Evander Holyfield is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights to have ever graced the sport.

Known by his moniker ‘The Real Deal’, Holyfield burst onto the scene back in 1984 after he walked away from the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California with a Light-Heavyweight Bronze Medal.

He would go on to become the undisputed cruiserweight champion in April of 1988 when he defeated Carlos De Leon via eighth round stoppage, making the move up to heavyweight shortly after.

Holyfield became the first fighter in the history of boxing to capture the undisputed championship at both cruiserweight and heavyweight when he stopped James ‘Buster’ Douglas in October 1991, going on to make several successful defences of his crown before he was dethroned by Riddick Bowe in the first of their three encounters.

Speaking to The Ring Magazine, ‘The Real Deal’ didn’t hesitate to name the late great George Foreman as his most durable, paying homage to the two-time heavyweight champion’s ability to take a punch.

“I would say George Foreman. I hit him and I hit him a lot of times, a lot of times (Laughs.) … 17 punches one time! Lennox Lewis had a great chin. I went back and watched the fights and the people who knocked him out [did so] because he had a different mindset for them. He didn’t fight smart with them ‘cause he felt he could beat them.

“Everybody he pursued and thought that he could beat, they ended up knocking him out – that’s Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman. I came to respect him ‘cause I know in the last fight I buckled him a few times but he didn’t go. Mike Tyson had a good one, too; he didn’t fall when I hit him.”

Holyfield got the better of Foreman when they locked horns in April of 1991, defeating his countryman via unanimous decision to make the first defence of his undisputed heavyweight championship.

Younger and faster, Holyfield used his speed and sharp shots to outbox Foreman, who landed some power punches that would shake the champion but not do enough to win him the contest.

‘Big George’ would go on to become the oldest heavyweight champion of all time three years later when he dethroned Michael Moorer in dramatic fashion to capture the unified WBA and IBF heavyweight titles.