It was. But from a text book view there are some things that can be said against it. I think Shake and Unforgiven both make good points for example. For me, Ali's technique is a subject that really is worth getting into, since he in a way created a world of his own in this respect. His footwork was one of the things he did uniquely. Not just the blinding speed, but his pattern, rhytm etc. That's what makes it so interesting to discuss IMO. Watching Robinson's footwork, there's hard to say much more than it was virtually perfect. Ali is another case entirely.
One could say that he was not as effective while being the aggressor but then again he had no need to be. Perfect for his style, in his prime atleast.
His movement was sweet and best ever. Walcott was fantastic but recently much overrated on this forum
Different styles but Ali was a butterfly when he was Young, Tunney had good feet and Walcott used his legs well
Ali's footwork is not bad in any way, as far as he is concerned. It just takes a special athlete, like he was, to pull it off. I think that is where the problem with it comes into play. A trainer is going to have to tell most fighters that they are not going to be able to duplicate it. It is almost like having a student trying to leap in with power shots like Roy Jones. Only a precious few can hope to do so.
i agree with the majority of the posters on here that ali's footwork derives from natural born athleticism more than technique. just like how roy jones jr entire fighting style is not something that can be taught, its just something that has to come natural to you. all the trainers do is fine tune it and improve it.
Great story, never knew about that. And your right, his footwork was wonderful...especially compared to any HW I can think of.
I would say there is nothing unorthodox about the different components of Ali's footwork. It's just that he combined different basic forms with blazing speed, continuity and rhythm and made them the foundation of a counterintuitive style of hitting without getting hit. What may be truly innovative is his ability, thanks to long limbs and stamina bred of hitting the running trail, to get into clockwise rhythm and combine swift orthodox lateral movement he used almost strictly for locomotion, with his patented balls-of-feet backward gliding from which he developed the unique ability to jab and cross the right in jarring sync with an advancing opponent. Besides athleticism, the key to Ali's deployment of footwork was his ability to judge punches. He knew just how much distance to place at any given moment to use head and body movement to avoid a punch's peril and come back stinging like a bee.
Ali's footwork was remarkable, but sometimes in his prime it did not prevent temporary trouble against less talented fighters. Henry Cooper comes to mind, but I would need to see the film again because I do not recall if that was actually related to any footwork mistakes made by Ali. atsch
I'm not so sure. I agree that great athletecism is needed to master these styles, and that they therefore shouldn't be taught to boxing students. But I'd also bet that both Ali and Jones practiced and honed their respective styles. In that respect it's technique. That athleticism is needed to master it doesn't really negate the element of technique.
Ali could defend or attack from seemingly any position he put himself in. That's the aim of good footwork, isn't it? In other words, he had tremendous footwork.
Probability dictates that there is likely a lot of room for improvement in Ali's footwork while at the same time it is very possible that it will never be rivalled simply because athletes on Ali's level are so rare -- that said, I think Ali used his natural gifts very well and almost certainly would be in the upper pecentiles regardless of sample size or talent pool. What I find truly remarkable is that Ali danced so well and such extended periods while he was so large -- you'll often hear people commenting he moved with the speed of a middleweight -- yet I've never seen someone in the lower weights move quite like him. As effective as Ali was on his toes, you'd think some smaller man, who should be able to deal with the stamina issues of the style much better, would have copied it by now. I remember Biggs and Tillis, but they were heavies as well. I remember in the last round against Kenny Norton, Ali couldn't really get it going or looking good but he just had to dance as a matter of pride, it looked like a bad imitation but Norton suddenly ceased to be a threat, always a step too late, posing and posturing and catching. I hope we'll see someone move like that again someday. We will, surely.