Imagine a Heavyweight World without Ali

[DarkTerror88]

How would the championship and division have looked?

[BrananaRepublic]

Uninspiring.

[RurouniYume]

there would have had to been someone like Ali or the sport wouldn't be what it is. All sports need a great champion and Ali is the greatest champion of boxing

[SCtrojansbaby]

The other transcendent heavyweights like Foreman and Tyson couldn't speak as well. Guys who could speak well(though not like Ali), Oscar De La Hoya and Sugar Ray Leonard weren't heavyweights. Don't think there will ever be another Ali.

[OLD JUD]

How would the championship and division have looked?

Henry Cooper would have had to face Liston if he wanted a title shot, and Cooper and his management decided to steer well clear of Liston because they knew there was only one winner in that potential fight.

[$Bullsfam$]

That doesn't just effect the heavyweights, you know how many fighters probably became fighters because of watching Muhammad Ali? The sport would be almost completely different without him. Ali is only rivaled by maybe Tyson but still favor him over Tyson as the most popular boxer OF ALL TIME from generation to generation.

It be mad weird. I rate Frazier so high because of the hell he put Ali through, Norton is very underrated because of the hell he gave Ali. Who knows what happens, maybe Foreman stays undefeated and crushes Larry Holmes? And maybe doesn't even have to comeback to build his legacy as top 3 heavyweight of all time. Maybe we'd be talking about Foreman-Louis instead of Louis-Ali? Maybe we get Joe Frazier vs Sonny Liston which would have been a FREAKIN WAR!!

[BritishBoxing92]

How would the championship and division have looked?

liston would have been heavyweight champion longer, frazier foreman and the likes of norton and holmes would have most likely all met each other somewhere down the road in elimination bouts to face the champion, holmes would have been crushed by foreman and we all know what foreman would have done to norton and frazier so most likely it would have been liston vs foreman for the HW championship or even other fighters like chuvalo, bonavena , terrell , shavers , mathis , quarry all would have had a tough time with either foreman or liston down the road.

[SCtrojansbaby]

What makes you thing Foreman would have crushed Holmes

[BritishBoxing92]

What makes you thing Foreman would have crushed Holmes

better body puncher would have timed and caught holmes against the ropes and stopped him or dropped him with body shots, yes holmes prevailed against shavers who hit harder but foreman was better then shavers in both chin , heart and stamina department so i would give him a fairly decent chance against holmes in the 70s.

[OLD JUD]

better body puncher would have timed and caught holmes against the ropes and stopped him or dropped him with body shots, yes holmes prevailed against shavers who hit harder but foreman was better then shavers in both chin , heart and stamina department so i would give him a fairly decent chance against holmes in the 70s.

Holmes was superior to Foreman in terms of skill,speed,durability,and stamina.
But that would have been a great fight if they had met.