Former Heavyweight Champion Says He Is The Greatest Of All Time Not Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is seen by most as ‘The Greatest’ in boxing, but one former world heavyweight champion doesn’t seem to agree.

Ali helped to transcend boxing, beginning when he first became world heavyweight champion when he defeated Sonny Liston at the age of 22 in 1964.

He was then stripped of his title in 1967 after his refusal to take part in the Vietnam War, missing out on nearly four years of his career, but becoming a global cultural icon in the process.

Against all odds, Ali then became world heavyweight champion again at the age of 32 when he defeated George Foreman in the iconic ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ in 1974.

Ali also defeated fellow greats like Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Floyd Patterson and Earnie Shavers during his career, making it clear why most view him as the best to ever do it.

Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield seemingly isn’t one of those though, after he told Seconds Out that he views himself to be the greatest of all time, not Ali.

“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.”

Just like Holyfield stated, he was undisputed cruiserweight champion in the late 1980s, before moving up to heavyweight and repeating the feat in the early 1990s, something only he had accomplished before Oleksandr Usyk managed it in 2024.

His four world heavyweight title reigns came from 1990 to 1992, 1993 to 1994, 1996 to 1999, and then finally from 2000 to 2001, again making him the only man to achieve that accolade.

Holyfield defeated the likes of Mike Tyson, Foreman, Riddick Bowe and Larry Holmes during his career, but while he may feel he is deserving of more praise, he has also named the current world champion that he feels is more dangerous than former foe Tyson.