How tough was Ali he was flashy and a great boxer but did he dig down deep in his career in the face of adversity? Was he intimadated by Liston or Foreman or even Joe Frazier?
i think he might of been a little intimidated at first with Liston but thats about it, IMO. But then again i was a little too young to follow him.
Maybe they did intimidate him, maybe not, that means little to me. What matters is how he handled the fear. Ali was one tough fighter. Watch the Fight of the Century, Manila, Zaire. Ali's ability to absorb body shots was better than his excellent chin, IMO. The Shavers fight, watch that if you want to see how tough Ali was, even when he was basically a shot fighter.
He took a **** load of punishment, some brutal bodyshots. His arrogance and pride made him survive alot of it.
Maybe some guys were as tough, but nobody was tougher. The guy fought Norton with a broken jaw. Foreman in his prime gave him everything he had and Ali shook it off. And these were fights where Ali was past his prime. People forget that he was at least a 13-year veteran when he had his biggest fights and took the most devastating punishment.
Questioning Ali's toughness is like questioning his ATG status. This is a ******ed thread. Ali is an ATG and one of the toughest fighters EVER!
Ali's success against Liston and Foreman especially was because he wasn't intimidated . Liston had Floyd Patterson so scared that Floyd just froze as Sonny lambasted him in less than a round, twice. Foreman seemed invincible at the time ali took him on, and was a huge favorite. Even Ali's cornermen feared for Muhamads life. If anything, Ali scared the hell out of HIS foes. As far as physical toughness, Ali had not only one of the best chins in history, but could take it to the body like nobody else. Ali faced some of the biggest bombers in heavyweight history, Foreman, Earnie Shavers, Liston, Cleveland Williams, Jerry Quarry, Joe Frazier...and on and on. He never got stopped before he was just totally shot against Holmes, and Larry never had him down.
you probably only need to know how f'd up he is now to know how tough he is. he took some real beatings to be the greatest and he is paying the price.
He broke his jaw in the 2nd round against Ken Norton. He finished the fight. He allowed the most devastating puncher in the history of the division use him as a heavy bag, literally, and then knocked him out. don't let the flash fool you, he was as tough as they come.
He had maybe the best recupertive powers of any fighter I've ever seen. The way the bounched up from that killer left hook Frazier landed in the 15th is proof of that.
He said that he felt what death was like when he fought the thrilla in manilla, going 15 hard rounds with Frazier in 110 degree heat in 1975, and fighting Norton with a broken jaw in 1973, if that isn't tough i don't know what tough is, most fighters would have quit or their corner would have stopped it.. This thread is ukke