Olympic gold medalist with greatest professional career?

Lennox Lewis had the greatest pro career of an Olympic Gold Medalist.

First, Lewis beat a future Hall of Fame World Heavyweight Champion (Riddick Bowe) for the Olympic Gold Medal. Nobody else on the list above beat a future Hall of Fame world champion for their Olympic Gold medal.

Second, Lewis beat every man he faced as a pro.

Third, Lewis faced 15 heavyweight/cruiserweight champions and beat all of them.

Finally, Lewis retired as World Heavyweight Champion and in his last fight he stopped the next World Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko. None of the others on your list retired as champion with a win over the next world champion.

It was an absolutely remarkable career.

He ended his amateur career with a stoppage win over a future Hall of Fame champion and ended his pro career with a stoppage win over a future Hall of Fame champion ... and defeated every man he faced in between.

 

I was a big Ray Leonard fan. I got to meet and hang out with him. I have a pair of signed boxing gloves from him. But I don't think he had "the BEST" pro career of all the Olympic gold medalists. Lennox's career from his gold medal win to his last pro fight (also a win over an all-time great) was better.

 

I want to give a shout to Michael Spinks. He was a true beast and my #1LHW all time. Ali then Lennox, then...Holyfield and Roy Jones

Leonard was great.

 

Herr Henry Maske, naturlich.

 

Muhammad Ali had the best career.

Unofficially, Roy Jones is way up there too.

 

Agree on Spinks being at the top of my own LHW rankings, but Ali is the answer here. Cleaned out the heavyweight division twice and still stands as the greatest despite missing three years of his prime.

 

Muhammad Ali bar none .

But Oscar De La Hoya should have been a candidate.

 

I’m thinking it’s between Ali and Leonard

 

In terms of beating other Olympic champions IMO, Muhammad Ali had the best career.
Muhammad Ali (LHW 1960) defeated Joe Frazier (HW 1964), George Foreman (HW 1968), and Leon Spinks (LHW 1976). Maybe I missed someone.

 

Was there anything worse than his robbery? Wasn't it proven there was tampering with the judges?

 

My answer, and more importantly the combined answer of this forum, is Muhammad Ali -

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I think it was proven.

 

Just because he was the first man to win an Olympic gold medal and a professional world championship I will add Hall of Fame flyweight Fidel LaBarba to the conversation.