Liston and Frazier would be dwarfed by the top heavies of today. There is not a single guy in the top 10 as small as either of these guys. How is beating such small men relevant to fighting guys who ate 240+.
Dillian Whyte sheer size and strength might well prove to much for much smaller men like Liston and Frazier. The fact that they have better wins on paper is not really relevant given how the division has evolved.
If you put Tyson, Foreman and Joshua as standard, I wouldn´t count Lyle as an elite puncher too, Rocky as well. And Frazier. And so on. Both were attrition punchers. Someone can easily see that Charles did not have the same force behind his punches than Lyle did. How many big durable fellows like Foreman did he put down? For these oldtimers: They didn´t fight in a HW-devision anyway. It was below 190lb, which was the CW limit before. I don´t want to repeat this over and over again. There are papers out there proving that punching power of course is correlated with body mass.
Uh.... Sure thing. And Liston, with his 82+ inch reach and ham sized fists was a small feller, too. By the by, anyone ever meet Ali relatively earlier in life? He was a big dude. Probalby 235 walk around weight, built like a statue.
Was he missing 95% of his punches against Parker? Was he getting peppered in return? That extra weight and bulk would be a handicap against a faster, coordinated heavyweight who would essentially embarrass him. Powerlifting or bodybuilding? This is boxing.
Ali generally had a size advantage over his opponents when he is giving away substantial height and teach I suspect his opponents are going to have an easier time landing on him. Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko look pretty quick especially given their size
You think the division has evolved? Maybe it has regressed. Those heavier guys get tuckered out when they can't walk all over their opponent. They go onto deep water and drown.
I don't think it is a coincidence that when the big guys started to improve the ali sized heavyweights started to disappear
They look quick compared to the mummies around today. How quick did Wlad look against Sanders? Now picture Ali in there. Fatigue is a real thing and these giants today would be pushed to FIGHT for 3 minutes a round. Timber!!
Why do they fight at such a slow pace? Where 's the inside game? How about throw a combination of punches? That is something those 215-20lb heavyweights did quite often. Counterpunching in the pocket instead of clinching every time. I don't think its a coincidence that once those little guys disappeared nobody pays attention to the Heavyweight anymore. The public speaks to it by ignoring the division compared to how it once was.
Except today they would have Ali lifting weights and eating at Taco Bell. He would reach perhaps 40% of his potential but at least he would weigh 246 lbs
Absolutely. Ali was a natural big man, he had huge frame , and his legs were huge and for example the legs of evander or haye were skinny like hell. Ali was a big guy. it is funny when you read people saying that today Ali would be a cruiser.. A natural hw is a hw, does not matter the era
Sure they are strong and can hit....when their fresh. Sometimes it ends up being a fight. Quickness, stamina boxing skills, versatility are factors as well. I'm not talking about 180lbs boxers but 210-15-20 is plenty of size without being a one dimensional zombie.