There is often very little debate about the greatest boxer of all time.
Not only is Muhammad Ali consistently said to be the best to ever do it by those inside and outside of the boxing world, but so too is he often voted one as the greatest sportsmen of any kind.
Ali was not just a sublime boxer during his peak years, but also an outspoken civil rights activist who sacrificed arguably the best years of his career by being exiled by the governing bodies following his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, which also led to him being arrested, tried and convicted for draft evasion.
He had historic fights with the likes of George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston and many more to leave a legacy that will rarely be bettered.
Former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world Lennox Lewis has always made plain his respect for Ali and has reflected in the past about his relationship with ‘The Greatest’ while speaking to The Guardian.
“He would ask me questions, and talk to me. For me to be with him, and speak to him over a meal, was special. One time he goes: ‘I used to be the greatest. But now you’re the greatest.’ I said: ‘No, you will always be the greatest.’ Ali just smiled.”
It’s fair to say that Lewis does rank up there with the best big men in boxing history having beaten the likes of Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Frank Bruno and Vitali Klitschko during a career in which he beat everyone he ever faced.
He was famously the last undisputed champion until May of this year when Oleksandr Usyk repeated the rare feat.
