Would Ali be too small for today's heavyweight division?

When you think about, a prime Ali was basically the exact same size as Steve Cunningham (6'3, 210lbs), a guy who is regarded by many as drastically undersized in today's division. Ali, in his day, was considered a "big" heavyweight. So would Ali, despite all his other attributes, be too small to compete at the top of the heavyweight division today?

 

oh, he could probably hang around for a while and maybe grab a belt.

 

Ridiculous thread. Firstly, we never got to see Ali in his prime for obvious reasons. Secondly, you're underestimating his size. Parkinson once stated that Ali was massive. Ali in the mid 60's had perfect body proportions. No doubt Ali would flourish and dominate in today's heavyweight division.

 

It would probably be a handicap against especially Wlad, but also others.

It's an intriguing thought to ponder if Ali had been born, say, in the late 80's. That would probably have made him a bit bigger, both in height and weight, but he would still be giving up size to Wlad, Fury etc. In all likelihood he'd have to develop a different kind of style.

 

Would he be too small?

No. He would be too good for today's heavyweight division.

 

We did see the best of Ali. The exile prevented us from seeing more of the best. There was no extra to come from him after the Folley fight. Remember it is a whole lot easier looking great against old guys like London, Folley and Williams than it is against bonnavena and Frazier or even mildenburger for that matter. When Ali cleaned out the first half of the 1960s there was a lot of old stock on the ratings shelf.

Ali would dominate today as he was but if he lived today he would lose a lot of his movement because like everyone else he would carry 30lb of extra muscle. He would still be too good but he would not be the same 15 round athlete.

Bodybuilding has turned the heavyweight division into the super heavyweight division. Only the giants benefit because slowed down guys carrying unnatural weight cannot overcome a reach advantage as boxers still do (and heavyweights used to) in the lighter divisions.

 

I don't think we saw his prime, he was just 25 when he had his licence taken away for 3.5years . That's also the opinion of his trainer Angelo Dundee .Deontay Wilder may be 4 inches taller than Ali but he only weighed 7lbs more than a prime Ali when he beat Styverne for his version of the title.
I don't see why Ali would need or wish to add weight ,he could have done so in the 70's but chose not to bulk up with muscle ,he got heavier as a natural progression of getting older not through ped's.He would be much too fast for the lumbering wardrobes around today.

 

No way.


He'd be perfectly fine and beat most if not all the heavyweights today.

 

Ali would not likely be taller today; he grew up middle class, where is the evidence he was nutritionally deprived?

But it is an interesting question...Ali born years later would be a different person. What are the odds he would buck all the trends & see his best value faster without all the extra strngth & muscle?

But it is a GOOD POINT about Wilder.
At his very peak Ali weighed 212-214 which is 5-7 lbs. less than a 4" taller Wilder. They both are quite lean at that weight, so Ali, clearly due to Wilder's anemic legs, had more muscle.

Would only a very long fighter be able to carry this little muscle compared to today's HWs?
I think speed & Ali's greater talent could easily let him do so.

Who thinks Ali having more weight & muscle WOULD be an improvement, at least against guys of today's size?

 

Current top 20 heavyweights (according to boxrec) who are Ali's size or shorter: Bermane Stiverne, Steve Cunningham, Chris Arreola, Povetkin, Glazkov, Tarver, Takam, Szpilka, Chisora, Mansour, Chagaev, Fedosov. 12/20

 

Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiiigggggggghhht.

 

Why doubt that?

 

Ali did not add much muscle except when very young & filling out.
There is also zero evidence he was ever interested in or did take PEDs.
If he did, & trained at all for bulk, he had the bone structure to be much bigger.

Anything else is detached from reality.

 

because he lives on planet kliturd, where truth is lies, and facts become reversed?

 

He took amphetamines before fighting Holmes.