Who would have beaten a 1966-67 Muhammad Ali?

I wouldn't favor anyone to beat him but here are a few who would have a shot.

- Lonnox Lewis - His size, reach, power and ability to fight both on the inside and out would make him a formidable opponent.

- Joe Frazier - I personally don't think that he beats a late 60's ali, but his style would always be problematic.

- Ken Norton - See above

- Larry Holmes - One of the few heavys who's ring smarts , stamina, chin and left jab rival Ali's. Again, not someone I'd favor, but Larry Holmes in my eyes deserves a chance in any head to head match.

- Mike Tyson - Not someone that most would give much of a chance, but at his best I wouldn't lay down too much on anyone over him.

- Joe Louis - Probably our best bet. Fast hands and lightening combinations are what is needed to negate Ali's fast footwork.

 

No matter how great a fighter was,and Muhammad Ali was the greatest heavy of all,anyone can lose to a certain fellow great on a certain night. The ones who would have stood the best chance are Larry Holmes and Joe Louis - By very close decisions. Muhammad would win the rematches,though.

 

True. And I'll ad that I've never believed that it necessarily takes a "great" fighter to beat another great fighter. In every era there is someone who has the champs number stylistically, even though we rarely see the obscurity pull it off. See Iran Barkley vs Thomas Hearns.

 

:good And indeed,Ken Norton.

 

Overrated. He was better proven in the 70's.

I would say a fair number of heavies have a decent chance of beating him... Sullivan, Louis, Marciano, Frazier, Holmes, Tyson, Holyfield, Wladimir...

 

Overrated? Better proven in the 70's when he wasn't the same?
Not to mention the 67-70 Ali we never saw.
Of course you bring up fighters over the last 100 Years???
Ignoring eras.
With all due respect Seamus (and there are a handful that could have given him problems) you're off base here.

 

No one.
Especially the ones mention on this post.

 

Louis, Marciano,Frazier,Tyson,Wlad

 

Louis
Tyson
Bowe
Duplooy

 

Stupid thread. Was the ali from 66-67, the same as the 1970 version?

 

All things being equal I'd favour him to beat them all,but that doesn't mean to say he would not when they're all top calibre fighters in there. Also frustratingly we didn't see him from '67 till '70 when I can only assume he would have improved from what we'd seen up till then,which really is a bit of a frightening thought.
For me the two with the best chances against him would have been Tyson and Lewis.

 

This Ali is still young, slim, and brash and takes risks in the ring. But he was also the "Butterfly" at this point in his career.

Great post Mr. Magoo.

I would like to add a couple. I think the short crouch fighters would give Ali a tough time. I think he could be cornered and since he did not have good defense ,when forced to be flat footed, he would have to withstand some hard shots consistantly from fighters who would be in his face to deliever.

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Rocky is nothing if not determined to get inside. He will follow Ali around his his mid-crouch and look for oppurtunity to clip Ali with a leaping left hook are hunt him slowly until he could corner him and rough him up. Clay cannot hurt Rocky. Rocky will not be a punching bag either. I think the Rocky can beat Clay the same way that Frazier did but constant pressure and find openings. Frazier was faster but the Rocky hit much harder.

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Good post.

 

In the 60's he beat Terrell, a shot (literally) Williams, Foley, Patterson... I don't know what to make about the Liston fights. So much noise about them not being on the level.

In the 70's, he beat Quarry, Frazier x2, Foreman, Norton, Lyle, Foster..

So, in my estimation, he is "better proven" in the 70's by the nature of his victims.

The "Ali we never saw" proved nothing in the boxing ring. He is merely a fantasy of conjecture and has no place in this discussion. For all we know, he was horrible during that time period.

Explosive forces of nature such as Sullivan and Louis would be best suited to exploit the weaknesses, such as they were, of the 1960's Ali.