Muhammad Ali believes there is one heavyweight legend that eclipsed anything he managed to do in the ring.
To many boxing fans, Ali is seen as the greatest of all time, after a sensational career which included him becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion, along with claiming epic wins over the likes of George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Sonny Liston.
Other fighters such as Jack Johnson, Lennox Lewis and Rocky Marciano are sometimes mentioned as being the best to ever grace the banner division, but Ali once had another name in mind that he wanted to heap praise on.
In a resurfaced interview, Ali explained exactly why he had so much respect for Joe Louis.
“What I remember most about Joe Louis is not how many men he knocked out or how great he was, but how he got so popular and so great on earth but spiritually he just stayed the same. Always humble, you can’t find anybody that hadn’t invested in Joe Louis. Everybody loves Joe Louis.”
Ali was then asked if he viewed Louis as the best ever, and it was a simple response from him.
“[The greatest] of all time.”
Louis was world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his initial retirement in 1949, with his 25 consecutive title defences serving as the longest single reign by a champion in the history of the sport.
His final record stood at 66 wins from 69 fights, but as Ali mentioned, it is perhaps the achievements of Louis outside the ring that had just as big a cultural impact as what he managed inside of it.
