George Foreman had one of the most famous fights in boxing history versus Muhammad Ali.
‘The Rumble in the Jungle’ took place in 1974, with Ali coming out on top in the battle between two of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
Confident throughout the fight, Ali even whispered to Foreman before delivering the knockout punch in the eighth round of the fight.
The loss was Foreman’s first as a professional, and the defeat would mean he lost the WBC World Heavyweight title that he had taken from Joe Frazier.
However, despite the loss, Foreman was able to bounce back from the Ali bout in a huge way.
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George Foreman took on Ron Lyle after Muhammad Ali defeat
Following his loss to Ali, Foreman would not step back into the ring for over a year. It would not be until 1976 that ‘Big George’ returned to the sport.
Upon his return, Foreman would take on Ron Lyle, who had a professional record of 31-3-1.
Lyle had also been stopped by Ali, just months after Foreman was defeated by ‘The Greatest’. However, Lyle had since returned to action, defeating Earnie Shavers via TKO.
The heavyweights would meet in Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, in a fight that was truly one of the most entertaining of all time.
The fight would be a back-and-forth brawl, with both men hurting each other on multiple occasions.
Foreman would just about survive the first round, after taking significant punishment from Lyle. Then, in the next round, Foreman would be the fighter on the front foot, hurting Lyle.
It would be Foreman to go down first, before Lyle also hit the canvas in round four. In the closing seconds of the round, ‘Big George’ would go down for a second time, but would recover to continue the fight.
Although Foreman would still be visibly hurt in the fifth round, he would eventually end the heavyweight slugfest.
The two men were wobbling and unsteady as they threw their punches at one another. However, as Lyle was barely standing against the rope, unanswered punishment would see the fighter crumble to the canvas, face-down.
Lyle was not able to beat the count, and Foreman was declared the winner of the fight.
The fight was named Ring Magazine’s ‘Fight of the Year’ for 1976.
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George Foreman was in three Ring Magazine ‘Fight of the Years’ between 1973 and 1976
Foreman is no stranger to having an entertaining fight, as his accolades will show.
‘Big George’ is the winner of three Ring Magazine ‘Fight of the Year’ awards, all coming within a four-year period.
The 1973 Ring Magazine ‘Fight of the Year’ award was given to Foreman and Frazier, whose world title showdown went just two rounds. Foreman knocked Frazier down six times in the fight, three in each round before the fight was declared over.
Foreman’s second ‘Fight of the Year’ award was for ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’ with Ali (1974), before winning it for a third time for his fight with Lyle (1976).
The 1975 winner of the award was Ali’s third meeting with Frazier.