1967 Muhammad Ali vs. 2007 Wladimir Klitschko

He also took a beating and KO'd a young Foreman who at 48years old fought Shannon Briggs who goes on to fight Vitali Klitschko later on and Briggs said recently Foreman hit him the hardest and this was when he was 48!

Ali gets knocked down,up,sideways and still goes on to win you bring up a very good point! can the same be said about Wladimir?

 

Tyson was more skill then power in the 80s but you wouldn't know that because you probably never watched him. You bring up really sh1t points for youre argument to be considered.

Modern heavy with superior punch? Says who? Briggs has fought many and so has Holyfield. You can see in there fights they are too scared to stand and trade like they did in many of there other fights.

Holyfield,who could lift tremendous numbers in the weight room is by all standards modern cracked Larry Holmes with a hard shot on the chin I blacked out. Pretty much bring your argument to an end.

 

Byrd is a modern day Ali people and since Wlad sent Byrd to hospital , Ali would suffer the same fate, because Ali's skills are equal to Byrds . Cant argue with that.

 

103 say Klitschko by KO?
Really???
FFS, is everyone on here under 30yrs of age??? Or on glue?????

:nono

 

Wlad's freak size and insane athletic ability???
He's recorded at 6"6 and 81" reach. The guy is only 3 inches taller than Ali and his reach also, not to mention Wlad does not fight at his height and regularly bends low. How exactly is that gonna shock and trouble Ali?
As for insane athlete, you really think Wlad is as fit as a prime '67 Ali? One word..footwork.
There's not a hope in hell Wlad would cope. He's a phenomenal specimen but his feet are way way too slow to handle most ATG, let alone probably the fastest HW who lived. Ali would be in and out, hitting repeatedly at will. I'm not even gonna mention the inability of Wlad to return his arm back to defence after a jab, if he hung his jab arm out like that against an ATG he'd be in deep ****.
IMO opinion the only way to beat a prime Ali was superfast counterpunching, a heart like a lion and a chin to match, along with a sublime boxing brain that can adapt during a fight. Wlad's the best on the planet today but he ticks none of them boxes at the level necessary IMO.

 

I am not a huge Soccer/football fan I was throwing out names in that sport. once again you are confusing traits with skills. Faster does not always mean better. if you look at Basketball, Micheal Jordan was perhaps the best ball player ever . . . others say Larry Bird or Magic Johnson. If you look at them on film today they look a lot slower than players today (especially Bird). If you ask any coach today would they trade there top player for Larry Bird 10/10 would say 1000x yes. Moral of the story is, being bigger, faster, quicker, stronger does not mean better.

you talk about conditioning, strength and tactic . . . conditioning and strength can be improved easily, and these players are so great that they can easily make the adjustments to understand the changing game. In fact the fighters from generations before could teach these young pups a lot . . . the sport has regressed because the skills of these old fighters and trainers have been lost. To understand what I am talking about do a google search and watch Bhop talk about boxing and the things he does in the ring.

Its hard to talk to younger fans about the sport because they do not see what I see . . . it is the little things that can make a world of difference. When you are around the sport a lot longer you will start to understand.

 

WORD! :bbb:bbb

 

Ditto. It's good to read a post from a member with proper knowledge. :thumbsup

 

Wlad won by a wide margin against Haye so it is not the best example

Wlad has much better fundamental boxing skills. It is well known fact that Ali had defensive flaws and struggled with technical boxers: Doug Jones, Cooper, Mildenberger, Norton. Styles make fights and Wlad's style is Ali's worst nightmare.

 

People saying that Wlad wins by wide margins are taking only one thing into account: the fact that Wlad hardly loses a round in his fights. They do forget one major thing though: Ali is one of the most skilled HWs of all time. Wlad has never fought anyone with his skillset. Byrd is definitely skilled but no where near Ali level, plus was less stronger.
However, all these early KO's of Wlad by almost any ATG HW are getting pretty old too. Yes, Wlad lost before 3 times: against Purrity no one can deny that he was out because of exhaustion, against Sanders he was just blasted out, cant deny that. I do believe that he is a much better fighter right now, his defense is vastly improved under Steward.

I can see Ali winning but I also dont think its crazy to say that Wlad might as well.

 

Looking at the list of guys who voted Wlad KO is illuminating. Nobody should want to join that list.

Ali boxes circles around Wlad, literally. Lots of foot movement to avoid the pawing and grabbing. Wlad never steps up the offense enough to pressure or slow Ali down.

 

glover,

I don't think you've even seen Foreman or Frazier fight. Your posts are becoming more delusional each day.

Wlad in his mid 20's was getting knocked out by Sanders, Purity and Brewster. He was all over the place against Sam Peter. He's also got poor footwork, doesn't throw combos and although strong, is quite methodical.

But in your LSD world, he'd have crushed Joe Frazier in a single round like he was nothing?

You are talking absolute ****!

The ONLY thing that has improved in boxing, is sports science, nutritionists and better training facilities and equipment etc.

There isn't a higher degree of skill overall. Skills have digressed. Fighters learnt their craft, in much harsher environments, and it made them tougher, stronger and fitter.

Running miles per day in army boots and baseball shoes, having over 100 fights in their careers, living in the gyms, without mod cons etc.

Styles do make fights.

You're hero Wlad has confidence issues over his chin, and has been dropped by guys such as Peter. Yet Foreman and Frazier wouldn't have been able to get to him?

Ali's footwork would have completely bamboozled him.

I think you need to log of this forum, and go and watch some fights.

 

Post of the year candidate.

 

Clay was on a European tour, and he was young and underestimated Cooper. We're talking about Ali four years later at his best before the ban.

Is that your logic?

The K's could hit harder than Henry, so therefore they'd have knocked him out? atsch

 

This is 100% rubbish!

Maradona wouldn't have been great today? Ha! Why's that then?

What is it with all of this modern era bollocks?

Football was much tougher back then. It was a harder game, and up until the 80's, they only played with one sub.

You've got to be out of your mind if you think Pele wouldn't be great.

If you gave Pele and Maradona high tech boots, a lighter ball, with a better diet and training facilities, they'd be ever greater than they were.

They had unbelievable skill. George Best could play in today's premiership without a care in the world.

How has boxing evolved?

Sports science has evolved. Diets have evolved. Training and equipment has evolved. Actual skills haven't as a whole.

Go through every weight class, and do an honest comparison of the fighters in a head to head breakdown.