Heavyweight great says Muhammad Ali was his idol but considers himself ‘best ever’

To become a world champion, a fighter must believe he is the best. No man embodied this better than Muhammad Ali.

Part of Ali’s personality was to call himself the best, but what he accomplished led others to do the same. On the ropes, he was the first-ever three-time heavyweight champion, defeating Sonny Liston, George Foreman and Joe Frazier along the way. Outside of the ring, his cultural impact is immeasurable.

Although he is number one in the eyes of many, others cannot see beyond the achievements of Joe Louis or the more modern boxing of Lennox Lewis. Larry Holmes is generally considered one of the ten greatest heavyweights of all time, but rarely number one.

Talk to Aerial sports“The Easton Assassin” explained why he should take the top spot.

“I don’t really get the recognition that I normally would get as a Mike Tyson. I’ve had (almost) 20 title defenses. Mike Tyson had three or four and then lost.

“I was champion for seven and a half years. They don’t want to recognize me. [Muhammad] Ali doesn’t have the fights I had to defend the title. He did not retain his title for seven and a half years. Only one guy has held this title for over seven and a half years [and that] was Joe Louis. And the only person who had a record like mine was Rocky Marciano, no one else.

“Why does Muhammad Ali have to be the greatest? He could say he’s the greatest, you could say he’s the greatest, but I know it’s different. I’m the greatest!”

On paper, Holmes could point to his victory over Ali in 1980 as an example, although a closer look would show that Ali should have been far from a ring that night. Holmes later said he asked the referee to stop the action, but was forced to continue the fight, beating the legend to a late stoppage – the only one of Ali’s campaign.

Where it cannot be denied is his comparison to Marciano, as he was just one fight away from matching the latter’s famous 49-0 record before losing on points to Michael Spinks in 1985. He failed to avenge the defeat in a rematch six months later and retired for two years before coming back and losing to Mike Tyson in four rounds. Holmes fought until 2002 before retiring.