Ali didn't get to write the rules. Greatness is subjective, but I'm pretty sure most will agree that it's about what you accomplish and not what you didn't.
Here are Lennox Lewis' most difficult opponents: Razor Ruddock - a decent win in round 2. But this guy never held a title. Tony Tucker - Here, Lennox begins his habit of fighting good fighters when they were well past their prime. Tony Tucker is the last great heavyweight we've had along with Mike Tyson. Lennox waited until Tony was 35 years old, fat and addicted to cocaine, and beat him 116-112. Oliver McCall - Oliver was 29 years old and stopped Lennox easily in the 2nd round. Tommy Morrison - Tommy was 25 years old, so this is Lennox's best win. Should that make Lennox a hall-of-famer? Ray Mercer - Again, Lennox could have fought him much earlier. But here, Mercer was 35. Oliver McCall 2 - At age 32, Oliver was no longer interested in boxing. Just look at his weight: in his previous fight, he weighed 228, and for this rematch with Lennox he blew up to 237. You can tell by how he fought that he didn't care. Andrew Golota - A bum with no good wins on his resume. Shannon Briggs - This guy has nothing on his resume. He even needed a gift from the judges to beat a 47 year-old Geroge Foreman. Evander Holyfield - Lennox cleverly waited until Holyfield was 37 years old to finally muster up the courage to fight him. I give Lennox no credit for beating him. David Tua - from 1992 to 1998, when he weighed around 225 lbs, Tua was a wrecking machine. Lennox of course steered clear of him in that period, although Tua was a top contender. In 2000, Tua ballooned up to 250 lbs. That's when Lennox finally decided to fight him. Tua managed to lose 5 pounds but was still a slow, fat bum. Hasim Rahman - A good fighter. But Lennox got KOed in 5. Hasim Rahman 2 - Hasim was a good fighter, not a great one. Ever heard the Billy Joel song "Get It Right The First Time"? Mike Tyson - This is Lennox's biggest con to boxing fans. Tyson and Lewis are the same age. So why did they fight so late? The answer is simple. Lewis started his career late, and so at this moment in time he was still in his prime. Tyson, on the other hand, started his career very young. Tyson was 20 pounds over his prime fighting weight, and was just completely shot. Vitali Klitschko - When it became obvious that Lennox wanted no part of the Klitschkos (because they were a little less slow than him), he decided to pick one of them. Of course, he chose the older, slower and generally less talented one. He was on his way to getting KOed again when Vitali's ricotta skin gave way and handed Lennox a TKO win! What a legendary champion!!!! Sorry Wlad, you didn't get a shot at Lennox because you just refused to get old.
Well if you would have seen Ali counted out while laying on the mat I garuntee he wouldnt be ranked #1 all time buddy
There's not much difference in their losses. The only real difference is that Vitali has never really gone on to beat anyone in truth. Take Vitali's best ever win - Lewis was beating those type of opponents in his early 20s,
The only reason Vitali had the dignity of not just being knocked out, was that he was pulled out on a cut. The guy had gassed, he was taking huge punishment, and had lost about the last 2 rounds in a row. He didn't get that mashed up face from butts, or elbows. Just none stop bombs He'd have been lucky to last 12 rounds. He wasn't going to win from there
Lewis was well on top, by the time it stopped. Vitali had taken huge punishment, was totally gassed, and would have been lucky to even finish the fight, with his mashed up face. Lewis was 38, about 30 pounds overweight, and still probably had enough to beat Vitali on a UD over 12 rounds.
Fighters pulling out of bouts, at 9 rounds, over shoulder problems just don't have the heart. Guys like Mayweather have boxed an entire fight with a ripped up shoulder Byrd, was just a lack of heart, if he couldn't have boxed out a few rounds, with one hand