The favorable take on Ali in fantasy match-ups is rarely because "it's just Ali". It is, in the majority of cases, because Ali's body of work is like no others', bar that of Joe Louis, perhaps. It is widely considered that Ali transcended the sport, which could be interpreted as him being bigger than the sport. This might well have been disconcerting to some, at the time. But it doesn't change the likelihood that, by the '70s, Ali was the most famous man in the world. Take the combined charisma and intelligence of Broner and Mayweather, then multiply it by several thousand times and you might have something near to equating Ali's presence.
Fury who was decked FOUR times, and in serious trouble on four occasions against Wilder who according to this forum, was terrible, and the least skilled puncher that ever existed?
1.Lennox Lewis 2.Tyson Fury 3.Muhammad Ali 4.Riddick Bowe 5.Vitali Klitschko 6.George Foreman 7.Mike Tyson 8.Evander Holyfield 9.Larry Holmes 10.Wladimir Klitschko
Though I don't agree with most of this I like that it's different. I see any of the guys below Fury beating him, but that's just me, all respect to your taste.
I actually disliked Ali's brash antics. Just not my style. Always liked the guys who let their fists do the talking.
Head to Head only? Something like this... Lennox Lewis Muhammad Ali Mike Tyson Larry Holmes Wlad Klitschko Vit Klitschko Tyson Fury Joe Louis Vander Holyfield George Foreman
I can't say I was a big fan of some of Ali's antics, either - but he did let his fists do the talking, as well as his mouth. Moreover, he was much more than an ostentatious provocateur. He was a man of greatly significant character; larger than life, who connected with people and garnered massive crossover appeal. In any event, Ali - even with his brash antics - was considerably more palatable than either Mayweather or Broner, in my opinion.
Ali, without a doubt, gets over criticized for his trash talk. The only thing I think was terrible, was Frazier's kids having to suffer for a really stupid remark that I'm sure Ali did not intend to harm them. He made a super bad mistake that he should've immediately apologized for in public. But that's about it as far as anything truly offensive. Of course he said a lot of things about his opponents that weren't very nice. But who would not admit that, in respect to the sheer amount of testimony in the countless interviews and pictures and books and all the thousands of hours of material and video we have of the man, he almost always talked trash with a knowing twinkle in the eye, an impish grin and exuding mostly a good, positive vibe - for instance, could you picture Ali decking someone with a bottle or tossing a table or acting like a gangster bragging about violence? The gulf in classiness between the man and some trash mouthed so-called 'champion' in our day, is enormous. I still believe in old fashioned ways like being a gentleman boxer, guys who exhibit class & treat boxing with the respect it rightfully deserves, who not only relish in it's dignity, but bring to it their own character & dignity, furthering the sport in it's continually changing state.
Louis faced smaller, but quicker opponents. If he looked quick against them, he'd do even more so than modern bigger HWs.