If You Had To Pick One Ali Win, To Introduce A New Boxing Fan To His Greatness..?

Liston 1. He was electric that night.

 

That’s a really tough question. It’s difficult because if you pick a fight from his earlier career, you showcase his incredible athleticism, but not what came later. If you pick a fight from after the Frazier loss, then you showcase his intelligence, guile and toughness, but not his athleticism. Ali’s time at the top was so long and the parts of his career so different that it’s really hard to pick a fight that shows off everything. I guess if I have to pick one I will go with the Cleveland Williams fight. It didn’t last that long, but Ali’s performance was stunning.

 

Cleveland Williams.

Ali dominated and it was beautiful.

 

Very tough (= very good) question. I think I’d go with Ali-Liston 1 also.

 

Ali vs Liston 1 would be a good choice yh, that was the fight where Ali first shook up the world. He was in his best physical, technical and mental condition against ‘66 Cleveland Williams, so that fight if they wanted to see him at his absolute peak.

 

Cleveland Williams

It's his most impressive performance from an aesthetic standpoint, he looks untouchable.

It's only three rounds so it's quite short and the newer fan doesn't have to commit to watching 15 rounds of boxing something they might not be in the mood for yet.

It has a good color version

It's certainly not his greatest win given the context and arguably isn't his best performance but it's the most accessible for a new fan.

 

williams

 

Clay Vs Liston with possibly a documentary to go with it to provide some historical context (Muhammad Ali The Greatest Directed by William Klien)

Others here have said Cleveland Williams fight or you could show them the Brian London fight if you wanted them to see a fast knockout.

 

I disagree with it arguably not being his best performance (definitely not his best win, yh), but everything else you said is spot on. What outing of Ali's do you believe was better?

 

Williams for sure, but the brutal, spiteful beatings he gave Ernie Terrell and Floyd Paterson perhaps give a better representation of the duality of the man.

 

We get this misunderstanding a lot with new boxing fans but listen, Muhammad Ali is just a guy Sylvester Stallone created-a character-to play the opponent of his Rocky character. It was based on the real life figure, eight-time boxing medalist and cis male activist, Apollo Ohno.

 

For a new boxing you can't go wrong with either:
- Liston I
- London
- Williams
- Folley
These were his most impressive performances of the 60s & they all ended in KO's or Stoppages.

 

IMHO I would need to show 2 fights. The first being the 64' fight against Sonny Liston when Ali wins the title. Then show the 67' fight against Zora Folley. I would point out how much Ali filled out physically during that time while still maintaining his incredible speed and reflexes. THEN point out Ali was subsequently stripped of the title after the Folley fight for 3 and 1/2 years and we never got to see him at his peak!