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Muhammad Ali is widely regarded by many boxing commentators and historians as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. Boxing magazine The Ring named him number 1 in a 1998 ranking of greatest heavyweights from all eras. In 1999, The Associated Press voted Ali the number one heavyweight of the 20th century. In 1999, Ali was named the second greatest boxer in history, pound for pound, by ESPN; behind only welterweight and middleweight legend Sugar Ray Robinson. In December 2007, ESPN listed Ali second in its choice of the greatest heavyweights of all time, behind Joe Louis. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.
References
- ↑ Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times . Simon & Schuster. pp. 241–2. ISBN 9780671688929.
- ↑ Felix Dennis; Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. p. 192.
- ↑ "ALI BIG FAVORITE TO DEFEAT MATHIS". The New York Times. 17 November 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ↑ "GOT TO LOOK GOOD TO ALLAH". Sports Illustrated. 29 November 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ↑ "Mathis Was Hit by a Buss and Then by Ali". The New York Times. 18 November 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ↑ "Winner Didn't 'Have Heart to Hurt Him'". The New York Times. 18 November 1971. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
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