Would Usyk Be A Stylistic Nightmare For Ali?

Prime Ali at his very best having issues with a mediocre fighter entirely because of his stance does suggest the best heavyweight southpaw ever would give Ali trouble with his stance especially when Usyk also has a lot other qualities that Ali struggled with. It also destroys the myth that prime Ali was an untouchable H2H fighter who had no flaws which seems to be the popular consensus around here.

 

Would be a good fight but I’d bet on Ali to put point him

 

Who outboxed Ali in his prime? No one is saying Ali is unbeatable but I haven’t seen a heavyweight yet that could outbox him. Usyk has less handspeed, foot speed and I question if he hits harder than Ali. I don’t see any advantage he has other than being a lefty and just don’t see that making the fight competitive .

 

Well i could easily comeback and say Usyk lost all the early rounds to Michael Hunter who was average aswell. So that means Usyk would struggle immensely vs Ali aswell you see how easy that is to do ? you can bring up any example depending on your agenda.

Ali beat Mildenberger comprehensively floored him 3 times and stopped him so no i don't see it as much of an argument at all. Just like my example of Usyk losing the early rounds to Hunter after Usyk had a slow start, and went on to dominate Hunter no different to Ali vs Mildenberger except Ali actually stopped Mildenberger.

Ali is not an untouchable no but he ranks very highly in regards to his H2H ability because he's fought so many world class opponents and beat them. He also has the best resume of any Heavyweight by a landslide, and had one of the most impressive title reigns in history between 64-67 in which he dominated 8 top 10 ranked Heavyweights.

By that same notion Usyk is also not untouchable despite having a good resume he's also shown a few weaknesses and has had competitive close fights aswell.

 

Norton outboxed him and both Doug Jones and Cooper gave him tough fights when he was at his athletic prime. Norton had less hand and food speed then Ali yet outboxed him pretty thoroughly and Usyk is much faster then Norton so I don't see how Ali speed would be some sort difference maker when Usyk is used to boxing guys who are just as fast in the Olympics and at Cruiserweight. He has several advantages he is much more technically sound, his defense is better, he's more versatile being able to fight both from the front and back foot, his footwork is better on a technical level i.e less wasted movement more functional he has much better feints, his lead hand is much better at controling and setting up his punches, and he is able to adapt to his opponents much better then Ali did who could never adapt to Norton or Frazier hence why they gave him so much trouble.

 

The difference is no one is saying that Usyk is invincible and untouchable, while lot of the old heads here are claiming that Ali was invincible and untouchable in his prime when he objectively wasn't if you actually watch his fights (plus Hunter is a much better boxer then Mildenberger but that's neither here nor there). Plus the difference is Ali lost convincedly when he was at his close to his prime against Frazier and Norton so I don't see how someone who lost convincedly can be said to be the best H2H fighter ever who would never lose to anyone else.

 

Prime Ali, my man. The Ali from the Liston fight up to his ban. Prime Ali was not outboxed.

 

Convenient that prime Ali only existed when he fought against his guys tailor made for him and he gets a pass for the rest of his career

 

Very interesting match.

I think Usyk gives Ali a serious challenge with his southpaw stance, sound skills and high ring IQ.

However if it is PRIME Ali, then Usyk would be facing somebody who had unmatched speed and agility.
Beating Fury was cool because, among other advantages, Fury has amazing speed for a SHW; but compared to Ali he is slow as molasses.

Usyk would give Ali a decent battle, but he is not going to catch that butterfly.

ALI wins a hard earned UD

 

It was a solid, dominant win in which Ali gave a lesson on 'How to beat a Southpaw with ease" (including 'before' and after' adjustment). Mildenberger was never really in it.

For sure - Usyk would rightly be given credit for the win, which would be particularly impressive were it achieved in his fourth championship contest inside a seven-month timeframe.

 

This is how I know you never watched the fight Mildenberger hurt Ali in the 4th and 5th and completely shut down his jab, not an easy win at all and this is PRIME Ali against a mediocre southpaw imagine him against an ATG southpaw

 

Ali himself said Mildenberger was a tough fight, so yeah. Not that I would bet against Ali. Love both of them.

 

Yeah, I'm sure you don't do that for Tyson. The Botha fight is a perfectly fine example of prime Tyson, I suppose?