Could Mohammad Ali (in his prime) compete with the boxers of today?

Plus, you have to eliminate the "Today's fighters" who would be psychologically beaten before they ever entered
the ring against prime Ali. Ali on Facebook & Twitter. Lol.

 

Ali was a blown up cruiserweight.

Let's see how someone like Usyk does at heavyweight. Then we can gauge what someone like Ali could achieve in the modern era.

 

Ah c'mon, Ali was NOT "blown up". That implies he added much muscle to reach a size he would not naturally & did not have a HW frame. Neither thing is true, he could have gotten somewhat bulkier but for speed & agility he was perfect.

Just because some CWs rehydrate to ~ his weight does not mean he was not a natural HW.
He did not lift or try to get big-he was a natural HW in bone structure & overall size-just not hevaily muscled like modern HW.

Trivial correction: IF memory serves Ali was 217 for Foreman not 216.

 

Yeah because Ali and Usyk are comparable.

 

Of course, NOT! An old-timer like Ali wouldn't be able to compete with current monsters (modern training methods, nutrition, size, you know what I mean) like Jozeph Parker, Dillian Whyte or Andy Ruiz jr.

 

Imo boxing technique evolved until the 1960s and it declined since then.

Boxing had a martial arts approach decades ago and fighters wanted to master their craft, the most skilled fighters were from the 40s-80s.

Fighters today don't go to the body anymore, they don't fight on the inside anymore and most of them don't know how to counterpunch, size and power became more important than skills in the heavyweight division.

Recent heavyweight champions like Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua are not as well rounded as Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Sonny Liston and Evander Holyfield.

It's just the way i see it and i'm by no means a delusional classicist, i don't think todays heavyweights are overall a lot worse but on average they're less fundamentally sound than the average heavyweight decades ago.

I think your post was a joke though.

 

They are similar in terms of having fantastic footwork, high punch output and being feather fists. So if someone like Usyk can do well at heavy

Ali mostly beat up men who were even smaller than him. He got knocked down by cruiserweight (185lbs) Henry Cooper. Even the so called 'monster' George Foreman that he fought was a massive 6'3 220lbs.

 

Sure he could compete. Whether or not he could be bigger men who have greater reached and quality jabs, not to mention a weight height and reach advantage is another question. Because in his day he had problems with good jabbers at all stages of his career. Doug Jones, Kenny Norton, Ron Lyle, and Jimmy Young, then later in his career vs Larry Holmes. There was a long thread on this topic a while back.

Ali's tale of the tape is a big fudged his reach is listed less than what you might have read in many of his fights. 78-79" sounds about right.

 

Prime 1967 version, at 6-3", 215 lbs, with a 78"+ reach, and could move around the ring for 15 rds, would be a real problem for today's lumbering giants. Ali easily handled WBA Champ 6"6" Ernie Terrell, who had an 80+ inch reach.

 

But can they actually fight? At least on the level of fighters from 1940's the 1990's. The size kings seemed to think their were no big men or what they call super heavys in past era's but their so wrong. 6'3 235-245 F.Bruno, 6'6" 260 Primo Canera . 6'3 247 lbs Buster Mathis sr. 6'6" 215 Ernie Terrell 6'6"270 Jameel Mccline , 6'2" 245 Samuel Peters 6'6" 230 Gerry Cooney,6'6" 235 lbs R,Bowe, 6'5" 245 lbs Lennox Lewis What does all these fighters have in common? Bruno ko'ed twice by Tyson 5'10 215-220, Canera destroyed buy 6'1" 200 lbs J.Louis/ Mathis sr destroyed by 5'11" 205 Frazier ( And Mathis was skilled unlike the heavy's today) Terrells height didn't help him at all against Ali, and he was toyed with. Mccline was beaten by C.Byrd of all fighters. Peters fought over weight and past prime 5'10"J.Toney twice but didn't dominate him 1st fight could've went either way. Bowe didn't dominate the much smaller E.Holyfield at 6'2" 205 fighting him 3 times, beaten and put on his ass in the 2nd fight.Holyfield Way past prime and at a size disadvantage gave the prime of career L.Lewis hell twice. Cooney taken apart by Holmes and natural Lt.Heavy Spinks. 6'2" 226 J.Ruiz beaten convincingly by 5'10" 190 lb R.Jones. My point is size is good to have. But great skill is even better esp when the fighters are at or close to 200 lbs. 6'1" 200 lb J.Louis would destroy A.Joshua or Wilder esp if he got off 1st. Louis though he didn't possess a great chin fought at a skill level those two fighters are clearly not at ... Sorry they just don't pass the eye test. So all the fancy training, all the supplements and vitamins ,all the weights and steroids won't help the fighter if his opponent he's facing have a definitive skill advantage and close to 6'0 and close to or over 200lbs. As Ali once said when 7'1" 275 lbs W.Chamberline got the insane thought of facing him in the ring........ TIMBER!!!

 

To be fair, i think Ali was a considerably harder puncher than Usyk and he had a great chin, something Usyk has not proven yet.

 

we can guage Ali by a guy who won a diluted elimination contest? Ali did the real thing again and again!

 

Boxing has evolved to the point where a lot of todays boxers would not cope with the championships rounds 13,14,15 of yesterday.

if oyu told Chubby boy that he had to fight another 3 rounds, after a grueling 12, he'd probably go join the NFL, even though he has no idea what that is.

 

They both come from a cruiserweight background and have fought men their own size and in Ali’s case the majority of his fights were against smaller men.