Who gives prime Ali his greatest test?

ALI would have reached his prime, beginning around late 68, through 72, had it not been for the exile. I strongly believe that he would have beaten Frazier, beat him again in a rematch and there would have been no third fight between them. The same holds true for Norton, who receives FAR too much credit, due to his series with ALI.

Prime ALI's was indeed a difficult problem to solve for ANY fighter. However, being human, ALL fighters can possibly be beaten.

I believe that the measure of great fighters, when paired against each other, can not be accurately assessed in just ONE fight. Some styles and abilities are so close that a fight could always go the other way in a rematch. I believe that a series of THREE or even more in some cases, is the best way to determine a winner.

Naturally, we can't do this because the greats are retired or long gone. However, if you can consider that "Fighter A" can beat "Fighter B", you MUST ask the question "Can Fighter B reverse the outcome?"

Given this, I believe ALI's toughest challenges would come from Joe Louis, Sonny Liston and Larry Holmes. They rank 2,3,4 on my list.

Zora Foley, ALI's last pre-exile opponent once said that "there is no way to train for the way ALI fights. Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, no one would have a chance against him."

Sugar Ray Robinson, boxing's greatest ever, once said that he didn't really have a lot of power. He said that his effectiveness comes from the fact that his opponents can't always see his punches coming. It's a proven fact that punches that you can't see can hurt the most.

This is one advantage ALI would have over most anyone. He is as far from a correct boxer as one can be but, with his speed, timing and something else no other heavyweight has, Perfect Symmetry, he could get away with tactics that have gotten other fighters flattened.

ALI has something else that most lack. I think studies will show that the closest thing to the perfect heavyweight boxer lies between 6'1 - 6'4" and weigh between 205 - 225 lbs. Anyone outside those dimensions tends to lack something.

Marciano is shorter and lighter. He takes a lot of punishment and would not do well against the post ALI era.

The bigger heavyweights lack stamina, speed and balance. The smaller ones lack durability and power.

Of the other top heavyweights, it's possible that Sonny Liston could win 1/3. This is a long shot and only IF he can use his size and strength to offset ALI's speed and balance.

Louis could possibly take 1/3 but it's really not likely.

Larry Holmes and Sonny Liston would provide very tough challenges for post ALI. Still, he beats them more often than not.

The thing that places ALI first, on my list, is that he'd lose fewer battles in a series of 3.

 

Grabimir beating Ali? Lol this isn't the comedy forum!

 

This question shouldn't be asked or we'd be insulting His Greatness. Common man, whether it's 18-year old Clay or 22-year old Clay that beat Liston or 25-year old Ali that beat Cleveland Williams or the 32-year old Ali that knocked Foreman out or the 36-year old Ali that won the heavyweight title a third time, Wlad wouldn't stand a chance. The pre-exile Clay/Ali was too fast and too quick, he wouldn't touch him while the post-exile Ali, though a step or two slower, was bigger, stronger, smarter and had unmatched physical and mental toughness, not to mention fighting heart.
Ali comes out to meet Klitschko and Klitschko starts to retreat
if he goes back further ..............he'll end up in a ringside seat
Ali swings with a left and swings with a right
look at Muhammad as he carries the fight
klitschko keeps backing but there's not enough room
its a matter of time before Ali lowers the boom
now Ali swings with a right, what beautiful swing
and the punch knocks Wlad clear out of the ring . klitschko still rising.
the ref wears a frown
he can't start counting till Wladimir comes down
Now klitschko disappears form view, the crowd is getting frantic
But our radar stations pick up, he's over the Atlantic
who would have thought when they came to the fight
that they'd wittiness the launch...of a human satellite
yes, the crowd did not dream, when they came to their seat
they would see a man get so easily beat.....