A former world heavyweight champion has played down the credentials of the legendary Muhammad Ali in a shock statement.
Known as ‘The Greatest’, Ali had a phenomenal professional boxing career with many considering the Kentucky-native to be the greatest fighter to have ever laced up a pair of gloves.
Following his Gold Medal triumph as the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Ali entered the paid ranks and finally captured the world heavyweight championship in 1964 when he produced a monumental win over countryman Sonny Liston.
Ali’s career was put on hold for several years after he failed to enlist for the Vietnam War, although he would return during the early 1970s and reclaimed world honours when he defeated George Foreman in ‘The Rumble In The Jungle’ in October 1974.
Despite accomplishing so much during his storied career, there is one retired heavyweight in particular who ranks himself as the greatest heavyweight ever ahead of the man they called ‘The Greatest’.
In an interview with Seconds Out, two-weight undisputed champion Evander Holyfield didn’t hesitate to claim his spot as the greatest heavyweight ever ahead of 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.”
Holyfield became the undisputed champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight during his decorated career, remaining just the second fighter in boxing history to achieve this outstanding feat next to Ukrainian icon Oleksandr Usyk.
