Mmmm So Ali of the first Liston fight, gets to challenge EVERY Lineal Champ. Fights the champ in the rules, gloves etc of the time. Who s the hardest challenge for young Ali.
Its astonishing how solid a 22 year old (right after his birthday) Ali looked against Liston in Feb. 64. I believe Clay hadn´t still matured into the durability which was to come. He compensated that with fighting from a hover-skateboard of course. So whats the best style to give him problems? Six fighters come to mind to win rounds/bang him on chin: Lewis, Wlad, Tyson, Louis and Larry Holmes + Tyson Fury to box him. I don´t like the styles of Holyfield, Frazier (cause of the Patterson bout), Foreman and prime Liston against him. Maybe Wilder isn´t such a bad style against that 6'3" slippery fellow. What about Vitali with volume & endurance?
I like Holmes and Fury to give him something to grapple with. Tyson, Mike that is, he's dangerous, but Ali's not exactly Tillis so I see him getting a decision. I actually think both Klitschko s are a bloody nightmare for Muhammad. Not sayin they'd win, but they do have size, power, and Vitali has chin. Lennox Lewis. Now that's a 50 50 fight, if we take older, experienced Lennox. If Cooper can shake him up and drop him?.. Lennox great chance plus physical advantage s.
The Ali of 64 might be able to outrun him for much of the fight but at some point, he gets bombed out..... This makes me consider the speedier Jack Dempsey as also getting a KO against the not fully matured Ali,
The one thing I've thought about regarding young Ali and Dempsey, is that if Cooper could time him and hurt him, then a lighting fast Dempsey??!
Good point... Fast, bobbing and weaving, hard-hitting Dempsey might have the key here.... We saw what a somewhat older, but improved Ali faced with Frazier, and Frazier was certainly easier to hit than Dempsey.
