Steward's words carry a lot of weight in the boxing world. He worked with some of the sport's biggest names. Thomas 'Hitman' Hearns, a four-weight world champion, trained with Steward early in his career. Steward also had a strong partnership with Lennox Lewis, the former undisputed heavyweight champion. For many years, he guided Ukrainian icon Wladimir Klitschko.
Despite working with these legends, Steward picked Foreman as the standout. He explained his choice to Rummy's Corner:
"George Foreman may be the most amazing, definitely heavyweight that I've ever saw in my lifetime. He had a whole career as one fighter with a personality and a style, and then ten years after a rest period so to say, a different fighter, he had a different mindset and a different style to some degree but the one thing that was really prevalent in both was a strong will-minded person and his unbelievable determination and mental strength as well."
Foreman's career was unique. In the 1970s, he became world heavyweight champion and famously beat Joe Frazier. He also fought Muhammad Ali in the 'Rumble In The Jungle' in 1974.
After a ten-year break, Foreman came back in 1987. His comeback peaked in 1994 when he beat Michael Moorer to become the oldest world heavyweight champion ever.
Steward admired how Foreman changed his style and mindset between these two parts of his career. But he noted that Foreman's strong will, determination, and mental strength stayed the same throughout.
For a trainer who worked with many great heavyweights, Steward's high praise of Foreman shows just how special Foreman's career was.