I don`t think the challengers to Ali`s crown in the 70`s were that good so how would today`s top rated pair of heavies fare v this bunch? Joe Frazier Ken Norton Jimmy Young Ron Lyle Earnie Shavers Leon Spinks Joe Bugner Alfredo Evangelista Chuck Wepner Richard Dunn Jean-Pierre Coopman https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/rank-muhammad-alis-challengers-2nd-reign.656839/#post-20693102
Most of them too small Foreman at 6'3" 220 pounds was supposed to be a beast, but 32 year old Ali was about the same size as him. Foreman still naturally the bigger man because he was younger but on the night both about the same size. Frazier AJ would be great
Joshua is still inexperienced so he’d take a couple of losses against guys like Frazier, Young, Norton, Shavers, and Spinks. Fights against Lyle and Bugner are 50/50 fights. I could also see Wepner giving Joshua a hard time, but Joshua would most likely find a way to get the stoppage. Fury is more experienced than Joshua and has more tools to work with, so I could see him beating most guys on the list, but I see him losing to Young and maybe Norton. Frazier by 1975 would be a 50/50 fight for Fury as would Spinks and Shavers.
Foreman was far stronger than Ali though and his arms looked stronger, plus he had the power to knock AJ out.
AJ is far more skilled than Shavers was and Shavers wouldn`t have recovered from the right hand that Wlad floored AJ with.
A prime Frazier would beat Fury but the Frazier in Manilla had lost a step or two, Foreman would have a great chance at beating Fury and he was better than anyone on this list, a prime Liston would also have been dangerous and had an 84 inch reach and he was also better than all of Ali`s 70`s title challengers.
Joshua and Fury are really large men and would dwarf the majority of those fighters in the 70's-90's. I can't think of any top tier HW who was 6 "9 back in the 70's. A lot of those guys hit like Mack trucks though. I don't know how well either guy could take a punch from a prime Earnie Shavers or Geroge Foreman. Joshua is a very basic fighter so I'm not too certain he'd do well against some of those great HW's. But Fury would've been a handful given how unorthodox he is. He fights tall as well which would make it a difficult night in the office for any top HW. His chin is suspect though, so a perfectly placed shot could get him out of their by one of the heavier handed HW's. I think Lennox Lewis would handle both guys though. he has the perfect blend of size, power and athleticism in his prime to give both those guys fits.
Have you seen the fighters on Fury`s resume that have hit him, time and again? None of those fighters could hook like Frazier, he would have had a field day with hooks to Fury`s massive body.
