If Ali had beaten Holmes...untouchable resume?

Ali had parkinson`s, if Holmes got knocked out by a man with parkinson`s that would make him the worse boxer of all-time.

 

Muhammad Ali did enough (and too much) like this; do not overreact.
In that fantasy scenario of yours Ali would retire as a lineal HW champion (like Tunney, Marciano, and Lewis).
The answer to your question is - yes. Muhammad Ali would then (for me) be the GOAT boxer, not the GOAT heavyweight.
Just one more thing. Muhammad Ali would have done the same as Lennox Lewis in that case. In his last, farewell fight, he would defeat the champion of the next generation.

 

I fail to see why it wouldn't. A Parkinson suffering Ali KO'ing prime Holmes would be the greatest win ever. Like what would even be the argument to say anybody else is better?

 

I don't spend too much time thinking about what ifs that were never very likley.

 

I'm not sure if it would be enough to overhaul SRR, Greb, Langford and Armstrong.

If we were to list his top wins (that is wins, not opponents beaten) 1-40 and compare to Greb, Greb's resume would still be substantially deeper from a p4p perspective.

 

He should never have been in the ring v Holmes, I would rather have seen him knock out Don King after that match but he wasn`t even capable of that by then.

 

A weight drained Ali knocking out Holmes just isn't happening.

 

If this did somehow happen and Holmes career had the same path it did in real life then I don't think there would be an argument for Louis being the heavyweight goat.

obviously this wasn't gonna happen but saying that defeats the whole fun of the thread.

 

I think for full GOAT status and for legacy Ali would have had to rematch Jimmy Young and win convincingly.
The onslaught of bad press Ali received after that gifted win and the flat out statistics (41% landed to 18% landed for example) would have always been a blemish on his resume.

 

Probably the most idiotic thing you've ever said which speaks volumes.

 

This will really hurt Holmes more than help Ali imo.

 

Interesting question.

Given that the notably greater number of high ranking P4P fighters naturally exist in the lower divisions, many of whom fought each other in their respective eras, it would be impossible for any HW, no matter how great they were/are, to exceed the achievements of their smaller counterparts as (as viewed in the P4P perspective).

Any HW Champ simply would never have the deemed P4P quality in opposition available in their own era for them to defeat in order to pull up higher in P4P rankings (as per the criteria generally applied to such rankings).

I’m a 50/50 follower of P4P rankings - I say same because I feel the heavier, bigger ATGs aren’t given their just dues for the skills they are still able to express in spite of their very size - to put it simply, they’re driving bigger, innately less maneuverable and fuel hungry vehicles.

An F1 driver can optionally express his driving skills in his chosen, streamlined vehicle.

Put that same driver, same driving skills in a Mack Truck and the expressed speed and maneuverability won’t be nearly as manifestly impressive but the level of required skill can still be appreciated relative to the size of the vehicle they’re operating and maneuvering.

In some ways, despite the P4P concept being intended to divorce size from the equation in order to identify, isolate and rate pure skill - it actually proves in a way that size is inextricably entwined with the expression and perception of skill. Of course, in absolute terms, Ali beats Sugar Ray Robinson. To equalize them, we remove size (Ali's advantage in that dept. therefore lost) but while Ray Robinson retains his skills, Ali makes no relative gains in skills without the encumbrance of his greater size.

It’s arguable that Ali at least overcame the highest level of competition available to any HW ATG of any era. A victory over Holmes would serve to enhance that perception - and with Ali maintaining the status of having reversed all of his defeats. We would have a fighter who won the HW Title 4 times, with 3 regains - the final regaining being at an advanced age, some 16 years after his first Title win. We could also throw in the overcoming of the 3.5 years exile - but I don't know if that's the intention of the OP to allow for the overcoming such negative factors - instead preferring that the hypothetical be kept to absolutes - certainly past P4P greats had their plenty of their own era-related obstacles to overcome.

 

But Holmes maintains the rest of his resume otherwise. That remains contextually significant. I see far more of a gain for Ali than loss of prestige for Holmes.