy, when I saw that, I was down visiting Vegas, and I thought, ‘This guy is a nightmare!’.”
History Makers
After surviving a tough test from Ortiz, Wilder will be fighting ‘The Gypsy King’ next.
The heavyweight champion has confirmed that the rematch will happen on February 2020, following their controversial split draw contest that happened in December 2018.
Foreman is confident this fight will be remembered as one of the greatest heavyweight bouts in the history.
“I think the Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury rematch would be one of the greatest of all time.”
“Not just today, but of all time.”
“If I see that fight, I would say Deontay Wilder has moved up in status and whoever wins the fight will probably be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.”
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(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Deontay Wilder, George Foreman, and Mike Tyson)