A lot of people seem to think Gassiev can do well at heavyweight, but he has never taken a heavyweight punch, would a prime Ali have knocked him out pretty easily?
Norton went the distance with Holmes, Gassiev has never been hit with the kind of power Holmes hit with.
Probably not but we don't have the data yet. He is iron-chinned at cruiser. Gassiev is 28 wars old, crawling back into the game with fights against mid-level heavies like Wallisch and Rudenko, and building in a career as unified cruiserweight champ. When Joshua, Usyk, Fury and Wilder are gone in 2-3 years, he will be entering his second prime. He could very well be remembered as a technically limited but immensely talented near great or minor great like Norton, if he makes good.
No, Muhammad Ali would have outpointed Gasslev, Ali at his peak, 1967, would have used his speed, footwork, stamina, and reflexes to his advantage. When Ali fought Ken Norton the three times, Ali was far past his peak years, 1973 and 1976. We never got to see Ali's prime years because of his legal issues with the Selective Service, he was stripped of his boxing license and title in 1967. Also peak Ali was not a puncher.
No peak Ali was 212 lbs, todays heavies are bigger, Modern (Steroids) Nutrition. That is only today's made up standards.
CWs usually weigh around 205-210 when in the ring. Ali wouldn’t be more than a few pounds bigger than CW Usyk or Dorticos.