Shannon Briggs has predicted a fight between his former foe Lennox Lewis and Muhammad Ali.
Briggs fought Lewis for the WBC heavyweight title in 1998 but was stopped inside five rounds, just a year after outpointing George Foreman over 12 rounds, albeit a controversial decision.
Within a year or so, Lewis had beaten Evander Holyfield to become the undisputed heavyweight champion before retiring in 2003 on a victory over Vitali Klitschko. The Brit beat every man he faced – some at the second point of asking – including the likes of Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno and Hasim Rahman
Speaking to First Round TV, Briggs made a big claim about Lewis’ abilities.
“On any given night the best of Lennox Lewis versus the best of any other fighter, Lennox Lewis has a 90% chance of winning. Any heavyweight throughout history.”
He then added one caveat about a fight with ‘The Greatest’.
“The only thing about Ali is we won’t know. Anything after those three years [missed due to being banned from boxing for draft evasion] don’t count for me. Ali, we missed three years. That type of fighter, a rhythm fighter, a talented fighter like that, he needs to stay in motion.”
After Ali lost his boxing license for refusing military draft for the Vietnam War, he made a remarkable return to the ring in 1970 with a third-round KO of Jerry Quarry before later going on to fight in the Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman, the Thrilla in Manilla with Joe Frazier and many other high-profile contests. Along with his social activism, his exploits in the ring helped him secure his legacy as one of the best to ever do it.