BY George

I was knocked out by Muhammad Ali but another heavyweight hit me so hard I was seeing six of the same woman

GEORGE FOREMAN was knocked out by Muhammad Ali in their legendary Rumble in the Jungle - but The Greatest wasn't the hardest-hitting heavyweight he'd ever faced.

The entire world stood still on October 30, 1974 when Ali challenged the previously undefeated Foreman for the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles.

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: “I’ve been punched hard so many times.

“But, I was in a Golden Gloves match with a guy by the name of Bob Winters.

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“He hit me so hard and knocked me down, I didn’t know boxers had that to happen to them.

“I saw about six women with the same coat on and after the referee counted they started disappearing and then I realised it was only one woman

“That was being hit hard, I’ll never forget that, not seeing doubles and triples, but more.”

Boxing legend Foreman knew a thing or two about being a heavy hitter - calling time on his career with a whopping 83 per cent knockout ratio.

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But he felt "ashamed" by some of his knockouts, telling : “Two things I will never forget about my boxing career: How hard I could hit [not proud of the first part] and how hard they punched me.

"I heard bells and whistles while bodies collapsed.

"The first time around [1967 to 1977], I hit so hard. I’d wake up ashamed of what I had done to [those] good people.

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"I felt like they were boxing, and I was slaughtering.

George Foreman is still to this day one of the hardest hitting fighters in boxing historyCredit: AP

"My gift was recklessness. I didn’t care if I broke my shoulder, arm, or knuckles or if I flew out of the ring. I had to get a KO or fall down myself.”

The Texas titan called time on his Hall-of-Fame career in 1997 following a majority decision defeat to Shannon Briggs.

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But just four fights prior to his farewell bout, Foreman made history by becoming the oldest champion in boxing history.

Foreman shocked the world in 1994 by knocking out 26-year-old Michael Moorer at the ripe old age of 45 to become unified heavyweight champion.

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