Muhammed Ali vs Larry Holmes - Abilities breakdown comparison

Just because Ali said he was the fastest ever doesn't make it so .. Floyd Patterson was clearly the fastest with his hands .. Ali with his feet .. Ali was lightning and so was Holmes ..

 

History proves so time and again ..

 

Depends upon the shot, single punches, jabs, combinations...In some ways Patterson, others Ali faster. Ali more fleet of foot & significantly bigger.

Prime Holmes was pretty fast, close to 70's Ali. Not to 60's Ali.

Sure a sparring partner COULD unseat a master. More so if the champion has declined.
Ali's unique skillset would carry the day, good analysis by Mr. P., ali by at least 2 rounds.

 

I think holmes would be better getting off first, jabbing to the chest and body, setting up that fast right. if ali counters, then counter that.
this way holmes could break up ali's offense before it even got started, make ali react to you. definitely winnable for holmes

as to the point about sparring, then yes its absolutely on the cards for a sparring partner to win an actual match, even a sparring partner who gets dominated in the spars. Also holmes would have had a ton of priceless practice learning how to counter ali.

take off the headgear, add tiny gloves, big fight pressure and and millions of dollars worth of extra motivation and you've got 2 men fighting not training.

 

Good observation, nice to see someone who knows his boxing.

:good

 

Ali said? Are yoy ****ing stupid? Marciano and Louis said that ali was the fastest hw OF all time with hands and feet, tyson said it as well, and OF course that he was, despite patterson NEVER WAS A HW. Ali was faster than him. Holmes is not even close as fast as ali

 

HH I agree completely with your assessment. And I do with many of your assessments.

But Why do you need to often mock, insult, & curse at folks?

This is almost universally seen by intelligent, decent folks as brittle insecurity & unethical. Would you meet a stranger at a bar & risk a beatdown, even if a pro-fighter/HW, & destroy any trust & goodwill + your reputation by doing this? WOuld you treat (or keep) a friend acting like this? (Not counting consensual taking the **** outta each other behavior).

It has gotta be less satisfying to always be in cartonish aggression mode. Just relax; strongly & politely disagreeing is enough, & retains respect for you & avoids compunding hatreds.

 

I've often mulled this one over in my head and almost every time I pick Ali. At his best his reflexes and speed were ridiculous. When I watch the right hand that finishes Folley I'm amazed. That Ali could dance 3 minutes a round and punch on the move. And speaking of punch, Ali was underrated in that department. He could punch when he wanted to, it just wasn't his preferred way of fighting. Just ask Ron Lyle if Ali could punch. The one sharp right that Ali landed on him basically ended the fight. Holmes was suscptible to the right. If Snipes, Dokes and Shavers could land thier right hands on Holmes, Ali could as well and he could do it more frequently too. An earlier post mentioned that Holmes wouldn't feel comfortable unloading until his opponent was fairly stationary. A prime Ali would be anything but stationary. This wouldn't be an easy fight for Ali at all. Holmes would have his moments but Ali would prevail. Ali by decision.

 

Ali's power is underrated, too. The only one who stopped big George in 81 fights. The only one who knocked out Bonavena. Ali and Holmes aren't punchers like Lewis, Tyson or Wlad. But they can hurt opponent even with 1 punch.

 

Holmes had the better jab, a better body attack, could in-fight, and use the uppercut. In addtion, Holmes was a wiser, more fundameltaly sound fighter.

Ali had the better feet, was a little stronger, and a master at distracting his opponent.

In terms of who boxing liked better, and whom the judges might have given a gift decsion or two, its Ali by a good margin.

 

Holmes did not have a left hook, he did not have Ali's footwork.

Holmes did not fire off multi- punch combinations very often, he tended to throw the jab and follow it with the right hand.
Holmes had several winning decisions that could have gone the other way.Williams is a standout.

Ali has the edge on talent but it's a small one imo.

 

History has furnished countless examples.

 

I agree Floyd had better hand speed than Ali.:good

 

Power Shots -Ali
Jab - Ali
Footspeed-Ali
Strength - Ali ( Check Liston, Terell, Quarry, Foreman fights)
Chin- Ali
Stamina - Ali
Heart -Ali ( nobody has that much heart, see Frazier fights)
Ring IQ - Ali
Defense - Ali