Greatest Fighters of All Time, According to Lennox Lewis

Lennox Lewis provided his list of the five greatest fighters of all time in boxing, when speaking recently toHard Rock Bet.

Widely considered one of the best heavyweights in boxing history, Lewis scrapped his way to the top of a silver era in his division, defeating the likes of Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock, Hasim Rahman, Evander Holyfield, Vitali Klitschko, and Mike Tyson, during a gauntlet in which he won the world championship title three times.

However, there was no room for any of his former rivals as he appeared to snub Tyson and Holyfield when making a list of the best boxers that is dominated by the big men of the sport.

The Five Greatest Fighters in Boxing History, Per Lennox Lewis

Typically, a list of the best boxers who ever lived would include ‘Sugar Ray’ Robinson — often cited as the clear No.1 because of his extraordinary skillset that included power, speed, and agility. He also scored brilliant wins across multiple weight classes, and is renowned for his iconic rivalry with Jake LaMotta. Even Muhammad Ali referred to Sugar Ray as boxing’s GOAT.

Lennox didn’t get that memo, though.

When asked who his top five all-time boxers were, he said the following:

Ali is not a surprising pick as he, too, is a consensus top-five fighter of all time. Johnson, too, is regarded as a pioneer and scored two of the best known wins when he defeated Tommy Burns to become the first Black world heavyweight champion in 1908, ahead of his stunning knockout of Jim Jeffries in the ‘Fight of the Century’ two years later.

Elsewhere, Ali picked Louis, who reigned the heavyweight division before Ali did, and Foreman, who is one of the hardest-hitters in heavyweight history. The only non heavyweight Lewis picked was Marvin Hagler, — revered for his pressure fighting, brutal power, and technical prowess. This allowed him to engineer incredible wins over other Hall-of-Famers like Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, and John Mugabi.

Another notable exception was obviously himself. However, when asked by Hard Rock Bet if he’d put himself in that room, Lewis answered: “Yeah, I’m in that room, I’m definitely in that room.”