Some people believe that Lennox Lewis is the best heavyweight ever.

The Olympic gold medallist for super heavyweight, who switched to professional competition in 1989, won the European title in his fourteenth match, the British title in his fifteenth, the Commonwealth title in his twentieth, and, in 1993, after Riddick Bowe declined to challenge him, he was crowned world champion.

Lewis successfully defended his WBC title three times before suffering an unexpected defeat to Oliver McCall. Like with his only other loss against Hasim Rahman, he would subsequently exact revenge for the defeat in a rematch.

Lewis, dubbed “The Pugilist Specialist,” kept opponents at a distance with his amazing reach. There were few weaknesses to his classic heavyweight style, but he could turn aggressive when necessary. Following a brutal victory over Vitali Klitschko in 2003, he laid up his gloves with a record of 41 wins, 32 knockouts, and only two losses. Before Oleksandr Usyk accomplished the same feat this year, he held the title of the last undisputed champion in the category for more than 20 years.

Multi-division world champion Roy Jones Jr. had “The Lion” defeat top contenders Mike Tyson, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Wladimir Klitschko in a “winner stays on” feature for Mail Sport Boxing. He supported him in his fight against Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, the current top dogs. Muhammad Ali was the one person Jones singled out to disparage Lewis.

Not many fights in fantasy are better than these. Ali (56-5, 37 KOs) was a formidable jabbing machine with cunning power and a self-assured unmatched opponent who was as important inside the cage as he was outside of it.

Lewis views the man formerly known as Cassius Clay as one of his heroes, far from a competition spanning generations. He added, “Ali has always been an enormous inspiration to me, not only in my boxing career but also in life,” after serving as a pallbearer at Ali’s funeral. In the 74 years since the start of his journey, he has not only changed the sporting world, but he has also utilized sport to change society.