Ashley Byrne

It's the 5th of November, 1994, and an excited crowd at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas look on as 26-year-old undefeated heavyweight champion Michael Mora takes on the 45-year-old George Foreman.

When I came back to boxing, everybody thought, George, you're going to get killed, you shouldn't do it, you're too old.

Just a few days short of his 46th birthday, Foreman is nearly 20 years older than his opponent.

But determined to prove that age isn't a barrier, he bravely absorbs punch after punch and waits for his chance.

I just trained harder than any man in the world at boxing.

No one trained harder than me.

Born in Marshall, Texas in 1949, Big George, as he became known, turned professional 20 years later after winning an Olympic gold medal.

He got his first shot at a world title in a bout against the great Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica in 1973.

Despite his reputation as a ferocious fighter, Foreman was the underdog for what became known as the Sunshine Showdown.

Everybody said, George is fighting nothing but tomato cans.

He can't beat Joe Frazier.

He beat Muhammad Ali.

So Joe Frazier started to believe all those things himself and gave me a title shot.

You were one of the youngest heavyweight champions of all time at that point, weren't you?

Well, I was one of the youngest heavyweight champions of all time.

Of course, Mike Tyson had that distinguished before.

It was Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali.

But I had become heavyweight champion of the world at a young man, and I defended the title three times.

The third time, of course, I lost to Muhammad Ali.

And was that the fight we all think it was?