In the eyes of many, Muhammad Ali is the greatest heavyweight to have ever graced the sport.
Known by his moniker ‘The Greatest’, Ali began his rise to stardom during the 1960s after he captured an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1960 Games in Rome, Italy.
His first world heavyweight title challenge came in 1964 as he stopped the legendary Sonny Liston in the sixth round of their clash in Miami, Florida.
Ali would go on to make a number of successful title defences before he was forced to take a 3-year break from boxing after he refused to enlist in the US Military for the Vietnam War.
He made a sensational return to the sport in 1970, going on to defeat countryman George Foreman in October of 1974 to become the world heavyweight champion once again, stopping ‘Big George’ in round eight of The Rumble In The Jungle in Kinshasa, Zaire.
Despite Ali’s extraordinary success and the legacy that he left behind following his passing, there is one man who believes he deserves to be ranked even higher on the all-time list.
In an interview with Seconds Out, boxing’s only four-time world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield staked his claim for being regarded as the greatest heavyweight in history.
“I’m the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world but they are still talking about Ali when I broke his record. I’ve been the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world for 24 years.
“You can’t talk about it until you break someone’s record, they don’t say nothing about me. How do you cut somebody out of history? Now I didn’t even know I was the first person to be undisputed in two weight divisions, until Usyk did it. “They keep saying Ali is the best fighter, no I am. He was three times, I’m four.”
Some of his most notable victories include a hard-fought win over Dwight Muhammad Qawi in 1986 to claim the WBA cruiserweight title, followed by a unification bout against Carlos De Leon in 1988 to become the undisputed.
After moving up to heavyweight, Holyfield knocked out Buster Douglas in 1990 to capture the undisputed heavyweight crown. He went on to defend his title in high-profile bouts, including a unanimous decision win over George Foreman in 1991 and a revenge victory over Riddick Bowe in 1993.
Perhaps his most famous achievement came in 1996, when he defeated Mike Tyson by TKO in the 11th round—a major upset that solidified his legacy as one of boxing’s all-time greats.
Aside from being a four-time world champion at heavyweight, Holyfield was also the first fighter in the sport’s history to win the undisputed championship at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, a record that was equalled by Oleksandr Usyk last May and surpassed when he became two-time undisputed at heavyweight this past weekend.