I do think Ali beats Wilder. But how would it go? Would Ali get knocked down and get back up and then outbox Wilder to a 15 round Unanimous Decision? Would Ali cleanly outbox Wilder without getting dropped for 15 rounds. Does Ali stop Wilder late from accumalation shots to the face. Does Wilder drop Ali once?
Are we talking Rumble era 70s Ali? If so, I'd pick him by a TKO stoppage. If we're talking post Manilla, then it becomes much tougher to call, perhaps gutting out an ugly decision ala Shavers.
clay was an overconfident shell of himself that spent far too much time eating punches along the ropes by the 1970s . this would have spelled disaster against a hard hitting beast like Wilder who could nullify Clay's reach. of course Wilder is still very susceptible to being outboxed, and this would be Clay's only saving grace. I pick Wilder by brutal, career ending KO in the center of the ring, round 14
I think post Norton 3 Ali does pretty well until Wilder gets his timing down and begins to beat him badly, dropping him twice before his corner stops the fight around the 9th round.
Any version of Ali dismantles Wilder. Wilder is constantly off balance, crosses his feet when he moves laterally, can't clinch, can't function off his back foot. He's just a launch pad for a right hand and he ain't hitting Ali with that.
