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30th Apr 2017

Try not to get angry over this Anthony Joshua-Muhammad Ali comparison

In fairness, the iconic photos are eerily similar

Ben Kiely

Calm yourselves, we’re not trying to perpetuate the theory that Anthony Joshua is the next ‘Greatest’.

It’s fantastic that Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko blessed the world with one of the best heavyweight world title fights in years and we think the British boxer could be the exciting champion the division has been crying out for.

However, he’s no Muhammad Ali, but to be fair, we’ve only ever had one of those that we called ‘The Greatest’.

Aside from being one of the finest pugilists to ever grace Planet Earth, Ali was one of those incomparable characters that captivated the masses. As a civil rights activist, as a leader and as an artist, the world stopped whatever it was they were doing to watch Ali.

https://twitter.com/ChinWangESPN/status/740987764540362752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Fboxing%2Fone-of-espn-magazines-front-page-tributes-to-the-great-muhammad-ali-is-powerful-beyond-words-81901

Joshua is already a beacon of hope for a whole new generation, but he’s probably never going to fill those massive high tops that Ali left in the heavyweight division.

Ali was a legend who transcended the sport, while Joshua is still a new world champion.

However, there is one comparison that is very fair to make and that is the images of arguably the two fighters’ most iconic fights. Contextually the scenes are very different, but from a strictly visual perspective, Joshua standing over a Klitschko lying prone on the canvas is eerily similar to that famous image of Ali doing likewise to Sonny Liston.