Was ali as good as they say?

[StarshipTrooper]

Tabatha - Hi, personally I don't think he was overrated but everyones opinion is different. I think that instead of asking these question's, if you like boxing so much and want to discuss it, get yourself some fights sit down and watch them and make your own mind up, that's why you have one love. Don't just ask other people what they think or agree with your ex, who by the way sounds like he don't know what he's on about anyway.

Spot on! Watch as many fights as physically possible. It's how you learn about boxing and boxers. And it isn't that hard! My personal fight collection has over six hundred fights and it only took me four months to accuire them: From March of this year through June. Start downloading!

Poet

[WelshDevilRob]

I certainly don't believe Muhammad Ali was overrated. The man had everything. I am truly honoured to have seen his fight's. Great fighter and a Godsend to the World of Boxing.

[Mike Tyson77]

Im pretty sure anyone that knows boxing will tell you Ali was one of the best. But I still think Joe Louis had a better career.

[-CANE-]

Poet - that's not bad mate 600 in four months. I started collecting in the mid 80's, just recording onto VHS and then buying loads from the magazines. I've currently got about 10,000 and must have at least 1000 magazines. I should start cataloging them again though and get all my favourites put onto DVD. Most of them are in boxes in my garage, and I lost interest in the fight game a few years back with all these multiple titles, which none of them mean **** anymore. I now really only watch the big fight's and the up and coming british fighters. Don't have sky anymore and have only just got a computer again after years without one, and am slowly getting back into it again.

[WelshDevilRob]

Poet - that's not bad mate 600 in four months. I started collecting in the mid 80's, just recording onto VHS and then buying loads from the magazines. I've currently got about 10,000 and must have at least 1000 magazines. I should start cataloging them again though and get all my favourites put onto DVD. Most of them are in boxes in my garage, and I lost interest in the fight game a few years back with all these multiple titles, which none of them mean **** anymore. I now really only watch the big fight's and the up and coming british fighters. Don't have sky anymore and have only just got a computer again after years without one, and am slowly getting back into it again.

Me too I've got a good collection of fights on VHS- mainly from a UK angle but I've downloaded tons over the last couple of years. Poet has a very good, strong collection.

The internet is a godsend as I see alot more fights now than I ever did.

[Wiley Hyena]

It's very difficult to "overrate" Muhammad Ali. lol Yes he was great. But, he was not "the Greatest." In the top 3 or 4.

[Mike Tyson77]

Well put! Though I rank Ali at 1 and Louis at 2 I consider them interchangable and couldn't refute either holding the top position. It carries on down my ATG list. I have Johnson, Dempsey, and Holmes at 3-5 and consider THEM interchangable as well. Liston, Holyfield, and Foreman at 6-8 again are interchangable.

So many of these great fighters are close in abilities that any debate over EXACT positioning is quibbling.

Poet

What did Sonny Liston do that that was better than Tyson?

[StarshipTrooper]

What did Sonny Liston do that that was better than Tyson?

Fight better fighters for one. Liston had one of the three best jabs in Heavyweight history for second, while Tyson's jab was a range finder at best. Third, Liston wrote the book on intimidation while Tyson mearly copied pages from it. Fourth, while no one knows his true age, it's estimated by more than a few boxing historians that Sonny was around 40 when he one the Heavyweight title: By comparison Tyson was getting his ass kicked by Kevin McBride in his mid 30s. Finally, Sonny Liston was an all-time great and Mike Tyson is a near great who ranks below Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, and Lennox Lewis among the top Heavyweights of the past 25 years. In consolation, he DOES rank ahead of Rid**** Bowe.....barely.

Poet

[them_apples]

Fight better fighters for one. Liston had one of the three best jabs in Heavyweight history for second, while Tyson's jab was a range finder at best.

I agree with the rest of the paragraph, but saying he fought better fighters is entirely biased, and definitely not true. Maybe he fought more well known fighters because of old time nut-hugger's hyping them up, but most assuredly they weren't "better" fighters. Sonny Liston dominated the division because he was ahead of his time, he was big, strong and had a buff build (common trademark for a hard puncher). Ali comes along, he then takes over the dominating because he to, was ahead of his time. But like everything else, someone comes a long who does it better than the last guy. Ali "floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee" (aka. not slugging it out) only because nobody else did at the time, 15-20 years later many fighter's were doing that and doing it better than Ali.

Joe Frazier, amazing in his prime -- was also ahead of his time (there had been bob-and weavers before this, but not to the same extent).
Tyson, is a stronger and faster Frazier basically. Some people are automatically going to say Frazier is better (aka poet) on the sole bases of him being around in the 70's. I've watched nearly all of Frazier's and Tyson's fights, Tyson is faster, he lifts guys off the ground with his punches and has superior body movement.

[sleazyfellow]

Joe Frazier, amazing in his prime -- was also ahead of his time (there had been bob-and weavers before this, but not to the same extent).
Tyson, is a stronger and faster Frazier basically. Some people are automatically going to say Frazier is better (aka poet) on the sole bases of him being around in the 70's. I've watched nearly all of Frazier's and Tyson's fights, Tyson is faster, he lifts guys off the ground with his punches and has superior body movement.

frazier lifted buster mathis off the canvas with body shots (mathis looked like a tub of lard though). Frazier is better in the ATG list, but in a head to head match up tyson would pull a foreman on frazier and knock him down a bunch, but tyson is nowhere near as tough,and doesnt have fraziers chin or heart.