Muhammad Ali is recognised by many as the greatest ever heavyweight, and arguably fighter, of all time, but in the eyes of fellow pound-for-pound legend Floyd Mayweather, there is one more recent heavyweight who would have gotten the better of ‘The Greatest’.
Ali suffered five defeats during his iconic career, with three of those losses coming in his last four contests when he was well past his best; losing out to Leon Spinks, Larry Holmes and then Trevor Berbick.
His other two shortcomings came at the hands of Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, both of which he twice avenged in their respective trilogies, that being one of many reasons why Ali is deemed to have been the supreme operator in heavyweight history.
Aside from Ali, the other standout candidate for that mantle is considered to be Joe Louis, who holds the record for the longest reign in the history of the division – keeping hold of the heavyweight championship for almost 12 years and making 25 consecutive title defences.
Yet, when partaking in a prime ‘Winner Stays On’ game involving the the best heavyweights of all time, Mayweather told Daily Mail Boxing that he believes a prime Lennox Lewis would have overcome Ali.
As Ali had done before his last two fights, Lewis defeated every opponent in his career, winning his rematches against Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, who both shockingly knocked him out, as he became one of five three-time heavyweight champions.
Lewis became undisputed champion in his career before retiring in the early 2000s, having also defeated the likes of Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.
