“I say I’m the greatest heavyweight of all time, but pound-for-pound he was the greatest of all time.” Muhammad Ali
An enigma outside and inside the ring, Muhammad Ali captivated fans worldwide with his slick talk and skills to back it up.
The man from Louisville, Kentucky – at that point named Cassius Clay – won gold at the 1960 Olympic Games before turning over to the paid ranks. He won his first 19 bouts before getting a shot at feared Sonny Liston’s heavyweight title and upsetting the odds – despite Liston saying previously he might get locked up for murder if they fought – to win by stoppage in six.
He would go one better in the rematch and finish it in under two minutes, although Liston was plagued with allegations of taking a dive. Ali then defended his championship status a further eight times before being denied a boxing license throughout the country due to his refusal to be drafting during the Vietnam War.
Upon his comeback he would star in such bouts as the Thrilla in Manilla and The Rumble in the Jungle, eventually hanging up the gloves in 1981 with 56 wins from 61 fights and a legacy to be unmatched.
Ali died in June of 2016 and will forever be known as simply ‘The Greatest’, but in a resurfaced interview he was candid about one man in the lower weights earning that tag.
“Pound-for-pound, when they say Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest fighter pound-for-pound, meaning that if I imagine he was a heavyweight fighting the same style he’d be the greatest. I would have to admit. I would have to say yes. I had his fight films. That man was beautiful. Timing, speed, reflexes, rythym, his body – everything was beautiful.
I say I’m the greatest heavyweight of all time, but pound-for-pound I still say Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest of all time.”
Over a 25 year campaign, Sugar Ray Robinson managed an incredible 91-fight unbeaten streak. The flamboyant pound-for-pound star fought from lightweight up to light-heavyweight, winning world titles at both welterweight and middleweight.
Back in the days when boxers could fight three times in three months, Robinson featured in 201 contests during his career, winning 174 and earning the respect of not just Ali, but Joe Louis, Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard as well as countless modern-day fighters as the best to ever do it.
- Kerr Furgoson
