Lennox Lewis Says There Is Only One Heavyweight Who Can Be Considered Greater Than Muhammad Ali

Until Oleksandr Usyk repeated the feat in May of 2024 with his victory over Tyson Fury, Lewis was the last undisputed heavyweight way back in 1999 after he beat Evander Holyfield.

Along the way, he also beat the likes of Frank Bruno and Mike Tyson, and managed to avenge two upset losses to Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall. He finally retired after beating every man he faced with hard fought a win over Vitali Klitschko in 2003.

Lewis will undoubtedly go down as one of the best heavyweights to ever lace up the gloves, but in his opinion two men stand alone at the top of the list. Speaking on Fox Sports, Lewis put Jack Johnson and Muhammad Ali as greatest of all time.

“Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali, basically. They both had great strengths…

“I’ve seen a lot of old footage and my hero was more Muhammad Ali cause I’ve seen more of him but if I’d have seen Jack Johnson as well as that probably would have changed my boxing too. I’d have probably caught something from him, maybe the showboating.”

Johnson took part in the Fight of the Century in 1910 against James L Jefferies, which was a racially charged fight at the height of the Jim Crow era and helped him transcend the sport. He had 94 fights in all and won 68 of them before dying in a car crash in 1946 aged 68.