Thomas Hearns once revealed his list of the best boxers of all time, with a popular choice making it into his number one spot.
Hearns was the first boxer in history to become world champion in five divisions after triumphing at welterweight, light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight.
He was a member of the iconic ‘Four Kings’ that dominated the sport during the 1980s, alongside fellow greats Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran.
When Hearns complied a list of the 10 greatest boxers of all time, those three former rivals all featured, as did some of the biggest names in the history of boxing.
10: Marvin Hagler. 9: George Foreman. 8: Floyd Mayweather. 7: Mike Tyson. 6: Sugar Ray Leonard. 5: Wilfred Benitez 4: Roberto Duran.
In the number three spot, ‘The Hitman’ sided with himself, before then naming a heavyweight legend as the second best ever.
3: Thomas Hearns. 2: Joe Frazier.
When it came to the greatest of all time, there was just one answer for Hearns, and it was another icon of the heavyweight division.
1: Muhammad Ali.
Ali became world heavyweight champion on three occasions, and was involved in in some of the most memorable fights in history, including the ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ against George Foreman and the ‘Thrilla In Manila’ against Joe Frazier.
His final record stood at 56 wins from 61 fights, having also defeated the likes of Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Ken Norton and Earnie Shavers, and the view of Hearns, along with many others, shows why Ali is more than deserving of his moniker of ‘The Greatest.’
