Muhammad Ali’s Confidence
“The Greatest” is, quite naturally, the only boxer that makes it on this list twice. This is because Muhammad Ali’s supreme confidence was every bit as important as his uncanny reflexes and timing were to win fights.
No fighter had as much belief in his abilities than Ali. His unwavering belief in his ability to defeat any opponent allowed him to withstand the brutal, constant barrage of punches from Joe Frazier and not be intimidated by the likes of Sonny Liston, George Foreman and Earnie Shavers–some of the scariest, most powerful heavyweights of all time.
In fact, in his hey day, Ali used to accurately predict the rounds when he would stop his opponents. That is how confident he was in his ability. It was at another level.
