And if so, why do you think he is? And if you think someone else is, why is that guy? What I mean by why is what particular quality or set of qualities do you think people love/ed him for.
People loved Ali because he was a Iconic larger then life figure that had great boxing skills, backed up what he said, was very charismatic, was fun, made political statements that worked out in his favour, was the face of boxing and the one that made a lot of people a fan of boxing. That being said there are also still a lot of people who dislike ali, mostly big fans of smoking joe and redneck Americans.
I like Ali, but don't rate him as the best HW ever, think he was classless against Frazier and was totally sick when I saw his speech for the guys with the white robes and pointy heads. He learned from his mistakes in the past, and still rate him for the best win in boxing (not just HW) history against Big George.
As a person I dont rate him very highly but as a boxer he has all my respect, I am a big Fraizer fan though.
Yes. Till this day Ali is know has the grestest of all time. Ali is the most recognized boxer on the planet. Only one close to his star status in boxing has been DLH and not even him can compete with Ali's fame.
I love Ali..he was no saint or religous figurehead..but he was more than a Boxer/fighter/sports figure..
Tyson is quite famous too, but its negative fame. Most people only talk about how crazy he was. Mostly the ear biting and comments about eating kids. Ali is known for everything he did. Being a Muslim, his **** talking, his women, his skills, his fights, etc...