Could anyone KO prime Ali with the neutral corner rule removed?

Dempsey.

 

Early or at the midway point? No, I don't think so. Ali was extremely good at surviving and stalling even when badly hurt. Think about how despite being exhausted and under tons of pressure from Frazier in the fight of the century, he got right back up and fought until the last bell. He took some very brutal body shots from Chuvalo over 15 intense rounds. Not only was Ali good at surviving, he had an incredible will to win.

If it happened, it would be a late round KO after he was completely spent. It would have to be someone who can not only dish out a lot of punishment, but someone who had both the chin to survive getting hit back and also the stamina to continue punching with power late into the fight. They would also need to be very accurate with good timing since prime Ali had phenomenal reflexes and head movement.

Very few guys come to mind. Possibly prime Bowe? I slightly favor early 70's Ali over Bowe, let alone 60's. But let's say Bowe manages to catch him with a very good shot and is then allowed to stand over him and punch as soon as Ali gets up. I could maybe see Bowe pulling it off late in this hypothetical scenario, but I really don't see Bowe beating prime Ali outside of a punchers chance. Joe Louis is another possibility, but he sometimes had chin issues and might've gotten stopped before it came to that. Out of anybody those two seem like they'd have the best chances.

 

No Ali had a great chin but when he was caught had excellent recovery powers

 

If Mike Tyson could stand over him and wail away, it's a possibility.

 

Nobody KO's prime Ali

 

You'd have to hurt him and drop him first. Good luck.

Taking the neutral corner would make things worse for him but not by much imho.

Bringing back wrestling and the two legged takedown from the 1752 ruleset would be much worse for Ali.

 

1752 was when Sonny Liston was born.

 

Well sure. If you give someone the freedom to stand over a fallen guy and hammer him then I imagine lots of guys could. Assuming they can get him down initially in the first place. Hell Henry Cooper might have knocked him out if he could do that

 

Throw in “The Ocean Blue” and I think you’ve got yourself the makings of a very “original” rhyme there. The census implications are absolute red herrings. One only has to check the passenger list for the Mayflower for Sonny’s great great great great greats.. Easy A.

No neutral corner rule, standing over the fallen fighter ready to slug him again before he manages to arise full straightened and assume a defensive position - that’s a tough gig for any fighter to overcome no matter their chin or recuperative powers.

A fighter like Ali had fast recuperative powers but if you take crucial seconds away from an otherwise fast recovery period it could make all the difference.

When Dempsey dropped Willard with that first, devastating left hook it ceased to be a fight right then and there. From then on, it was like a mugging of a defenceless and homeless man - at least for the remainder of rd 1.

I don’t know how Willard returned for rds 2 and 3 and brought it back into the realm of an actual boxing contest- albeit barely.

I guess they brought the neutral corner rule in for that very reason - though even then, prior to its creation, from observation of the very early films and reading, it appears that it was arbitrarily enforced and/or observed.

 

It's not like everybody was a knockout artist, before the neutral corner rule.

Fighters developed strategies for dealing with it.

 

But in the applicable instances, you’ve put your man down, so you’re part way to an ultimate KO.

Of course that includes very late rd KDs in marathon fights. If it takes you that long before going down, chances are more likely you might not get up anyway and you sure wouldn’t need the other guy standing over you IF you had anything left in you to arise.

Johnson didn’t play around once he dropped Jeffries even though Jeff was done for all intents and purposes. Lil Arthur was on him the nano sec he arose each time and was ready to smash away again after the 3rd KD until Berger came in and halted the fight. It was more than brutal.

 

Ali's chin is the most proven in heavyweight history and his "impeccable defence" solidified the fact for me, you aren't outright stopping him via anything but a fluke or sheer exhaustion even then how long was Ali on the floor for the FOTC?- Two Frazier's (Each going ten rounds before tagging out) for a twenty five round fight and Mike Tyson for the last five rounds is my guess.

 

Both of the Klitschkos have the right tools to drop him (Especially Wlad with his left hook and speed), and they're big enough that if he's down and they're allowed to whale on him, that's probably it.

 

I'll have to agree here. I always believed Dempsey would last the full 15 against Ali, though would certainly lose via UD but would certainly get an early knockdown or two in the early rounds. But neutral corner rule removed? Dempsey's chances go way up. I think this ruleset might help Louis or Tyson in a similar manner though I rate them with higher chances against Ali compared to Dempsey regardless.