I wonder how Cus D' Amato would have influenced Ali stayle if Ali had trained with him instead of Angelo Dundee
Would n't have worked out. Muhammad liked to be the boss. Angelo Dundee was quite happy for Ali to be "The guy" and a long partnership ensued in consequence. The likes of Cus and Eddie Futch would n't have been a good fit.
D`Amato was a far better trainer than Dundee and before Ali`s first fight with Frazier Cus was in Ali`s gym telling Dundee he didn`t like how often Ali was getting hit in sparring, Dundee said it was fine and nothing to wory about.
Ali didn’t get along with Archie Moore bossing him around doubt he would of a Cus. Dundee was specifically picked out for his laid back easy going coaching style. He was well respected but like another posted mentioned they knew Ali wanted to be the boss and with Angelo he got that.
How was Cus better than Dundee? Did Cus teach anything other than peek'a'boo etc? What other greats did he teach? What other top fighters did he have of varied styles?
Forget it bud. Mark gets chubbedup just at the mention of Tysons name. That kind of all consuming love can not reason.
If this was some strange universe where Ali allowed Cus to make changes to his style he would have been effective but boring. At 6'3 Ali was considered very tall in the 70's era and even Cus would recognize that it would be silly to have him use a tight peak a boo guard and step forward aggressively. Instead he might try to turn him into a Joe Louis clone with an explosive straight jab from shoulder height as opposed to a snapping jab thrown from the waist. He would encourage Ali to use his footwork in a more economical and conservative way to get in and get out as opposed to leaping around the ring and burning a lot of energy "dancing". He would also demand that Ali go to the body more. Those long arms could snipe jabs to the belly to stop guys in their tracks or throw flurries downstairs and then upstairs which would actually make Ali even more dangerous given how fast his hands were. They would butt heads constantly but the one thing they'd agree on is the importance of head movement. Ali had unbelievable reflexes naturally and could sway as good as anyone but if there was one thing he could benefit from Cus it was to have a more polished way of slipping punches that didn't leave him open to hooks and getting timed by expert boxers.
I try not to think in terms of better or worse, but different. The more you know and more knowledge you have the better off you are. Cus was different and it did actually help Ali. Ali called Cus before the fight with Foreman, asking him his thoughts on how to approach what Ali called “That big mummy” Cus responded with the idea of throwing lead rights at the start and every time Foreman probed with his out stretched arms. Cus couldn’t not have made Ali a better boxer or fighter but that isn’t to say D’Amato didn’t have useful insights to Ali or about the sport in general. Cus could have added to Ali’s style with information like that but nothing more as Cus was a control freak and Ali wouldn’t have it. They were, however, friends outside the ring.
Other than D'Amato caring about not getting hit (but simultaneously beeing able to punch offensively) and Ali starting to get hit and change his style, this thread doesn´t make much sense.
A great trainer tries to emphasize a fighters strengths ....look at Emanuel Steward ....all of the Kronk guys don’t fight the same way
