Who gives prime Ali his greatest test?

With all due respect to Muhammad Ali, I wouldn't count him out of any fight when he was "prime." But picking the Ali who lost to Leon Spinks to beat Wladimir Klitschko is just too hilarious to take seriously.

 

true is shows that some people live in the past

 

There is nothing wrong with picking a fighter from a previous generation to defeat one of a later period as long as there is at least some basis for the position other than shear name recognition or because the latter of the two lost to a fighter who's style is totally dissimilar to the one he's being compared to. Muhammad Ali to this day can still be regarded as one of the fastest and most durable heavyweights of all time and one who overcame a myriad of great fighters of varying styles. But by 1978 that man was gone and a mere shell of his former self... Wladimir would have destroyed him.

 

I agree. Ali would have reached the peak of his prime by 1968. I don't see anyone beating him, so I list the ones i think might trouble him:

1- Prime Sonny Liston
2- Jess Willard - (Just because of his size)
3- Vitali Klitschko
4- Wladimir Klitschko
5- Prime Joe Louis
6- George Foreman
7- Larry Holmes
8- Deontay Wilder
9- 1992/93 Rid**** Bowe
10- Lennox Lewis

 

No worries,sometimes I sit and forget my glasses And I am not super sharp with my typing skills when I tend to rush ... I would also share that I tend to focus more on the content of the post. While we are at it, who do you like against Ali ?

 

Exceptional footwork , yet can't box on the box on he back foot to save his life??
Yeah right , keep moving pal:roll:
Ali and Holmes are stylistically the match ups out there for Wlad.

Just watch the Williamson fight. Facts over turn your opinion.

 

Frazier has one of the best in the division , and it took him 14 rounds of non stop pressure to put him down with it.

But Ali is just going to stand there dead on his feet and take it like Pulev and Chambers is hepatsch

 

No there isn't. Wlad faced a weak mans Ali and came up horribly short.

Who did he beat? Who????????

 

What are you up to you bet welching nonce?

 

You're not allowed speak to me.

 

Bet welching nonce.

 

Younger Wlad would stand a better chance than current Wlad, because he has the jab, hook, handspeed, range/size, and offensive toolkit without being too negative like the current incarnation.

Louis, and whoever would have won a round robin among Dempsey/Greb/Wills, but ONLY if you buy the idea that they represented a much deeper pool of talent than exists today.*

Marciano probably has enough to trouble Ali on styles, but not enough to win.

Tyson has some of the best qualifications of any fighter I know of to outright KO Ali, but he'll lose if he can't do the trick in 8 or so. Which he probably can't.

Frazier, obviously. Yes, FOTC was a pretty fair indicator of what would have happened peak for peak.

Lennox on size, power, and technical ability might do it, but I wouldn't hold my breath. His gifts don't map well onto Ali's weaknesses, except for the excellent jab.

Bowe, oddly enough, might have a better shot than Lennox by a fair margin. He has the workrate, the jab, the tenacity, the range, the correct trainer, and more than enough durability to protect him from Ali's power. He has the inside fighting skills and strength to stop Ali from resting too much in the clinches, as well. And his looping right might be more effective at catching Ali when he leans back than a straight right could be.



* You could make a similar argument, just based on theoretical talent pools, for Schmeling, a motivated Sharkey, et al. But I won't go that far.

 

Oh, and Holmes has an outside chance. Ugly fight that'd be.

 

Bowe and Holmes have the best chances outside Tyson and Frazier.

But Larry Donald evaded Bowe pretty well for 12 rounds , so Bowe has less of a chance than Holmes for me.


Not many are favourable over a prime Ali when you think about it.

 

Great points made ! Who has Vlad beaten,really ?? Plus does anyone realize how ponderous Vlad would look against Ali ??
Hand speed, forget it no even in the same class. As for footwork, Vlad would look like a dancing elephant compared to Ali ...