I don't think Ali would just shrug it off. He might pretend like it didn't hurt like in Zaire, but it would hurt.
I don't think he was able to translate his power against elite opponents and thus fighting him can't really be cited as proof of someone having a good chin/defense. But maybe the power was there without the skills to utilize it.
We’ll keep in mind Steward trained Briggs for a bit. Held the pads for him plenty. But never said he hit as hard as Wladimir or even Lewis. I’d say Briggs was right there with guys like maybe Lyle, Ruddock, Bowe and Moorer in the power department
That's what I meant. Ali wouldn't show any signs of being hurt from them during the fight. Now ofc after the fight he'd be in serious pain, but that's common
Reminds me of the monks being hit with iron poles etc in their acts. It’s only about who thinks it doesn’t hurt.
Right, it was about mental toughness. It was reported Ali urinated blood after the fights with Chuvalo and Foreman. He won but at a major cost for long term health and had a poker face.
I heard Mercer took a dive ? although beating a Mercer who was in his mid 40s wouldn't be the same as stopping a 90s version of Mercer. Liakovich was stopped 7 times in his 9 losses, and Briggs wasn't the first to stop him Maurice Harris was. Botha had been stopped early twice by Lewis and a faded Tyson, i would say this fight shows Briggs is overrated as he deserved to lose it. Briggs had speed though and was athletic so he could surprise certain opponents.
I forgot that Liakovich loss by stoppage to Harris. But the Briggs fight was his next fight after he stood up to Brewster’s power. Mercer got hit with an unpleasant punch, whether he chose to stay down or not. Briggs dropped Botha a few rounds after Tyson did. Briggs didn’t have a great night otherwise and was out of breath for most of the fight. I think he would’ve stopped Botha if he’d gotten to him earlier in the round.
Not even close. Deontay Wilder Mike Tyson Lennox Lewis Wladimir Klitschko Earnie Shavers Joe Louis George Foreman David Tua Gerry Cooney Tommy Morrison Rocky Marciano Cleveland Williams Razor Ruddock Sonny Liston Max Baer Ron Lyle Frank Bruno
He definitely hit very hard but he never stopped an elite heavyweight in their prime. He is capable of beating the 4 mentioned but I might only favor him over Seldon.
I'll have to look at Mercer/Briggs fight i've never actually seen it properly, i just heard some reports he took a dive. The issue with Briggs is his asthma so if he was fighting a better opponent that he couldn't get out of there within few rounds he might be found wanting. I know he stopped Liakhovich in the last round but that was terribly slow placed fight, and it looked like Briggs was going to collapse like a marathon runner at the line. What i will say about Briggs is that he had some toughness, vs Lewis he took a huge picture perfect right hand and somehow got up and wanted to keep fighting. vs Botha i believe he broke his ribs and had various other injuries and kept on fighting. I would say Briggs's KO ratio slightly flatters him TBH, but no doubt he had some power and was quite fast to go along with it. And as they say the worst punches are the ones you don't see coming.