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The consensus seems to be Ali and I won't/can't argue. There is clear day light between him and anyone people wish to rank at no. 2.
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It is not just the speed..it is the technique,skill set along with the durability and the the level of opponents they faced...There is no heavyweight you can list with a better resume then Muhammad Ali...if so please list them...The man was 6'3-6'4 so he was far from small and moved like a middleweight and had power and was tough as nails and fought everyone...Comment
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yep, no argument here. But forget the skill set or the natural gifts Ali possessed, he had something that can never and will never be taught and that's balls. Ali fought almost a decade in a post-prime state and managed to beat some of the biggest punchers the sport has ever seen.
People say Vitali and Wlad could impose their size and will on Ali...yet more complete punchers couldn't do that, yes they may not have been as big as the Klits but are they serious? Would an extra 3 inches make Ali wilt? No. Now imagine that Ali with heart in his youthful, peak condition, he'd run rings around the sloppy, flat footed Vitali and Wlad, who imo is the superior Klit in terms of skill set and natural gifts, would get beat up in the latter rounds, Ali would land on him far too often.Comment
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Muhammad Ali.Comment
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Muhammad Ali.Comment
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Who are you talking about?
I'll assume Ali (didn't bother reading all the tripe)
Ali had these particular great qualities...
Handspeed- Very quick in the 60's, he was also very small, when he gained weight in the 70's he was still fast but nothing SPECIAL!
Footspeed- He ran all night and had fast feet in the 60's, in the 70's he was more of a plodder.
Stamina- He always had good stamina but again, he was lightly built and light overall.
Range- Ali had a range advantage over nearly all of his opponents
Weight- Ali had a weight advantage over most of his opponents
These are the BAD qualities of Ali which you will find nonsense but is actually there to see.
Skills- Ali was a headhunter, he was not a good infighter (a hugger, like you call a more recent HW), he had poor actual defence and he had sloppy punches and was reluctant to punch openings. His combination punching was rather shoe shine. Ali was TECHNICALLY A FLAWED BOXER!
Chin- The 60's Ali was chinny. Fact! The 70's Ali was durable against the criteria of the day. Against the criteria of any subsequent era, he was again, CHINNY!
Power- Ali was among the most punch weak of all the HW champions, Fact!
Reflexes- Ali was hit at will by even slow punches, as soon as his opponents WERE in range.
The reason for Ali's success in the 60's was that his speed allied to his range advantage allowed him to land on his opponents at range and skip out of way, and the fact most of them were very small and/or bummy. Against modern fighters who are on average larger, of higher quality, more durable and more powerful, this would be meaningless. He was no Haye or Byrd who could stand in the pocket and bend around punches. He had to be out of there or he'd be hit. And the guys hitting him are no Henry Coopers these days!
In the 70's the speed of hand and foot were diminished and his punch baggery became more evident. He didn't lose his reflexes, he never actually had them! Fortunately his increased strength for the clinch, increased weight and his more durable chin enabled him to struggle through the rest of his career which were a much better class of opponents, with great success.
One thing I will say positive about Ali is that he displayed great heart and sometimes good ring IQ (but not always!) which aided him greatly.
But beyond doubt, much of his career success was based on luck or something dodgey, perhaps more than any other boxer. Without that, Ali could potentially have suffered anywhere up to around 10 losses!
When someone tries to sell that Ali had a total package of skills, it's laughable.
Never since Ali has any runner of that calibre been largely successful in professional HW boxing. And all the guys of Ali's calibre are faster and more conditioned and more powerful and more skilled than Ali was. Why do you think that is?Last edited by Elroy1; 10-04-2014, 06:08 PM.Comment
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