Would Anthony Joshua do worse then Ron Lyle against Ali?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Journeyman92, Jun 12, 2025 at 7:03 PM.


Does he do better or worse - about the same?

  1. Better

    53.6%
  2. Worse

    28.6%
  3. About the same

    17.9%
  1. Mandela2039

    Mandela2039 Philippians 2:10-11 Full Member

    247
    307
    Mar 8, 2025
    I didn't say that Ali was a harder puncher or that he would stop him, but Joshua getting rocked and dropped by Old Man 2 year layoff Wlad isn't a very good feat by any means
     
    OddR likes this.
  2. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member

    51,951
    42,570
    Apr 27, 2005
    Ali was just coasting much of the fight. 99% of people know he was renowned for it. He loved being out there. He did it in numerous fights. At times he'd fight as if in a glorified sparring session. He could have taken guys like Foster out well sooner, but hey, he had to get his time in the spotlight.
     
    Dynamicpuncher and Pugguy like this.
  3. Barrf

    Barrf Boxing Addict Full Member

    4,701
    7,144
    Sep 19, 2021
    Ali really didn’t have a ton left by this point, and I think AJ is better than Lyle in all respects except possibly chin. Maybe equal power?

    Think AJ at his best might well take this faded version of Ali. Is he beating prime Ali? Hell no. But this version? Eh. He might.
     
  4. HistoryZero26

    HistoryZero26 Boxing Addict Full Member

    3,561
    3,114
    Jan 6, 2024
    The Coopman and Dunn fights showed if you lowered Alis competition a bit he could still be dominant. And that was after Frazier III. Lyle was before. At this point Alis lack of dominance was due to the level of competition he was facing. After the Dubois fight I don't think AJs on Lyles level anymore.
     
    cross_trainer likes this.
  5. cross_trainer

    cross_trainer Liston was good, but no "Tire Iron" Jones Full Member

    17,817
    13,410
    Jun 30, 2005
    It's a great example of how who you're up against affects how good you look. As an illustration of that general principle, top notch.

    As it relates to Ali specifically, though, it's a sign of where he was as a fighter in the later 70s that he needed Dunn and Coopman to look that good.
     
  6. OddR

    OddR Active Member Full Member

    1,372
    1,368
    Jan 8, 2025
    I have heard this a few times Ali used to coast or let opponents hit him. If true that wasn't a good strategy because those punches probably shortened his life span by taking even more punishment.
     
    JohnThomas1 likes this.
  7. TipNom

    TipNom Active Member Full Member

    1,344
    2,767
    Jun 19, 2019
    Against the version of Ali that Lyle fought? No, probably does better
     
    cross_trainer likes this.
  8. Philosopher

    Philosopher Active Member Full Member

    1,209
    1,848
    Aug 10, 2024
    I take your pigeons and raise you a cat. Does the best version of AJ do better than Foreman in the jungle? Now, now, no knee jerk reactions here, Foreman is ten times, a hundred times the fighter AJ is but he fought a crazy fight that night....
     
  9. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member

    51,951
    42,570
    Apr 27, 2005
    He used to let sparring partners hit him at one point, believing it built up durability. It's been posted in here at various intervals. Not the greatest idea.
     
    OddR and Shay Sonya like this.
  10. Journeyman92

    Journeyman92 Out For Milk Full Member

    17,089
    19,047
    Sep 22, 2021
    It’s BS lol if Ron Lyle is hitting you in the face you wouldn’t want to “coast” so the crowd could watch you… Bob Foster was tricky, Ali got him out of there ASAP too. professional fighters who know there S take there time Ali was clever so he did too. Archie Moore, James Toney and Ricardo Lopez etc they wait and you learn… A pro will of course take there time in a hurry if the opening is present.
     
    OddR and cross_trainer like this.
  11. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member

    51,951
    42,570
    Apr 27, 2005
    Here's one of the fight reports.

    When not using these tactics, Ali stood flat-footed, hands at his sides, and evaded Lyle's punches by moving his head. Most of Lyle's punches, that is. Ali did so little in the first six rounds that he was behind on everyone's scorecard but his own. In the seventh round, he grew bored with his inventions and began to float and sting. And despite being stung himself by a good, ponderous right hand, he took advantage of a grievous Lyle failing.

    As Dynamicpuncher (who's an excellent poster) noted in this very thread - "Ali kind of sleptwalk through the Lyle fight and was going through the motions. It seemed Ali could've turned it up at any point and when he finally did Lyle had no answers."

    It stands out like dog balls. He also let Floyd Patterson linger, but that was due to being pissed off at some things that went on pre fight.
     
    OddR likes this.
  12. Journeyman92

    Journeyman92 Out For Milk Full Member

    17,089
    19,047
    Sep 22, 2021
    Muhammad Ali only got hit when he wanted to be hit. I love that narrative.
     
    cross_trainer likes this.
  13. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member

    51,951
    42,570
    Apr 27, 2005
    Your lack of knowledge, childishness, sniping, wannabe trolling, and angst ridden agenda's are truly elite mate. By all means tho keep raging against all and sundry that post any sort of praise or, heck, anything non negative about Foreman/Liston/70's heavyweights. It's an illness at this point, even if it is comedy gold from afar.