Muhammad Ali vs Jack Johnson

[boxing boy]

I have not seen this match-up posted since I have been a member of this forum,and I think this would be a very interesting fight.

I believe Jack Johnson was the hardest heavyweight champion to hit.

I think Muhammad Ali was the most elusive,and the second hardest to hit.

Who do you think would have won and why?

[Sugarj]

Well Johnson did look hard to hit, but he wasn't as elusive as prime Ali to my eyes.

Johnson was very talented, I'm a big fan. But the videos available that I've seen show a man against vastly inferior opposition. The filmed fights with Burns, Jeffries or Moran fit into this description. Were he around in the sixties fighting 12 or 15 round contests rather than 20+ rounds (at a slower pace without deductions for holding!) with the likes of Liston, Patterson or Chuvalo, he would.....I'm sure have got clipped a little more than the comparable Ali.

As for an Ali vs Johnson matchup, great fight over a more modern distance. I favour Ali by decision, but think he would have his hands full. Johnson had super fast hands and great combinations, plus he had a similar swagger and confidence to Ali. The fight may well have been an overly defensive stinker with lots of talking and posing, but their egos would make for a compelling night.

The press buildup would be amazing, Ali would be near matched for insults, wit, quotes and possibly even poems and verse. Both guys had oodles of charisma.

[Miburo]

Completely different games. Johnson played the "outlast" game which worked in an era when fights could go more than 30 rounds, and clinching was the norm. Under modern rules Ali would definitely win - Johnson's defense was well adapted for the time, but wouldn't cut it in that sort of fight.