Muhammad Ali once named the heavyweight he feels would have caused him the most problems inside a boxing ring.
Ali took on all comers during his glittering career, and was able to defeat the majority of them, claiming iconic victories over fellow greats such as George Foreman and Joe Frazier.
Several defeats towards the end of his career meant that Ali finished with a record of 56 wins and 5 losses, but is is a man who retired undefeated that ‘The Greatest’ says would have been his hardest assignment.
In a past interview with ESPN, Ali once explained why he thought it would have been a difficult task if he went up against Rocky Marciano.
“The toughest fight would be the man who is the hardest to knock out … a fellow who had no style just a bull, Rocky Marciano … he would be the most trouble I think.”
Ali also spoke about Marciano further in another interview.
“Rocky wasn’t a great fighter scientifically, just a mauler and a brawler. One fight his nose is hanging off him, and he kept coming. Can’t put him down. Can’t teach people to fight like Marciano. He just had his own style.
“He wasn’t as great as me, wasn’t as beautiful, but I don’t know that I would’ve beaten him like that.”
Marciano held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956, retiring with a perfect 49-0 record after successful defences over fighters such as Archie Moore and Ezzard Charles.
Arguably his most famous victory came in October 1951 though, when he secured an eighth round TKO victory over Joe Louis, in what would prove to be the final fight for ‘The Brown Bomber.’
