Greater fighter,based on history and quality of opponents. Ali or PBF

Thanks...and nothing will. This is thread is more an exercise for serious boxing fans when we engage in a discussion with others who are serious about the sport. Thank you for putting those in their place that needed putting.

 

Yep. Anytime.

 

:deal

 

I don't want to turn the thread into a love in, but arguing with Waynegrade & JLP 6 on this couldn't even be justified as an intellectual exercise it would just be proving that somewhere a village had lost its idiot.

Lennox displayed a lot of Ali's attributes in having pride and wanting to take on fighters others avoided to prove beyond doubt he was the best. When he beat Rahman he stated that beating him wasnt enough, he had to do it in less rounds than he lost. That is the mentality that sees you go down in history, thats the mentality Ali had. THats the mentality few modern champions have with their ultimate , emeritus, boghouse door whateverthw****youwanttocallit status.

 

That was a nice break down and I appreciate the efforts. But you really didn't have to do that as I wasn't disputing Ali having the better list of wins. Only Wayne's comments about Floyd Cherry picking and beating men who were out of their weight classes, past prime, etc..

 

Is this question even worthy of debate? Mayweather is cherry picking opponents in a weak era whilst Ali beat the best in one of the strongest eras for heavyweights. Mayweather could potentially be up amongst the very best due to his undeniable talent, but to elevate himself into ATG status he has to seek out the very toughest challenges something he has failed to do for years. To see what a real ATG resume looks like then you look at fighters like Ali, Leonard, Hagler, Duran etc. They consistently fought the best even if that meant a blemish on their record and I would have far more respect for Mayweather if he pushed himself outside his comfort zone and risked losing a fight.

 

Thank you Mr. Magoo,

I was addressing both. I think this proves that Mayweather cherry-picked and fought men out of their primes. He skipped a lot off work in his prime up to his clusmy smear campaign against Pacqauiao when every other fighter Pacquaio fought took their beatinga like men. Mayweather career deprived us of one of the most memorable fights in recent history.

But, thank you again. If I missed your point again, I appologize and I will leave it be.

 

I cannot get past the "love-in" part.....I gotta laugh after doing some serious mental arobics to appreciate the rest of your post. Becauss even though you took a shot, somewhere in that line I can see a complement.

 

Ali didn't get 2 million in the 60's for a fight.

He got 2.5 mill, for Frazier 1.

He got 5.5 mill for Foreman.

Both fights were in the 70's.

Why the fvck are you Ali freaks deliberately misinterpreting what is written? I don't think anyone is questioning Ali's courage or willingness to fight the best.

The point is in his day he HAD to do that. Today he could earn astronomical amounts of money without having to fight the best, and it is presumptuous at best, and stupid at worst to state categorically that he wouldn't even consider such options if they presented themselves.

As for Ali telling people he was going to beat them and beating them, so what?

Are you telling me now that the shy retiring Mayweather always respects his opponents pre fight, and says he hopes for a good fight and may the best man win? LMAO.

 

That in a nutshell is it.

Harking back for the good old days is admirable but it simply ain't going to happen.

If fighters have been encouraged to spend longer in negotiations than they do in training camps, and more time talking to their " advisors " and lawyers than they do to their families, then the question should be, what brought this about, rather than criticising them for doing so.

I just think that if someone with the pure talent of an Ali burst on to the scene today, the pressure on him to go for the huge reward, minimal risk equation would be tremendous.

I suppose it all boils down to what one thinks of lawyers, " agents " and " advisors " tbh, and I personally think they've got a lot to answer for in all modern day major sports.

 

In the 70's it is about the same. (As a honorary "Ali Freak", I will always miss your point. I will live with it. My point is below)

He still made what Mayweather makes today. I wanted to make sure that we understood that there is a such thing as calculating for inflation. Ali made the money (Mayweather) and took the risk (not Mayweather)

Here is the link for calculating 2 Milli in 1971 and 1974. Peace.
http://www.davemanuel.com/inflation-calculator.php

 

So 5 million in 74 calculates to just under 24 million in 2013. For that Ali had to fight Foreman.

In 2013 Mayweather earned 90 million for fighting Guerrero and Alvarez, which averages out at nearly double Ali's earnings per fight.

So what exactly is the point of your feeble reference to the inflation calculator?