These are questions not statements. 1. Is he a better puncher than given credit for being? When people pointt out his flaws they point out his lack of body punching and his low for a heavyweight ko%. After he was allowed to box again in 1970 he had 32 matches going 27-5 with 14 stoppage wins. Contrast that with with his pre banishment career in which he was 29-0 with 23 stoppage wins. We see that as a younger boxer Ali has more power. This tends to be the norm in boxing. As a boxer gets older he seems to win more by decision than by stoppage. 2. This is a question not a statement. Is Ali overrated? Keep in mind this is a question not a statement. I rank Ali as my #1 All Time Heavyweight and would only consider drooping him to #2. Where he would change places with Joe Louis. Ali is in my #1 spot due to his resume. In truth it is because he was born at the right time. No one has in my opinion beaten a better group of heavyweights than Ali has. He has wins over the fallowing: Sonny Liston X2, Joe FrazierX2, and George Foreman. In their primes. I can't think another heavyweight who had 5 equal opponents as the ones listed above. The 1970's is one of if not the best era in the history of heavyweight boxing. Was he dominant in these wins? I have heard conflicting stories about the first Liston fight. The score cards at the time the fight was stopped were 57-57, 56-58 and 58-56. While score cards can be misleading. These scores don't show that this was a dominant Ali win. Due to the way it ended the Second fight is a mystery. Next is Joe Fraizer. Ali has a 2-1 record against him. In their first fight won by Fraizer. Fraizer was able to put Ali on the canvas. Fraizer won the fight by 3, 7 and 2 rounds on the score cards. In the second fight won by Ali by 1, 3 and 4 rounds. Keep in mind that the first fight won by Fraizer was a 15 round bout, while the second bout won by Ali was a 12 round fight. That could have an effect on the scores. Than there is the third fight won by Ali when Fraizer's corner did not let him come out for the 15th round. At the time Ali was well head on the scorecards. However physically Fraizer had taken as much out of Ali as Ali had taken out of Fraizer. There is also his win over Foreman. His win over Foreman allowed him to regain the Heavyweight championship that he lost whenhe was striped of it in 1967. Ali didn't out box Foreman he bided his time, and waited for the right moment to strike. This was also the end of the slick Ali and the beginning of the tough Ali. You can't play the what if Ali was younger when he faced them game. I have the felling that he would have Made Foreman look foolish. Dancing and staying on the out side. However with Fraizer I'm not as sure. When they fought the first time in 1971. Ali may not have been 1967 slick but he was still slick. In other words I don't know if a fight between "1967" Ali and that version of Fraizer would have been any different. There are in my opinion other Heavyweight champions that you could replace Ali with in the 1970's. I think they would have been more dominant than Ali was. I would place on this list Joe Louis, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Lenox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir Klitschko. Reminder these are a question not a statements.
1. No. Early in the career you fight tomatoe cans which are more or less easy to stop. 2. Yes, he is. Still a lock for Top2 at hw though.
Well i don't think he's overrated. I think he's underrated by hardcore fans who are at the stage of just getting into being a boxing fanatic, they start wanting to be an elitist and stray from the mainstream views and to do so they don't want to agree with the armchair consensus that Ali is the best heavyweight ever, as a derivative from this type of thinking Joe Louis becomes their default greatest heavyweight of all time. I was guilty of this when i was at said stage of my being a fan of boxing. But now i think Ali is the number one heavyweight ever. I don't think he was a great body puncher, definitely not, i wouldn't label him a good one, he never invested on that type of work a lot, he hit there to score woth flurries on the move though, not a great puncher but far from a poor one.
Is Ali overrated? This is tough because I'm having trouble keeping in mind that this is a question and not a statement. Even the question mark doesn't help me deal with this conundrum.
the first part is pretty much why tyson gets obliterated in discussions, i have no doubt he would lose to the best but they will just disregard him overall.
I am sure you're laughing with an I'm With Stupid Shirt pointed toward my avatar. If I had photoshopping skills I could paint a clearer picture. And while you're laughing my heads spinning and I'm not feeling good about myself. Where's BE when you need him? ME ----> This content is protected On a final note, anyone find it odd that even Robinson know he couldn't deal with the half mortal Joey Maxim? Here's him putting his crown back on (He's only wearing one to fit in and feel worthy of even being a challenger). This content is protected One of the few punches Joey could land. Didn't matter though. This content is protected If only you could punch heat Ray. This content is protected What a tan from Joey. He knew he had it in the bag when he got his request for an outdoor arena. That smile says it all "What a sucker." This content is protected
I think Ali is over rated pound for pound, not relly heavyweight, top 2 is good for Ali and Louis imo.
I feel like Boxed Ears raped my soul and overtook my spirit. I got all the goofy humor but none of the photo-shopping skills. By the way, I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head with there being sort of a reactionary elitist view which causes Ali to probably get underrated on P4P lists. I mean he has a HW resume that's immaculate (I mean almost a handful of his opposition is on your ordinary top 10 HW list). But there seems to be some sense with the old-school posters trying to bring up Louis as being forgotten (In terms of his greatness), because he's more consistent, or better due to his blend of punching, speed, and technique. I mean Ali can't be one the greatest ever... he bragged all his career about being that and he's the most recognizable person on the planet. You're not going to look the any more wiser in highly ranking the most mainstream name in boxer ever. You would do better to show off your knowledge by talking about how Bob Fitzsimmons, Charley Burley, and Joey Maxim are so much better.
Teeto, don't talk about Greg Paterson that way. He really does believe Jeffries was the best Heavyweight in his prime.
I take it your asking is he a harder puncher than given credit for? No doubt in my mind he is. His left hook on Bonavena proved this to me, Foremans KO also. I know were your coming from about the overated part. Without sounding elitist, which i am far from being, i think that a lot of people with very limited knowledge of the sport, see all the documentaries, films, pictures and books on Ali and form their opinions on these rather than also looking into the history and background of his opponents and peers. I, for one, think hes the best heavyweight ever. and hes up there P4P, but he doesnt **** thunderbolts outta his ass
Ripcity your wrong on Ali not outboxing Foreman, he did, albeit from the ropes, Foreman was made to miss while Ali hit him clean. People act like Foreman was winning the fight when Ali stopped him, he wasn't As for Ali not being as dominant as Louis, I really aren't sure what your basing this on. Louis was dominated by Schmelling in his prime. He arguably lost to Tommy Farr, Godoy and Walcott during his reign. Holmes arguably lost to Witherspoon and Williams. Lewis/Wlad/Vitali all picked up losses