Ali- Who could have beat him?

Frazier and Norton.

 

Quite a few fighters could have done it, but finding one who you would favour to do it is a bit harder.

The fighters who could do it are:

Pressure fighters
Boxer punchers who could apply subtle pressure
Technicians

 

Well according to our resident expert Tommo you can add David Haye, Henry Akinwande and Michael Grant to the list.

 

I think Joe Louis has a 50/50 chance on any given night

 

If you want to beat Ali, then Eddie Futch in your corner is a good start.

 

Bill, Tommo probably has some insane reason that he has liston beating ali. in another recent thread he called frazier "feather-fisted". You kind of have to let him do his own thing and then move on. it's kind of like talking to a four year old.

as for the question, fighters listed like louis, tyson, and especially marciano don't have any real shot imo because of styles. i'd have to give prime lennox, holmes and bowe a chance because of their size and jabs to negate ali's speed.

the fighter with the best shot imo would be a prime holyfield. with him fighting on so long, right now people forget how good he was and the great fights he was involved in. i would still favor ali here but i see evander giving ali a lot of trouble.

 

H2H, Lennox.

 

I tend to agree.

I don't agree.

 

This is why I give 1982 Holmes a huge chance to pull it off. Larry listened to Eddie. Unlike Norton sometimes, he had no hesitation pulling the trigger, specifically with his jab.

Zora Folley won two of the first three rounds against a near peak Ali, a fast starting boxer for his style who almost never spotted an opponent an early lead. Holmes had the right lead to connect as Folley did, the jab to throw Muhammad off his rhythm as Norton could, and would be going to the body under Futch's tutelage as well.

Ali would have to be favored, simply on the principle that speed kills, and peak Muhammad was the fastest heavyweight of all time. But 1982 Holmes with Futch may have had the best shot at sneaking off a surprise decision win over 1966-1967 Ali.

 

Sure, some heavyweights can beat him, but I wouldn't actually favor any historical heavyweights against the Ali of the Cleveland Williams fight or thereabouts.

 

That's a post-jail Ali, far removed from his prime.

But I do think Frazier is always trouble for Ali due to how their styles mesh. But I also do not see the Tyson=Frazier equation that people seem to employ. Tyson and Frazier are different fighters, their short, stocky build and ferocious left hooks notwithstanding. One thing that Frazier did that really bothered Ali was his work-rate, especially inside. In particular, when Ali tied up Frazier, Frazier refused to quit and kept throwing. Tyson doesn't have Frazier's work-rate, conditioning, and he certainly isn't as active inside when he's tied up; instead, he frequently looks at the referee to break up the clinch.

 

I guess you didn't read the "or thereabouts" part. I am aware that Williams wasn't in the best condition and that he was already past his prime. I meant merely that Ali was at his physical peak at that time and thereabouts.