Tony Bellew has always been a huge boxing fan with a very clear idea of who is the best to ever do it.
Bellew himself had a fine career that saw him win various belts on his way to becoming the WBC world champion back in 2016 when he topped Ilunga Makabu at the home of his beloved Everton FC.
He then defended it against BJ Flores before taking on the former cruiserweight great David Haye and beating him twice by stoppage in huge Pay-Per-View bouts on Sky Sports. His final act was to challenge the then undisputed cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk and lost by KO in 2018 before hanging up his gloves.
Since retirement, Bellew has gone on to become a successful analyst, with his vast boxing knowledge once again used when it came to determining who he believes to be the best ever.
In a new post on X, Bellew described Muhammad Ali as his hero, leading him to be questioned by a fan for having previously called Roy Jones Jr the greatest ever.
“If you listened to me and understood what I said then you could never come to that conclusion… Roy Jones Jr in his prime is the greatest fighter ever in my honest opinion.”
Jones Jr was a multi-weight champion who won world championships in four weight classes at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight.
‘The Bomber’ then clarifies his stance on Ali.
“Muhammad Ali is the greatest man to ever box! A genuine hero.”
Bellew then completed his post with another legendary heavyweight name as his favourite.
“Last but not least, my personal favourite fighter is Riddick Bowe.”
Bowe is a former undisputed heavyweight champion who claimed two victories over Evander Holyfield, but is also known for putting his belt in a bin and refusing to fight Lennox Lewis – a decision he says was due to the politics of the sport rather than avoiding a touch match-up.