Lennox Lewis famously beat every man he came up against, avenging his only two defeats in rematches to retire with a record of 41 wins and 32 knockouts.
‘The Lion’ switched over to the paid ranks after winning Gold at the 1988 Olympic Games, being elevated to full WBC World Champion after 22 fights and defending the belt on three occasions before a shock loss to Oliver McCall.
Lewis won the belt back in a rematch three years later and became undisputed champion in 1999 against Evander Holyfield. He was, until last year when Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury, the last man to hold all available heavyweight titles.
His second loss came in 2001 to Hasim Rahman, but Lewis would take an immediate rematch and stop ‘The Rock’ in four rounds. He beat Mike Tyson and Vitali Klitschko before retiring in 2003.
Many regard the big-punching Brit as the best heavyweight in history, and Roy Jones Jr seemed to come close to agreeing when predicting bouts with Mail Sport Boxing.
Jones said Lewis beats prime Mike Tyson, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Wladimir Klitschko. He also backed him against this eras best in Tyson Fury and Usyk. However, the one man he picked over ‘The Lion’ was Muhammad Ali.
Ali is another with an argument as the division’s best in history, changing the face of boxing as well and having a significant cultural impact while doing so.
With famous victories against the likes of Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and George Foreman, the dancing heavyweight from Louisville, Kentucky is synonymous with the sport. Like Lewis, Ali avenged all his defeats in rematches until he was bested by Larry Holmes and Tervor Berbick at the end of his career – a time that most agree he should no longer have been competing due to worsening health.
A fight against Lewis likely takes the number one spot for fantasy bouts in the heavyweight division, and fans will forever wonder how Ali’s unorthodox movement and intelligence would stack up against the strength and excellent fundamentals of Lewis, who holds ‘The Greatest’ in high regard and was a pallbearer at his funeral in 2016.
