19 year old Ali sparring (3 rounds) with then Champ, Ingemar Johansson in prep for Patterson III

Johansson wasn't the first person to have this idea. Back in 1959, the 17 year old Ali was offered a job sparring with Brian London to help him prepare for Patterson's speed. Sadly he had to turn it down for fear that taking paid work would jeopardise his amateur status.

 

You can get any great fighter beat. Any one of them.

Until Ali was mature enough to beat the kinds of guys Johansson had, there’s no way he would have been ready to fight a guy like that for real.

Boxing is all about career timing. No matter how much better one fighter eventually becomes than the other, you can get the lesser guy to beat them if the timing is wrong for the Youngster.

There is a reason why some guys target the Olympics. It brings the investment that allows a kid to get the right fight at the tight time.

It is not as simple as saying Muhammad Ali became a better fighter, therefore as an unproven professional he can beat a prime Ingo. That’s bullsh!t.

Ali nearly got knocked out in real life by a guy Ingo already knocked out. Henry cooper. A year later Ali would have schooled cooper. But fighting him when he did gave us what happened. But it also made Ali the guy he became because he came through it and went on from that.

Ali taking on Ingo in a real fight before Ali fought cooper ends only one way. A knockout win for Ingo. Every dog has his day. Ali’s day was after that point. And the record proves it.

 

According to Angelo Ali was singing I'm going dancin with Johannson lol

 

I am an Ali atg lover but...Angie did move him along slow knowing he was something special. Look at his pre-champion opponents as he was approaching a title fight: Jones/Cooper. He didn't exactly take those two to school. Jones? Razor thin UD. Cooper? Almost got knocked out. No Machen (at that point, Angie wanted nothing to do with HIM!). Folley? Williams? Terrell? etc...
2 be fair many great fighters were moved along slowly in their climb to greatness.

 

Ali looking quick here!

 

Angelo Dundee did the same thing with Sugar Ray Leonard, the mark of a great mentor and trainer.

 

I agree. He likely wouldn't have beaten Floyd Patterson either, at that time.

 

Exactly right. Every champion is started up like this. No matter how good or great. Imagine all the guys that would have beat Marciano if he had of been thrown to the wolves early? I really don’t think rocky could have won that many (if any) early fights if his first opponents were all headliners.

Often the fighters themselves don’t realise this. Mangers and match makers really don’t always get the credit they deserve nurturing talent the way they do.

 

In fairness, at the start of 1963 Ali was already #2 contender and comfortably in line for the next shot once Liston disposed of #1 contender Patterson. He should get some credit for putting that on the line by taking on #3 contender Doug Jones. Liston's manager Jack Nilon was pretty vocal about what a stupid and unnecessary risk that fight was.