1) He beated the bests 2) 3 times World Champion 3) His technique was superlative 4) His chin 5) His charisma in & outside the ring
He was flat on his back and given an extra long count against a guy who doesn't know how to box who he had 70 pounds on. Comparing that to anything Ali did is ridiculous. You must have been born in the 00s
He did the "impossible" twice. He beat Charles Sonny Liston in 64 and ten years later beat George Foreman. Both were considered unbeatable and both were supposed to destroy Ali.
The real reason he was the greatest, was his will to win and heart of a champion. He overcame odds. He won two of the greatest heavyweight title upsets ever, against Liston and then Foreman. His speed and grace and technical prowess was never seen in the heavyweight division by any other fighter, the closest today is Tyson Fury. Ali was known as the heavyweight Sugar Ray (robinson). And a large part of why he is said to be the greatest is because he himself said it. If he had been a humble dude, he would not be considered today to be the greatest. Because of the persona he made himself, always saying stuff like "I am the GREATEST! They all will fall in the round I call!" and infinite other examples, he had a larger-than-life presence that the media really liked, and the fans liked too. Ali was at one point the most famous person on earth. His resume is outstanding, too. Wins over Moore, Liston, Williams, Terrell, Frazier 2x, Quarry 2x, Foreman, Norton 2x, Ellis, Lyle, Shavers, Spinks, and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. He fought great competition, and in his prime he was unbeatable. That's another reason, he was unbeatable in his prime. He is greater than Mayweather Jr, I think he personally has a better resume. He has better records than Tyson & Anthony Joshua, not to mention he is better h2h against both of them, and in his prime he is the #1 ALL TIME p4p h2h Boxer, ever. Definitely the best heavyweight boxer of all time, if you don't agree with him being the p4p greatest. Roy Jones Jr was great in his prime, when he still had athleticism and youth. Once he got old, or "became human" it was revealed he didn't have a chin and couldn't do it anymore. When Ali became human, we saw how truly tough he was. He has one of, if not the greatest, chin in boxing history. I'd rank chins like Hagler's above him p4p, though. Maybe. Ali's ability to adapt on the fly and change his strategy mid-fight was legendary. Watch The Modern Martial Artist's video on "Ali VS Southpaws" as an example. You can't say he is the Michael Jordan of Boxing, you'd say Michael Jordan is the Ali of basketball. Tom Brady is the Ali of football. Tiger Woods is the Ali of golf, etc. He is simply the greatest, and my favorite boxer.
How does the era make a difference when you can compare their actual resume of wins against one another? Lewis was more dominant when he lost to Rahman and McCall in the middle of his prime? Alis best wins are PRIME Foreman and Frazier. Who are the best prime fighters Lewis beat?
There’d never been a heavyweight like Ali.The foot speed, hand speed, co-ordination, good power, heart, desire, determination, great chin. That’s besides the out of the ring persona. The whole package. If you look at his record after beating his first contenders in 1962 before winning the title all the the way through until the Holmes fight in 1980 it’s really remarkable. There’s simply just about no one in that time span over 2 decades that he didn’t fight and beat. I’m not saying he’s the greatest fighter of all time, or even the greatest heavyweight, but if someone is a great shout for it then it’s him.
