Former world champion Amir Khan has revealed who he thinks is the best to ever do it.
Khan was just 17 when he won a silver medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2005, he turned pro and at 22 was the WBA Super-Lightweight World Champion, making him one of the youngest from these shores to ever achieve that feat.
Khan won 34 of his 40 fights and took on legends like Marcos Maidana, Terence Crawford and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez before retiring in 2022 after losing to Kell Brook.
Speaking to TNT Sports Boxing, Khan named ‘The Greatest,’ Muhammad Ali, as the best to ever do it in the squared circle.
“Muhammad Ali is the greatest fighter in the world in my opinion because of what he did in the ring and outside the boxing ring. He was not only a great champion but the people’s champion more than anything.”
Ali has a legendary CV that includes plenty of epic wins and some of the most notorious contests in the sport, from the Rumble in the Jungle to the Thrilla in Manilla. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1974 to 1978, had further spells as WBA champion and held the Ring magazine title from 1964 to 1970.
Ali, who passed away in 2016, beat the likes of Ken Norton, Joe Frazier, Ron Lyle, George Foreman, Henry Cooper and Sonny Liston, twice, though he ended his career with losses to Trevor Berwick and Larry Holmes – fights many feel he should not have been involved in given deteriorating health.
His record was 61 fights, 56 wins – 37 by knockout – and just five losses, but he is remembered just as much for his staunch opposition to the Vietnam War, which kept him away from the sport for several years during his peak, as well as his civil rights activism.
