Overall, ALI. Ali was a HW. That alone makes him "overall" better. Add that to Ali being A HW who fought everyone. Even past his prime. That puts him ahead. People make the case for Robinson when it comes to "P4P." That's the only time you can put him ahead. Why so? because SRR, no matter how good he was, isn't beating Ali in a fight. Overall, Ali was better.
Ali actually said SRR was the greatest, p4p, himself. :yep Floyd Patterson and Joe Louis agreed, not that it's anything in and of itself. SRR is the majority consensus GOAT and there's only a couple you see being picked by learned fans over him in the minority, and Ali isn't one of them, usually. :conf
When considering their ATG status, SRR has a dimension that Ali hasn't due to having campaigned at an exceptionally high level from 135 to 160 (and almost 175). He was also able to give up weight to legitimately great fighters like Lamotta, and still come out on top. Ali's biggest win (Foreman) ranks higher than Robinson's, and he never lost in what could considered his true prime. Other than that, there are far more reasons to favour Robinson than there are to favour Ali. H2H p4p is a different question, and I could see Ali being able to adapt better to the rarity of fighting an opponent with equal physical gifts, and being able to squeak out a decision over a 210lbs Sugar Ray. Robinson's big advantage in power would be less of a factor with Ali's reflexes and ATG chin.
