Ali and punching power

I think most people give Ali credit for having pretty good power when he planted his feet. His list of stoppage wins is impressive - Liston, Frazier, Foreman, Lyle, Quarry, Bonavena etc.

He was 11-3 (8) against Hall of Famers, and 22-3 (14) in title fights. Over his first career he was 29-0 (23), and 10-0 (8) in title fights. Fighters have built reputations as big punchers based on a lot less.

His power obviously wasn't on the level of some of the guys he fought, but it simply isn't a credible argument to suggest he was feather-fisted, whether you look at his record or indeed just rely on the eye test.

 

Ali certainly had enough power keep all his opponents respectable, and that chopping right hand could be a pretty potent weapon.
With Ali it was more a mental thing though,knocking guys out simply wasn't a priority with him, he was like Mayweather in that respect.

 

Ali had decent power, but:

- He doesn't throw theese big looping full force power shots with bad intentions like Foreman, Liston, Frazier, Tyson etc. did.

- Ali's Punches hurt you because you don't see them coming. Because of his lightning speed and accuracy. Because he moves so fast he fires shots from angles which most fighters don't expect. for example his fast hooks while dancing around.

- In most of the fights Ali blinded his opponent's before KO/TKO em. Very often the guys with bad cuts and swallon eyes walked right into the punches or got finishd from combinations on the ropes wich were so fast they couldn't either see the punches coming or react.

 

Ali knocked out Foreman though a spent one .

 

Weren’t even hard shots that made the exhausted Foreman stumble off-balance and on the way down. Didn’t even look that hurt sitting on the floor but either gave up mentally or was too tired to make much of an effort. Frazier showed 100 times more heart getting up 6 times against Foreman. You would have to nailed Joe down to make him stay down.

 

Punching power is a funny thing.

If you know how to knock somebody out as a fighter ..it takes standing over the line to do it. Simply put, if you throw the same punch behind the line (on the safe side) you won’t get knocked out. And you won’t score a knock out either.

Could Ali knockout fighters? Absolutely.

But you can still beat/stop anyone without crossing that line.

If you understand boxing then you will understand punching power.

It has everything to do with where you decide stand when you let the punches go.

 

Excellent post.

 

Nice post Choc, I would also add the style of punch thrown.
Ali like Hopkins or Mayweather always threw his right hand in a a straight as an arrow fashion. No blooping overhand rights Marciano - Witherspoon - Tyson style for Ali or roundhouse rights Foreman style.

Cheers.

 

I think that prime Muhammad Ali, 1964-1967 defeated his opponents with his God given attributes, footwork, reflexes, stamina, and blinding speed. Plus using his gift for gab and getting into his adversaries head to the pointed that they were defeated before the bell rang, he was something new on the scene, like no other before him. Look what he did to Sonny Liston, in winning the title in 1964. Remember one of his greatest performance against Cleveland Williams in 1966. But on his post prime return, he retained some speed, some reflexes, but he hit harder as evidenced in his 15 th round TKO of Oscar Bonavena, on Dec 7 1970. Because his attributes were deteriorating he became a much smarter fighter to make up for these losses, he was more vulnerable. But the Rope A Dope was clever, it led to his neurological issues. But he was a harder hitter than before his enforced exile from boxing from 1967-1970.

 

People are projecting because they don't like Ali or they simply lack boxing knowledge. As others pointed out, his record is simply not that of a guy whose feather fisted.

I think part of it is that people get triggered at the thought that he had incredible speed, a good chin AND had good power when he really let his hands go. They can't accept it for some reason and feel like maybe it isn't fair for him to have so many things going for him h2h. But it is what it is, life's not fair. LeBron James is a freak of an athlete being as big and as strong as he is yet still explosive and fast. But like Lebron, Ali worked his ass off in the gym and ducked no one. He earned it all. Ali didn't just roll out of bed with god given talent and beat everyone by default. His greatest asset wasn't his fancy footwork or power or combinations, it was his borderline insane self belief and determination.

 

Great point

 

First to stop the following fighters;

Liston
Bonavena
Lyle
Foreman

Not bad for a supposed 'feather fisted' fighter.


Also Ali had problems with his hands during Norton - Lubbers timeline.

 

Better power than normally given credit for.

 

Good power and chin combined with alot of endurance is something most heavyweights lack and ali obviously had this