While Lee was most likely capable of beating challengers larger and stronger than him, Ali was in a completely different class. He’d kill me.” In other words, the boxing champion’s impressive size and strength gave him an advantage that even a person of Lee’s skills wouldn’t be able to overcome. In response to constant debates over who’d win, Lee said, “ Look at my hand. According to Enter the Dragon director Robert Clouse, Lee commented on a hypothetical match during the making of the movie, which was when Ali was at the height of his fame.

However, the actor has claimed that he would have lost to Muhammad Ali. Lee has been involved in quite a few well-documented fights over the years, but hasn’t experienced any confirmed losses. Related: Bruce Lee's Original Way of the Dragon Plan (And Why He Changed It) It reached a point where Bruce Lee faced regular challenges from would-be opponents. And when Bruce Lee attained stardom in Hong Kong, even more became interested in his martial arts prowess. Even Hollywood stars like Steve McQueen and James Coburn befriended Lee and trained under him as Jeet Kune Do students. Lee, who lived in the area, ran martial arts schools and accumulated a number of pupils eager to learn from him.

Lee has said himself that he wouldn’t be able to win if he had to go up against the “Greatest of All Time.'Īs an expert in Wing Chun and the founder of his own martial arts style (Jeet Kune Do), Bruce Lee was a well-respected kung fu master in Hollywood long before he ever made it big in the movies. Lee had great pride and confidence in the kung fu skills he had acquired over years and years of diligent training, but he apparently recognized that his fighting ability wasn’t necessarily infallible. By Bruce Lee’s own admission, Muhammad Ali is one fighter that he thought he could never beat in a fight.

Best kung fu fighter in history