In this alternate universe, I doubt he’d be the best fighter on the planet at any one point in his career!
I like the even handed, common sense view on Patterson’s chin. Rather than reading the same old same old - viz, the number of KDs Floyd suffered - quite simply, they were what they exactly were - KDs, period - nearly all of which Floyd bounced back up from in a more than viable condition to fight on - and his overall record, as you upheld, attests to how few times Floyd was actually stopped/KO’d over so many fights. Having said that, I do see a notable diff. in chins between Muhammad and Floyd. I think it was round 4 of the first fight when Liston caught Ali with some solid shots, appearing to hurt Muhammad at one point - and of course there was round 5 when Liston got some more shots through on a partially blinded Ali. Maybe Floyd survives those very shots but they might’ve also have been hard enough to have a fighter with a Floydesque chin floundering a bit and cause him to be even more vulnerable to follow up punches.
He got hit way too much not to have an iron chin. I never saw him stopped which was what I meant, my bad. Ali scarcely got dropped and hurt as he matured the only one I saw drop him was Frazier, he hardly even looked hurt. But, yes I think coupled with his chin which was monstrous he had an indomitable will.
Frazier might not have to. Ali cameback a little slower but also stronger and more mature in 1970. The younger kid might not be able to withstand that type of unholy beating.
It was more than just his chin. Ali could absorb body punishment better than anyone I've seen in boxing. Just in Manila Frazier could have knocked out 10 heavyweights that day just off of his bodypunches...at different points in that fight.
His defence and fundamental short comings crutch is the fact Ali is pretty much super humanly comic book durable. It’s comical and chilling all at once.
Then it got sad after awhile. The Rope a Dope was like a new toy he discovered in 74. Then he overdid it. It was effective for a minute.
Gil Clancy said without his chin he's Roy Jones Jr. . That's still damn good but RJJ had some ugly losses when his athleticism withered.
Guys like Ali, McCall, Chuvalo, weren't getting hit like Patterson, Shavers, etc. The former were defense first, low risk takers, the later were offense first pressure fighters. Ali, McCall, Chuvalo usually saw what was coming at them, guys like Patterson and Shavers were often throwing or going forward into a punch when they got hit. Big difference. The punches that affect fighters are the ones they don't see. Make Ali a 5-11, 185 pressure fighter who had to go forward and throw punches and his chin might not have been "iron." Make Patterson 6-3, 215 and as big or bigger than his opponents, able to fight at distance and see what was coming at him, and he might have had a chin of "iron." I've never seen a video of Patterson in which he was the bigger fighter in the ring. Ali was seldom not the bigger fighter. Different fighting styles, different sizes all make a difference in whether someone is perceived to have an "iron" chin or not.