Heavyweight with the best technique.

Joe Louis has ten times the votes of Muhammad Ali for better technique. And I think that’s right.

 

Well Louis is pretty much known as the best technical puncher ever, weight divisions be damned. His defense is also technically sound.

Of course peak Ali had facets and talents that made him a nightmare for technical fighters.

 

I think you're right Pug that Ali's technical and fundamental shortcomings get overegged. He was at the very least no worse than Holmes, who often (wrongly imo) rates quite highly on this type of thing. Holmes was technically sloppy a fair bit of the time.

I'd agree that Folley was technically very good too. Very sound and well centred in everything he did, just not an expansive talent and lacking that extra gear.

Liston was up there with Louis at the top, arguably a better technician overall tbh. Lacked Joe's hair trigger explosiveness and handspeed but was sharper defensively, caught and slipped punches a bit better. Did a lot of technical things in general that you don't always see at heavyweight and it was as big a part of why he was so formidable as his physical qualities were. The Machen fight showed a lot in that regard. He was just a bit on the slow side and unlucky that Ali came along, who was stylistic kryptonite.

 

Sweet post.

You described Folley to a T.

Totally agree on Liston also - though Louis did have some very nice subtle defensive moves - at least best advertised early in his career.

I remember a time when I’d only seen Liston’s fights with Ali and Patterson. Hardly revealing as to what an excellent boxer he actually was. Then came YouTube and the rest of Sonny’s available fights - a true revelation for me.

And not just Sonny’s early fights. His post Ali fights are invaluable for study also. Past prime, when his effective power wasn’t as acute and he was that bit slower, he either relied more on his boxing skills or they simply stood out more.

Sort of comparable to Duran when he moved up in weight and couldn’t rely as heavily on his punch power - Duran either stepped up the boxing abilities he always had or he was simply displaying the same abilities he displayed before - those abilities no longer outshone by his sheer savagery and power.

 

Joe Louis.

 

Honestly I dont understand why you and others underrate so much Ali's technique. According to your way of arguing I have to think even Leonard has no relevant technique.

 

How on earth did Jack Dempsey get on here

 

Charles
Liston
Both belong on the list.
As far as who's on the list I went with Louis and Holmes

 

They do, of course they do, the likes of Holyfield had all the techniques, good jab, great left hooks to the body and head and a solid right hand, be that straight shots, overhand shots or uppercuts, he also had superior footwork to Louis. Louis was a beautiful fighter in his own right but to suggest no others come close is absurd.

 

Ali did beautiful things in the ring but his technique wasn't textbook. Footwork being all over the place, dropping hands, leaning back etc

 

Sonny Liston.
Close second to Wlad who’s style made up for his China chin

 

The fact that he basically neglected body work is a mark against him and the fact that at times he didn't have a clue on how to evade certain shots was worrying, look how many times Frazier tagged him with the left hook in the FOTC.

 

You beat me to it McVey

 

When younger anyway, Ali was a reflex/speed fighter who did everything wrong but made it work due to his exceptional gifts. Louis fought like a boxing textbook.