Who's more athletic in their prime: Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson?

Ali

 

Define the term “athletic.”

Vince Lombardi after actually seeing Ali supposedly said he could have been an NFL tight end. Maybe Tyson as a linebacker although he was a little short?

 

Ali's agility was something I haven't seen in any other HW. Both were very fast, maybe with an edge to Ali in overall speed, but Tyson punched much harder.

You decide who that makes the more athletic one.

 

Mike was stronger. Ali was moiré athletic.

 

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Every 2 months a topic like this appears
Maybe more often.

 

Res ipsa loquitir:


In a study conducted by Sports Illustrated on May 5, 1969, Ali’s speed was put to the test. Using an omegascope, a precision measurement device, his jab’s incredible swiftness was captured. The results revealed that Ali’s jab could shatter a balsa board situated 16.5 inches away in just 19/100 of a second.

To put this in perspective, his jab covered this distance in a mere 4/100 of a second, which is as swift as the blink of an eye. This makes it a powerful tool in the ring and nearly unnoticeable to the human eye in real-time.

However, the accolades don’t stop there. Ali’s jab wasn’t just fast; it was historically one of a kind. When Jimmy Jacobs*, an aficionado of fight films and the owner of the world’s largest collection, used a synchronizer to test Ali’s jab against film recordings, he found an astonishing revelation.

Ali’s jab was faster than that of the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson. Although Jacobs’ claim was bold, it was supported by data. He claimed that not only was Ali the fastest heavyweight, but he was also, without a doubt, the fastest fighter he had ever observed on film.

Float Like a Butterfly: Analyzing Muhammad Ali’s Speed – Punch Parley


* Jacobs was Mike Tyson's manager and owner of the largest boxing collection of film.

 

Tyson was a freak, his powerful, fast combos were unmatched, Ali was pretty fast but Tyson had quicker hands and was stronger.

 

Strength =/= athleticism. I'm sure Gregg Ernst was stronger than Bo Jackson. I doubt he was more athletic.

 

Ali. Maybe Ali.

 

I’m always interested in the boxing interpretation of “athleticism” it gets attached to twitchy, snappy fighters like Roy Jones Junior but I’d say Ken Norton was much more athletic then Mike Tyson yet just from there styles I don’t think you’d know Ken Norton was an athlete he wasn’t particularly fast, he wasn’t explosive and he was at his best pretty mechanical, jerky and economical. The correct technical process creates an “athletic” boxing impression by my judgment.

 

Tyson didn’t have quicker hands than Ali. He was stronger but he wasn’t anything close in terms of handspeed.

 

Muhammad Ali.

 

They were both very fast but if you did think Muhammad Ali was faster I wouldn’t fault you but consider that “The Greatest” threw a lot of slapping half turned over punches like Meldeick Taylor in his flurry’s to stay mobile. Mike Tyson was throwing fully dedicated punches with his hips turned over completely and it’s still debatable who was quicker for a lot of other people.

 

This!