Is Ali's Power overlooked?

i'm glad you found it amusing. Ali's first 30 fights he scored 24 KO's. Joe Louis first 30 fights he also scored 24 KO's. Hahaha......

 

Stats mean nothing when it comes to power, to a certain extent. Louis may well have been getting clean KO's from most of his stoppages. Ali was more than likely accumulation. See what I mean?

 

Well what people do not appreciate is that Ali was a very very big.He was naturally powerful.The effect of his corkscrew punch on Liston and the left hook ,thrown off the back foot,on Bonavena was just as if they had run headfirst into a brick wall.Remember he absolutely ruined Quarry in a few rounds and made a mess of Frazier's face in their first and third fight.

However, I thought he never learnt to throw his straight punches like say Joe Louis-stepping into the punch and letting his hips rotate on impact.It didn't really fit into his own fighting system.It served him fine,when he was young and had the physical tools-the relexes,the quick footwork and blazing flurries-to land an accurate and hard decisive punch.

 

Next to his jab I think Ali's straight right hand was his best punch. His left hook and his uppercuts could be suspect on occassion, but not the right. That was his killer punch.

 

Sure. But he could also go out with intent against a big powerful man like Lyle, plant himself and basically wrap it up with one powerful, accurate right.

Those few times when Ali relied on power to get the job done he usually succeeded.

 

Ali's power was overlooked, but due to his style of fighting, he rarely showed it.That hook that floored Bonavena was something else, and Lyle was a good stoppage.I rank his power about a 7 tops.

 

THose commenting on his size and weight are absolutely correct.

Arm punches were most often Ali's stock and trade-They maximized his speed and explosiveness, and actually are less taxing to throw in bunches, allowing Ali to maintain his endurance for large bursts late.

But he was a 200+ pound guy, and when a 200+ pound guy decides to whack you hard, you are going to feel it, period. And Ali's speed and timing allowed him to actually land when he felt it was time to throw back.

He wasn't an amazing puncher, but anybody who argues he isn't more than serviceable when he really let it hang out is being ignorant.

He shook Joe Frazier up numerous times in their three bouts. Joe had toughness and heart and soldiered through it like the champ he is, but on several occasions Ali rung his bell, and loudly.

Ali stopped the very tough Ringo Bonavena with one punch.

Nearly put Shavers away with 30 seconds left in a fight he hadn't gotten much accumulation in.

Removed Lyle from the fight with a single straight right hand.

Became the only guy to put Foreman down and keep him there, with one big straight right hand. Doesn't matter how tired a guy is, to keep him down for around 10 seconds, you need to have thwacked him pretty good.

Ali deserves a 6 or a 7 out of 10 if guys like Louis and Foreman are that top 10 grade. He beat alot of tough, tough guys by stoppage, and some of them with single shots or combinations. No matter the style, a big dude can knock any human being out given the chance to hit him hard in the chin.

 

Look at Ali's accuracy. His stoppages do not stem from raw Foreman-style punching power but from deadly accuracy. The infamous 'phantom punch' is a great example of the sweet spot being touched and sending the opponent into a tail-spun.

 

Ali's power was definitely underrated, given that he did mess a lot of fighter's faces (e.g. Frazier) up, and scored a few KO's. But these were more due to an accumulation of punches, rather than 1 punch KO power, which Ali never had. A great fighter, just no where near being a big puncher, especially when compared to other heavies.

 

This content is protected

This content is protected

 

Absolutely average. There were hundreds and hundreds of heavyweights in history who hit harder than Ali.

 

Aaahhh...no...

 

That right hand at 9:20 was probably the most impressive display of early round single punch power Ali produced during the 1970s. He was not dancing in that instant, but hunched into a power posture and drove down through with it. If Frazier had lunged with his hook and missed immediately before Muhammad nailed it, Smoke might have found himself flat on his face, having to pick himself off the floor.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unpw2QHMDMs[/ame]

Ali himself has indicated Foreman was on the receiving end of the hardest punches Muhammad ever delivered, and I don't recall George saying anything to denigrate Ali's power.

 

Yes. Ali may not have had one punch knockout power,but no way was he featherfisted either.

 

Supporters of Ali's punching power are full of ****.

What are you all trying to prove? That Ali wasn't a complete little **** rat who couldn't dent a bean bag? Nobody's this thick, **** off.

Yes, he could knock a fighter out. Every boxer can, especially world class heavyweights. This is some stupid **** to be explaining.

And of course he could hit hard when he 'sat down' on his punches. Again, every boxer can.

Point is, he didn't. Let's take Ali for the fighter he was, shall we, and not what he could have been. Ali, for better or worse, was not a powerful puncher, or even above average.

By the way, 5/10 is average. 7/10 is not. And there is no way Ali was a 7/10 puncher.

Yeah, maybe he could have been.

But he wasn't.

Come to think of it, I would suggest that a lot of Ali fans have probably been looking at the tapes and thinking '****, he does actually throw some weak punches.' Now it's overcompensation. They're all examining the fights trying to pick out the best punches to prove he wasn't a complete ****** because in the back of their minds they sense he wasn't as perfect as they wished he was.

Me, I don't care. Ali was great in a multitude of facets, but he wasn't when it came punching technique and consistent applicable power.

Let this end.