ESPN matches Ali with other great champions

thre one with tyson is spot on .. i could see it happening jUST like this

 

Well, Tunney proved what a solid technician with decent movement could potentially do to Dempsey, so long as said technician didn't get careless or unlucky. Sure, Dempsey was post-prime, but the weaknesses in his style and the vulnerability to certain things, (including fast straight rights going over his guard) were there to be found. After surviving the initial rush from Dempsey I can see Ali taking this one handily via sheer physical and style advantages.

With Marciano some of it would depend on the era they fought in, since that would dictate to a degree how much Marciano would get away with roughhousing, or Ali with technically illegal things like leaning on a fighter's neck and pushing their head down. Nonetheless Ali's size, speed and reach give him big time advantages, especially the way his slashing punches tended to cut guys or swell them up. Ali comes on late and take a decision.

Louis is the toughest of these fights. Louis was vulnerable to speed and movement (see Conn and Walcott for examples) but the pinpoint accuracy of Louis and his sheer power means that there's always a threat for the fight to tip the other way in an instant. I wouldn't bet on this match, and as an Ali fan, I would have my heart in my throat any time Louis got him into a position where Joe could land combos.

Tyson: Ali totally psyches him out, taunts him, outwrestles and clinches him in close, and makes Tyson try to go headhunting and looking for a one punch KO. Ali wins by late stoppage, KO, or decision.

Lewis would be interesting, not in a fun to watch sense, but it would be interesting from an intellectual standpoint to see what happens when Ali encounters a bigger, stronger jabber with this level of skills. Especially interesting would be who takes the lead, and how the rhythm of of the fight goes. Ali uses his speed, counters, and stamina to win would be my guess.

 

Against taller, straight backed fighters Ali could go to the body with some effectiveness.

 

I agree with all the above, except I think its possible that Ali could have squeaked out a decision over Lewis, in an equally unthrilling fight.

 

This would be a bit like saying that the first Leon Spinks fight showed that Ali was always suceptible to a small come forward fighter like Dempsey.

The first thing to leave a fighter is his footwork and that was perhaps the most critical aspect of Dempseys game against Tunney. Add the fact that his timing and reflexes dont alow him to react to Tunney as quickly orcapitalize on openings and the outcome should be no surprize.

 

Didn't read it as I was going out the door, I'll do it now. But Marciano wasn't a Cooper either that bled every fight, his ability to be cut is very over rated.

 

I would fancy a prime Ali over any other HWT in history but Ive always felt that prime Tyson & Louis would be hardest stylewise because they had the perfect blend of speed & power + were technically very good boxers - a nightmare for anyone, not just Ali.

 

What do you mean Alis "superior power?" If you mean he had more power than Lewis that's laughable. Tunney was not as fast as Ali, either, your argument that since Ali is 211 pounds he cannot be faster than Dempsey is ridiculous. If anything it adds to his speed because his legs take longer strides.

 

Not always, but I'm getting tired of this nonsense that Marciano's, Dempsey's and even Louis's relatively small size wouldn't be a problem if they were active today. I'm not saying that any half decent HW would beat them, but if you truly believe that 185-200 lbs is the perfect weight you must think that the creation of the cruiserweight division only was to protect the big guys. And you don't really believe that, do you?

Even before the CW limit was raised to 200 there hadn't been a HW champ under 200 lbs for over 30 years (excluding L. Spinks at 197,5). Is that a coincidence?

Lennox so called "china chin" is one the lamest clichés out there. If Dempsey and Rocky had faced the guys Lewis faced they would have seen plenty canvas. Their "rock hard" chins could be dented by natural LHWs and even natural MWs, for gods sake. What would a clean hit from Vlad's right do? Lights out.

And you can't seriously be suggesting that Ali's power was greater than Lewis's.

The flaw in that theory is that Ali was. The Ali of 66/67 was the fastest HW ever, simple as that. Even Fleischer said as much, and he had seen them all.

 

Dempsey himself thought that Ali was faster than Tunney.

 

I don't think Lewis even beats prime Ibeabuchi or Tua, let alone Ali, Tyson, Liston, Foreman... He's too slow to put leather on Ali, period. Any puncher who can get to this chin will drop him and stop him, and Liston had a longer jab believe it or not, and probably hit just as hard with much better overall skills.

Lennox was a hell of a fighter, but you're putting him waaaaaaay too high on the list.

 

Well, punchingpower doesn´t mean anything if you can´t hit the target. A prime Ali during the 60´s was almost impossible to hit. Ali in the 70´s was not the same fighter as he was in the 60´s. Still great but not as fast. Tunney was fast, I liked him in the old movies I´ve seen but Ali was faster, at least in my opinion.
I can´t see Lennox Lewis have a chance against him. I even think that Tyson in his prime would have beaten Lewis in his prime, Tyson was lethal during those years.
All the best my friends
The Predator

 

You favor Tua over Lewis head to head????

 

U think a prime Larry Homes beats up Sonny Liston something nasty. larry had a ***** fast jab.

how about this for english heavyweights:

Danny Williams vs Gary Mason
and for world titles:

Ali vs Ibeabuchi