Evander Holyfield is more qualified than most when it comes to debating who the greatest heavyweight of all time is.
‘The Real Deal’ moved up to heavyweight in the late 1980s after becoming undisputed at cruiserweight, and it didn’t take him long to make an impact in the banner division.
He became undisputed heavyweight champion with a victory over Buster Douglas in 1990, and further wins throughout his career against the likes of Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Larry Holmes and Riddick Bowe cemented Holyfield’s place as one of the best ever.
In terms of the number one heavyweight of all time, most boxing fans give that honour to Muhammad Ali, having become a three-time world heavyweight champion with wins over fighters such as Foreman, Joe Frazier and Sonny Liston.
Holyfield disagrees though, as he told Seconds Out that he believes his own achievements outweigh anything that Ali managed to achieve.
“I’m the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world but they are still talking about Ali when I broke his record. I’ve been the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world for 24 years.
“You can’t talk about it until you break someone’s record, they don’t say nothing about me. How do you cut somebody out of history? Now I didn’t even know I was the first person to be undisputed in two weight divisions, until Usyk did it. They keep saying Ali is the best fighter, no I am. He was three times, I’m four.”
Holyfield’s argument is a fair one, but the debate over the greatest heavyweight of all time will no doubt continue to rage on for years to come.
