No damnit, Dempsey is leagues better than Louis! Maybe we can play this game going all the way back to Daniel Mendoza?
This. Basically, the one thing that can't be quantified is Ali's determination. Wlad is too big, too strong, too fast, too skilled, too athletic. Ali is too strong willed, which he pays dearly for now, but it is the single most important attribute Ali had that could determine the outcome of the fight.
Could Ali beat Wlad? Yes, absolutely. Will he be able to counter him and make him look foolish? I dont think so.
In this case I believe Ali and Wlad both excel at their own distinct styles to the point that there's no blueprint to go on for predicting how the fight pans out. Neither fighter has been even close to getting outboxed during their prime years, and I don't think this is a fight where it's going to be decided by one big shot, so it comes down to boxing and stamina for me. Maybe Ali was good enough to outbox Wlad and get the decision. I just can't visualise this one and at this level I don't think it's enough to just go on attributes Let's stick with Wlad, rather than talking about both brothers and confusing things. Wlad's best wins are probably Byrd, Chagaev, Ibragimov, Haye and the first fight with Peter. Thompson is not one of Wladimir's absolute best opponents. I know Wlad's resume isn't as good as Ali's, but at least list Wlad's best wins when you mention Foreman and Frazier It's not really a question of figuring out. Everyone knows what Wlad does in the ring but nobody stops him doing it. Mechanical, or textbook?
It's a fight that any honest objective mind can't determine with any certainty. Anyone who thinks this is a decisive outcome either way is either completely bias, completely clueless or trolling. In the end, I think I slightly favour Wlad, but Ali's sheer determination could edge it out for him. I really couldn't say.
This thread is a joke. A pretty funny one. Wlad is suddenly a better athlete than Ali! Ali has never faced an athlete like Wlad? Ha.ha.ha. Ken Norton was x2 times the pure athlete and boxer that Wlad was hands down...but look at these idiots who want to believe different.. Frazier suddenly has 'bad defense' Thats rich... Joe Bugner is suddenly a 'part time boxer' and being counted-out.. Bugner fought from his teenage years out far past his prime in the best Era of boxing, his career is full of victories that mirror or are better than Wlads but some suckers here think Bugner isn't any good. Bugner would have Wlads record easily in todays world... then we got some clown who claims he started watching boxing in the 50's then put's Ali and Wlad in the same sentence as 'the best heavyweights'. If he isn't out right lying then he is proving that he is senile now, or has always been a bad boxing analyst. Then you get all these pure idiots rambling off the names of boxing's famous fighters (Lyle, Terrell, Foreman) as somehow indicators to why Wlad stands a chance. These guys are the worst. Wlad has faced only ONE serious boxer in his entire life, a disinterested, unmotivated Lennox..and got TKO6. If Lennox actually had been in his prime he would have damn near killed Wlad, but people want to pretend he'd have a chance against Shavers, Liston, Norton..Frazier, Lyle, etc...:huh Ali was x2 athlete Wlad is, x2 times the fighter, x5 the champion, most of Ali's notable opposition couldn't even use 99.9% of Wlads opposition as sparring partners, Ali proved his could stand in wars with boxing's best and come out on top. In FOTC, in deep waters, championship rounds, Ali gets up from a punch that would have knockedout most fighters - after spending all of 1 second on the mat, to finish the fight strong...and you bums want to cast Wlad in his shadow? Could Ali has done what he did to Bugner to Wlad? Sure he could have. It didn't win him the fight against Bugner -Ali's superior boxing skills did-, and it wouldn't 'win' the fight against Wlad but Ali's superior boxing skills would. Thats the answer to your question OP. Has there ever been a more predictable heavyweight, a more methodical puncher than Wlad after the 60's? ...Probably not. If much of boxing is muscle memory + condition, and then skill..then there is absolutely 0 chance that Wlad beats Ali on points. None, what so ever. Ali would shuffle, float, right lead, stick and move and just pummel Wlad for 15 rounds...:verysad Enjoy Klit where he is..In the worst era of heavyweight boxing the 'living' world has ever seen. Nothing is wrong with that. But don't pretend that Wlad matches up with the GOAT. Thats just stupidity. If Wlad was alive back then his record at best would have been alot like Bugners, and Bugner ending at 83-13 didn't do half bad.
I used to believe that peak Ali would destroy Wlad, and I still believe he could probably do a number on the WK who was fighting in the early part of the last decade. But since Wlad has aligned with Steward he's become a different fighter in terms of approach and a better fighter for it. At this point, my inclination is that this a nip and tuck affair where each round is decided by only a couple of clean punches. Since Ali was a master at catching the eyes of judges with his flurries, I'm inclined to give him the edge and predict that he'd fashion a close but clear UD over an always dangerous Wlad.
The thread starter posed a legit question. Bugner wasn't quite as tall as Wlad, and not nearly as powerful, but he was someone who used his height and worked off a pretty educated jab. Ali wasn't prime in this clip, but was still capable of countering the jab and reaching Bugner with the right. These clips beg the question of whether Ali would be capable of doing the same thing against a fighter who is a slightly taller and certainly harder punchingl version of the fighter Ali faced in that clip.
You know what, you are right. It wasn't even Wlad that boxed Lennox, it was Vitali. Here I was thinking Wlad actually boxed someone. Nevermind.:verysad