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Ali's record contains more high class opponents then any other HW ever.
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Originally posted by angelo_dundee
I Hadn't thought of it like that but yes you're spot on there
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I truly believe that Ali pre exile was the perfect fighting machine.
And I am known for my REALISTIC pov's.Comment
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Invincible? No. The best? Yes.
A man who weighs 210+ pounds and has really quick, accurate hands will punch hard. That's generally the mechanics of it. His power is not the most underrated in history; it's right in the middle where it should be. He had enough power, and enough gas in the tank to finish off his tired and confused opponents. It was there when it needed to be.
This is not why he defeated many of his opponents, pre-layoff, however. Often times his opponents never changed their gameplan to face a heavyweight who fought like a middleweight. Ali was not so fast that people couldn't catch him; it's rediculous to think that. His opponents just failed to prepare themselves properly to conserve energy while trapping Ali's movement.
There are a few fighters who probably could have done this, but Ali was fortunate enough to avoid such eras. The key is to be at the spot he's dancing to before he gets there. A person can always move faster when going forward than another can while moving backwards or side to side. His opponents rarely caught on to this, however, until after he returned to the ring in 1970.
Ali nuthuggers have to think about something for a moment. In 1967, Ali had reached his physical prime. Automatically people scream that he would have continued as such until about 1971 or so, and remained undefeated. First of all, Ali wasn't even accepted as a quality champion until 1966 or 1967, so there weren't fighters truly gunning for a method to stop a dancer. Had Ali remained in the sport, you would have seen a humbled version of Muhammad Ali between 67-71 as more and more fighters found ways to counter his speed. Would they have beaten him? Not necessarily, but it's a more fair and reasonable assumption than one that makes him invincible. During his layoff people began preparing for ways to tackle fast fighters and it showed when he returned to the ring. Ali wasn't so much slower in 1970 that it allowed for him to get caught where he otherwise would have been uncatchable, but he did lose a step. Combine this with the fact that more people figured out ways to close the gap and you get some frustrating moments for Ali.
This is all a testament to his greatness. The entire boxing world had to find ways to be prepared for a swifter, more patient opponent. In the 1980's there weren't many big names, but there were more boxers who were pure athletes. Faster fighters with more longevity. They beat up on each other enough, however, that very few names from that era emerged. All of this changed because of Muhammad Ali.
Invincible? No. The best? Yes.Last edited by Brassangel; 01-31-2006, 10:32 AM.Comment
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Your whole argument is conjecture. We can only assume that Ali would have grown even more dominant in the 3 years he missed. No one at that time had the style to test his movement, not even Joe.
A hypothetical 1969 match, Ali without lay off, would cruise past Joe, on account of his graceful speed. Amen.Comment
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Ali's speed speed speed speed speed.
Tyson had the speed in his feet to catch this arrogant cat and counter him.Comment
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What, Mike "plz dont fight back cos I'm a coward" Tyson?
Son plz. Now thats not my real view of Mikey, I have mad love for him, but Ali would hand him his ass. Each and every time.Comment
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So what if he could catch him? Whats Tyson gonna do? If Foreman couldn't KO ALi, certainly little Tyson couldn't!Tyson had the speed in his feet to catch this arrogant cat and counter him.Comment
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That's not a good logic. If this is this, than that will etc.Originally posted by Southpaw Stinger
Foreman fought a horrible fight, couldn't connect with his wild swings, running out of gas later in the rounds. Tyson was better than Foreman at everything except power maybe.
He would get Ali and counter his arrogant ass.Comment
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You're like a total clown.
No one who knows this game places Mikey on par with the Greatest.Comment
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