Riddick Bowe has been in with some heavy-hitters in his boxing career, but one name stands out.
The American heavyweight turned professional after winning a silver medal at the 1988 Olympic Games, having been narrowly pipped to gold by Lennox Lewis who beat him in the final.
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Bowe reached the pinnacle of the sport reigning as undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1992, which has seen him leave an incredible legacy in the ring as one of the division's greats.
'Big Daddy' suffered just one defeat in his professional career and it came against boxing icon Evander Holyfield in their rematch in 1993, where he was beaten by majority decision.
But in an interview with The Ring in May 2020, Bowe actually suggested that British fighter Herbie Hide, whom he beat in 1995, had the most powerful punch.
Hide, who won 43 of his 53 fights via knockout, was making the first defence of his WBO title he had won in London a year earlier.
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"You’re not going to believe this [but] I would have to say Herbie Hide," when asked to name the man who hurt him.
"He hit me and I thought, “ Oh s***. I can’t allow this guy to hit me again because I don’t know what I’ll see next.
"Initially I was trying to box him and he was real fast.
"I said I can’t box him because he got me beat, so I fought him."
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Bowe was rebuilding after his defeat to Holyfield, when he traded blows with the 'Dancing Destroyer' who was notorious for his ferocious power.
But the American star was able to become WBO world champion again, knocking down Hide seven times before he was unable to beat the count in the sixth round.
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It was a complete mismatch, but Hide earned the plaudits over Holyfield from Bowe, despite having not gone on to reach the achievements of Holyfield.
The British heavyweight did win the WBO title himself in spells from 1994 to 1999 but failed to reach the heights of Bowe, going on to instead make a switch to cruiserweight later in his career.
After fighting Hide, Bowe took a trilogy contest with Holyfield, which he won in 1995, stopping his rival in the eighth period.
In Bowe's eyes, Holyfield is the best overall fighter he has faced, had the best chin, was the strongest and possessed the best skills.
He continued: " He was better than anyone I ever fought. He could think, he could match wits with you.
"Our fights were so good because he could match me in the thinking aspect. He was always in such great shape.
Evander was smart, he was a thinker, he was in great shape, he had all the attributes to make him a great champion.
"That’s why he and I fought against each other so hard and so well."
Holyfield reached huge heights in his career forming some iconic rivalries with Mike Tyson, Lewis, Larry Holmes and George Foreman, while also winning the undisputed titles himself in 1990.
Many believe Bowe could have gone down as one of the all-time greats, if he had himself touched gloves with the likes of Tyson and former Olympic rival Lewis, whom he never faced in the professional ranks.
His career remains in the past however, unlike Holyfield who went on to make an appearance in an exhibition fight against Vitor Belfort in 2021, ten years after retiring.
And he was stopped in brutal fashion, which serves as a timely reminder to rival Tyson, who is set to return to the ring on July 20 against Jake Paul.
'Iron Mike' has received understandable health concerns from the boxing world, but is set to return to the ring for the second time since retiring in 2005 when he decided he'd had enough and quit on his stool, four years after meeting Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition.
Fans have surprisingly been impressed with the champion's training footage, where he has shown off his natural raw power which still exists aged 58.
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Paul himself even reacted fearfully to the footage, but is still confident he can score a KO win of his own.
Tyson confirmed that the bout will likely take place under exhibition rules, in a similar format to his previous outing four years ago.
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