Both real ATG fighters just a notch below SRR but a fight between Charles and Ali would be interesting. Would Charles have any chance against a guy like Ali? Was he just as effective as a HW as he was at MW? It's real talents vs. real skills. Who takes this one?
Ali up to 1974,inclusive,beats Charles. It would be a skill-fest of a fight. Ali just a little too good for Ezzard in most departments.
Would have been great chess match type of fights. Charles and Walcott could easily have had six fights apiece if Rocky had n't have been on the scene.
Charles was ranked ahead of Ali by Nat Fleshier and others before 1980. Charles could do things Ali could only dream of. If they fought several times, as old timers did, Ali would get a win somewhere maybe, but Charles would still be over him. Ali's biggest asset to this day is how controversial he was, and the attention it bought to all his fights.
smaller guys always gave Ali trouble, Doug Jones, Cooper, Frazier,Patterson Spinks...Charles was a great and he would be competitive and trouble-some ...Ali had more flash and would probably take this the full route but Charles has a chance for an upset over Ali in many stages of his career
I think it's more competitive than people's general knee-jerk reaction indicates. Don't get me wrong; Ali probably wins, but Charles makes it more interesting than many of Ali's challengers were.
Ali should be heavily favored. But it would be a contest of the sort that he'd be unaccustomed to. For once, he might actually be the one persuing his opponent as opposed to the other way around.
Well Ez Charles is a fast fighter and a sharp fighter who was beautiful to watch from a technical point of view but Ali was something altogether different - even difficult or at least awkward fighter to deal with he could make look a walk in the park - he could take his foot off the gas and have periods where he could go to sleep - although only generally when he was having fun at his opponents expense daring them to nail him with his hands down and making them look silly and technically he wasn't actually great and anyone else trying the things he'd try against Ez Charles would get shown up and taken apart by the cobra but Ali could do things that no one else could and get away with it and he could also do things that even the most technically sound would be frustrated by - no doubt this would be competitive with periods where both would be in the ascendancy and dictate and both would show eachother things but for me no one outside of prime Dempsey/Louis/Marciano/and possibly Jack Johnson really stand any chance of catching him and being great enough to beat him - that being said fighters don't really come much better than Charles pound for pound but Ali had that touch more size and range and his movement was like poetry in motion when he was right - I see a distance fight - even tho at times Ali would be this far from getting his chin checked - score cards might be interesting possibly not much in it on the cards which would maybe make it look more difficult than it had been for Ali
If its a 15-rounder then I envision Ali sensing that this fight starting to drift away and Charles is outsmarting and outmanuvering him and putting rounds in the bank. A desperate Ali is a dangerous Ali and Charles will find out in the penultimate rounds that he cannot escape the onslaught. Ali traps Charles against the ropes in the 14th round and starts to potshot him. He then connects with a huge right and Charles is out on his feet. Ref stops fight. Ali KO 14 Charles
Charles, too slick for Ali, terrible style for him to chase, Ali was fortunate with some decisions in his career, and when all the charisma and self promotion is removed, we are left with a fighter with certain technical deficiancies, bravery , stamina and will to win are not among them, but his complete negligence to body work and low hands are, Ezzard would exploit defensive problems and win points verdict.
The prime Ezzard Charles at Lightheavyweight was a greater fighter than Clay/Ali at any weight P4P..."Snooks" as Ray Arcel called him along with Gene Tunney were probably the best LH's of alltime. But even as a heavyweight early in his HW career, he decisions the Clay of the Cooper/Jones era [witness Doug Jones] ,as Ali had trouble with smaller mobile fighters and another thing, the stolid business-like Ezzard Charles would go about his business when Clay/Ali would try to psyche him with Ali's histrionics...Charles by a 15 round decision. Style, style, style...
