You are only as fast as your opponent is slow. Fury seems quick now because most of his opponents are slow...but against Ali, Fury himself would seem very slow indeed.
Against prime Ali and Holmes Fury would look like the quasi-goofy, feather fisted, Jethro Bodean looking mutha****a he really is. Ali would dance rings around him, UD 15. Fury wouldn't last 12 rounds with Holmes imo.
I don't see how Ali would win this. He was a guy who preferred to fight on the back foot at long range using speed, footwork and leaning out of range for defense. He'd be going up against a guy who is also a long ranged fighter, also has good defense and footwork, is also quick, and a guy that has 5-6 inches of height and 7 inches of reach over him. Along with this, Ali pretty much never went to the body, and had no inside game, whereas Fury can fight on the inside and is a pretty good body puncher when he wants to be. Ali knocking Fury out is also unlikely to me. I think Fury wins a decision in a horribly boring fight
@reznick Unless you want to force a decision, what about a draw or "too close" option? I have my problems with that as well. Can you see Ali going into attack mode and Fury keeping him away at longer reach and height? Maybe worth watching the Terell fight again. On the other hand, Terell was light-years away from Tyson Fury....
I like Fury, he’s a skilled operator and for a man of his size a good mover. Everything is relative though and a prime Ali is infinitely faster and would literally dance rings round him and pick him off, it wouldn’t even be close. You’re right though it would be a boring fight nobody is knocking anybody out, the pre fight banter would be more entertaining.
Most likely Ali by UD. Similar to the cunningham fight except Alis superior speed, Iq, stamina and chin will shine in comparison to Cunningham and Fury. But of Course Fury would easily by one of his hardest fights. The size difference is huge
Jesus guy, fury is about to have the fight of his career, why not wait six months? anyway, i pick Ali out of respect, but point out that Ali never fought a 6'8" switch hitter, so, again, why not wait at least a little while for Fury to prove his level?
I don't think Movement and speed would be enough for Ali to pick Fury apart. If Ali tried to fight defensively I think Fury would just keep him out of range with his jab
What do you think the punch stat numbers look like after this fight? I don't see how Fury lands enough to remain even remotely competitive in this fight. We're talking about the most elusive heavyweight of all time here. True, Ali liked to fight in and out, but that was against smaller fighters, he was also capable of using his footwork to attack angles like a heavyweight Lomachenko, and while he mainly fought on the back foot, he wasn't incapable of moving forward, in fact that was often when he was at his most devastating. I don't even think Fury's unorthodox style does him any favours here, Ali didn't bob and weave in a pre-determined pattern like Frazier or the peekaboo fighters, he saw what you were doing in real time and reacted to it in the moment.