What was Ali's best fight?

[black.ink]

His performance against Folley is underrated and one of the best I've seen.

Yes, i agree. The Folley fight was one of his best also.

[The Iron Man]

Excitement wise, Ali-Frazier 3, legacy wise, Ali-Foreman, performance wise, Ali-Williams.

Agree with you there man. Ive watched the Foreman fight a couple of times. But dnt plan on watching it again. Watching the williams fight is a different story.

[Silencers]

Agree with you there man. Ive watched the Foreman fight a couple of times. But dnt plan on watching it again. Watching the williams fight is a different story.

Yeah, that was a brilliant performance, one of the best I've ever seen.

[JAB5239]

Yeah, that was a brilliant performance, one of the best I've ever seen.

I agree it was an incredible performance, but Williams was pretty much finished as a top fighter at that point. I don't think Lison was at his peak either when Ali fought him, but he was a big favorite and Ali schooled him. Jmo.

[THE REED]

i think foreman, george was deemed unstoppable, unbeatable... ali was looked at as past it... ali was supposed to be killed in this fight... and he knocked him out half way through the fight in front of an entire country yelling his name.... unbelievable.

[Silencers]

I agree it was an incredible performance, but Williams was pretty much finished as a top fighter at that point. I don't think Lison was at his peak either when Ali fought him, but he was a big favorite and Ali schooled him. Jmo.

Williams was definitely not at his best anymore and he had lost twice by knockout to Liston but IMO, Ali showed everything in that fight, he was as close to a complete fighter that night.

Off topic but both Liston-Williams fights were very, very good brawls.

[Miburo]

Against Foreman and in the third Frazier fight he was forced to take his performance to another level to win. In terms of just skills on display though, Williams was the flashiest.

[TheGreatA]

Williams was definitely not at his best anymore and he had lost twice by knockout to Liston but IMO, Ali showed everything in that fight, he was as close to a complete fighter that night.

Off topic but both Liston-Williams fights were very, very good brawls.

It was somewhat of a miracle that Williams was even in the ring with Ali.

During negotiations for the fight, he brought out a photograph of Williams taken not long after he had been shot through the belly by a Texas policeman. It showed an emaciated man of 158 pounds, looking rather more like a starved alley cat than the Big Cat.

The patrolman seized him by the wrist and Williams dragged him out of the car (the story goes). The officer drew his .357 magnum pistol, favored by Texas policemen because it is just about the most feared and effective handgun there is. Williams says he seized the weapon to deflect its aim from his body. The gun went off as it was pointing toward his left hip and slightly downward. The bullet plowed crosswise through his intestines and lodged against the right hip, where it remains even now. Williams collapsed on the ground, and eventually lost consciousness. He awoke with the impression that someone was "kicking and stomping" him. He lost consciousness once more.

He awoke again, in Houston 's Ben Taub General Hospital, and there had the good luck to have an old friend, Dr. Don C. Quast, a surgeon, watch over him. Then began a series of four operations lasting seven months that Dr. Quast now looks back on in wonder. The bullet had done massive damage. In such cases body tissue that looks healthy to the surgeon's eye often deteriorates unpredictably after the wound is closed. Then there must be a new operation. In addition to the colon damage, Williams suffered a wounded right kidney and this was removed on June 22, 1965. That was the last of the operations, for it was decided that he had been through quite enough and the bullet might as well remain inside him. It had broken his right hip joint and had caused partial paralysis of some hip muscles. "It is a miracle," Dr. Quast says now, "that he is not in braces."

"He almost died," Dr. Quast said. "His kidneys stopped working, and the products they take care of are very toxic."

In the end, though, the doctor advised Manager Benbow that Williams would be ready to start light training in 90 days. He began limbering up, in fact, in 60 days, displaying recuperative powers that astonished all hands.

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.c...9257/index.htm

But despite having a bullet in his body, Cleveland Williams said he was in the shape of his life. I doubt he was but Williams could have never beaten that Ali. It was a brilliant display of boxing.

I thought Ali's performance against Terrell was very good too, although he didn't finish Terrell off. He was able to look good against a boxer that very few could look good against.

Muhammad Ali vs Ernie Terrell Part 2
Uploaded by TheHomelessDetective

Perhaps not one of his most spectacular performances (aside from the memorable 'What's my name?' shouts) but it was a solid, 15 round decision win against a tall, awkward boxer who was a title holder at the time.

[Silencers]

It was somewhat of a miracle that Williams was even in the ring with Ali.



http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.c...9257/index.htm

But despite having a bullet in his body, Cleveland Williams said he was in the shape of his life. I doubt he was but Williams could have never beaten that Ali. It was a brilliant display of boxing.

I thought Ali's performance against Terrell was very good too, although he didn't finish Terrell off. He was able to look good against a boxer that very few could look good against.

Muhammad Ali vs Ernie Terrell Part 2
Uploaded by TheHomelessDetective

Perhaps not one of his most spectacular performances (aside from the memorable 'What's my name?' shouts) but it was a solid, 15 round decision win against a tall, awkward boxer who was a title holder at the time.

Yeah, I remember the commentators mentioning Williams still had bullets in his body from getting shot several months prior to the Ali fight, it's a miracle he went back to boxing so soon after that, still think it was a great performance from Ali though.

I thought the performance against Terrell was really good as well, Terrell was no slouch but Ali thoroughly beat him for 15 rounds, Terrell said that he got thumbed in one round that jammed one of his eyes so that he was seeing 2 Alis, bad enough that there was 1.