No **** Ali was the best he was a HW. Duran was half the size of SRL, Hearns and Hagler. They SHOULD be better.
Duran didn't fight better competition than Ali. And Ali didn't enjoy the 3 advantages you list against 'all his opponents'. Get your facts right.
The fact that Ali was a heavyweight meant that he had to fight whatever heavyweight stepped in the ring regardless of his size. He only had one way to go and that was up. You can't blame him for that. He fought all commers. It's about skills, not how bigger fighter you fought. Duran lost the second Leonard fight, got knocked out by Hearns and lost to Hagler. Plus he quit. Ali never quitted. He moved up, true, but he took the same set of skills with him and his skills didn't serve him any better than Ali's skills served him. Like I said, he was one of the best but Ali was the best.
The conversation is about the set of skills that each fighter brought into the ring, not them fighting each other. That's ludicrous.
Never heard of it. Thanks for the steer. Will check it out. Are you from Philly? I think Philly is one of the two most fascinating cities in the world.
Duran was a puncher who had issues with punchers (Hagler, Hearns,...). Ali faced and beat in the HWs many of the best punchers ever (Liston twice, Frazier twice, Foreman, Lyle, Shavers and others) Ali fought even when he was already sick risking several times his life. He would never tell an opponent "No Mas". Ali was better for chin, heart and footwork. Duran had more power. Speed was the same. Compared in different categories of course.
Not from the city (grew up in nearby NJ) but have lived here for about 15 years, met my wife here, raising a family here. I agree with you this is a great city and you could live her a hundred years and just scratch the surface of everything there is to know about it.
Ali never lost in his prime. His prime was before that politically induced 3 1/2 year ban. No one came close
I love reading about your city. Such a rich history - and the beauty of some of those neighbourhoods. For a long while there (mid 1940s, say, to the late 1970s) the Philadelphia orchestra under Eugene Ormandy was the most glamorous orchestra in the world. David Bowie and Elton John loved your city, as well. The former was obsessed with it in '74. BEST, D.
Montreal was a fine fine win for RD. But the greatest win of all time? Very big claim, that. And while I'm not disputing the win - haven't watched the fight in decades and I didn't score it round by round - there are more than a few fair judges of boxing who reckon SRL deserved the nod that night. If memory serves, a lot of the rounds were close. And didn't SRL close the show strongly?
1. Prime Ali was undefeated 2. Ali would never quit for any reason 3. Post prime Ali was still too much for nearly all of his peers Do with this information what you will...............
