Could Mohammad Ali (in his prime) compete with the boxers of today?

The only true lineal champion under 6ft 4 since the mid 90s is Hasim Rahman who lost his title almost immediately

 

thank you, the absurdity here is amazing.

 

Winning a belt is one thing, being lineal another. Byrd, Ruiz and Haye etc all won belts, so we know guys that size can do it. But no one in the 210-220 lbs range have been unified/lineal since the 90's, let alone shown such domination that Ali, Tyson, Holmes etc did.

 

Many sane people would argue that Holyfield would lose to Lewis Vitali Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua because these are the guys he would have to beat to become number one in the years since he was undisputed

 

Holyfield barely lost to Lewis in their rematch despite being completely past it and only being able to fight in spurts. A prime Holyfield would actually have a very good chance of beating him.

Fury and Joshua have done nothing to show that they could beat Holyfield. Maybe Vitali. Wlad ruled over the weakest period in heavyweight history, and simply never beat a high quality opponent like Holyfield. Holyfield beats all of them, with only Lewis and Vitali having any chance vs him. Its laughable to favour Joshua or Fury over a prime Holyfield.

 

210-220 lbs fighters can obviously "compete" in today's era. There are numerous examples of top contenders and belt holders of that size. The ones who have dominated over the last 20 years have all ben quite a bit larger, though.

Wilder could break this trend a bit concerning weight, but not in terms of reach and height.

 

If Holyfield is as good as you seem to think he is it is hard to see how he could lose to guys like Bowe and Moorer in his prime

 

Larger fighters existed in the past. Why is it they weren’t dominating like today? Is it coincidence? Or more then likely PEDs? I don’t know the answer. Maybe we will see a wave of smaller fighters dominating in another decade who knows. The trend seems to be going the other way. Most of the weight issue has everything to do with eras. Today’s thinking is heavier the better and it produces a sad state of affairs when these supposedly “better athletes” are so winded by round 6 they can hardly continue. I do feel Ali would whoop these guys bad though.

 

Joshua already has a better resume than Bowe and Moorer

 

Lewis, then Vitaly and then Wlad were the best HWs for 17 of the last 20 years. Since then we don't have a clear number 1, but a clear top three in AJ, Wilder and Fury.

It could be pure chance that there just hasn't been as much quality as before among smaller HWs, but for every year that goes this explanation becomes less and less likely.

 

Bowe would annihilate Wladamir, Joshua, and Fury. Bowe had the best inside fighting skills i have ever seen from a big heavyweight, good power and a strong chin. Let's not compare Bowe to a guy who was ko'd by Sanders and frickin Lamon Brewester. Joshua wouldn't be able to do a damn thing vs Bowe, he is too easily hurt to beat Bowe.

Bowe was a massive underachiever, but his inside fighting skills were exceptional. Wladamir's inside fighting consists of hugging his opponent to death. Holyfield's willingness to trade and slug with Bowe hurt him, but when he boxed, he managed to win the rematch.

Moorer was a rare off night for Holyfield. Holyfield was that good.

In fact, Lewis's hardest fights were Mercer and Holyfield 2. Both Mercer and Holyfield were 6'2 and past their primes. Yet we are expected to believe that those guys couldn't have won in their primes.

Wlad was put away by Corrie Sanders and Brewester, yet appearently a prime Foreman or Liston were too small to get the job done.

 

has there been a real lineal since lewis retired? wlad late in his career maybe, and he was dusted easy by multiple smaller men... that would answer your absurd question! there hasnt been one dominant enough despite a crop of super fatties!

In fac tthe biggest men only were able to start beating Wlad WHEN he got too old.

 

who has truely dominated since lewis left.

 

Bowe got his ass kicked by Andrew Golota twice. Somehow that doesn't give me much confidence in his chances against Joshua Wladimir etc

 

I didn't ask a question, so not sure what you're talking about. But I think Wlad was very dominant for a number of years.