How long before Ali recedes to being a #2 or #3 heavyweight, except for boxing hipsters?

He will never be replaced as number 1.
An im not a fan of his but he was a once in a million years talent.
Liston,Foreman,Frazier,Quarry,Patterson it just goes on and on.
And he beat them all .
He was so graceful and fast it was breathtaking to watch.
And then throw in his chin was granite and he had the heart of a warrior.
You will never see a boxer like that again .

 

I am a Frazier guy so I clearly am not an Ali guy! But I agree with pretty much everything you said! HE was great and there will never be another like him.

I also still rate Louis #1. Funny that when I joined this forum in 2008 I rated Ali #1 and thought Louis only fought bums and wasn’t so great. Around 2012 I began to change that assessment. Read watched and listened and learned a lot on this forum. I think either guy has a claim to greatest and while I side with Louis I can’t fimd any fault with Ali as GOAT claims.

 

He is definitely articulate, but he's more of a bit of a joke now. Will never get the respect of the british, possibly because of his gypsy heritage and definitely because he's said and done some dumb stuff.

 

Tyson Fury isnt in the same class as Ali!!
Wow he beat a forty something WK in a BORING fight.
and since then he done what???
I too was a Frazier man.

 

hearing him talk sounds like reading a training manual or self help book, in a south london accent. He basically talks his life, and rarely ventures outside that, no breadth, but some basic depth in his narrow field.

 

This thread is spot on. I have noticed that the fighters who are getting lionized the most are 90s fighters, especially Lewis opponents.

 

I hope 2010s fighters get more recognition, I think H2H the current era is probably the best so far.

 

Name 10 fighters from this era and we compare them to the top 10 fighters of the 90s, 80s, 70s, 60s

 

Most of those guys from earlier eras would be cruiserweights today so not exactly a fair fight. The 60s and 70s heavies would be conceding 30-50 pounds in weight.

 

30-50 pounds eh? Well then:

1) David Haye conceded 99 pounds against WBA Champion Nikolai Valuev in 2009. He beat Valuev anyway.

2) Jack Sharkey conceded 59 pounds against Primo Carnera in thier first meeting in 1931. He beat Carnera anyway.

3) Jack Dempsey conceded 58 pounds against Champion Jess Williard in 1919. He beat Williard anyway.

4) Chris Byrd conceded 56 pounds in his IBF title defense against Jameel McCline in 2004. He beat McCline anyway.

5) Joe Louis conceded 52 pounds in his title defense against Abe Simon in 1941. He beat Simon anyway.

6) Sultan Ibragimov conceded 52 pounds against WBO Champion Shannon Briggs in 2007. He beat Briggs anyway.

7) Joe Frazier conceded 39 pounds against Buster Mathis in 1968. He beat Mathis anyway.

8) Roy Jones Jr conceded 33 pounds against WBA Champion John Ruiz in 2003. He beat Ruiz anyway.

9) Tomasz Adamek conceded 33 pounds against Cris Arreola in 2010. He beat Arreola anyway.

10) Micheal Spinks conceded 30 pounds against Gerry Cooney in his title defense back in 1987. He beat Cooney anyway.

I just poked 10 holes in your theory. So should we list top 10 contenders from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s and see what's what?

 

Problem is the best big men of today rarely if ever lose to heavyweights as small as those from pre 90s. Lewis never lost to anyone under 230, Wladimir never lost to anyone under 225, and once he reached his peak they didn't beat him either, Joshua has yet to lose but his closest fight thus far is with someone weighing 240. They seem to have dramatically improved to the point it is exceptionally hard for smaller men to beat them

 

There hasn't been a lineal champ as small as Ali since the mid 1990s, I think that's pretty telling.

 

telling yes, tells me u r a chump.

there hasnt actually been a lineal champ apart from lennox, so..... wat you arguing again? you arguing that all the lineals after 95 have been lennox? lol

perhaps you can argue the case that wlad restored it when he unified briefly, in which case tyson would be a brief one too. but naaa.

 

There has also been a talent deficit since the mid 90s.

1) Lewis is not from "today" he turned pro in 1989 and his last fight was 15 years ago.

2) Wladimir not losing has more to do with a lack of talent in his era regardless of size. As great a fighter as Wlad is, in a more trying era, he would not have been afforded the same learning curve that he was given to get to where he got.

3) David Haye was pre-90s size and he beat a man who outweighed him by almost 100 pounds and in the process took away his WBA title, which he held, as the same time as Wlad.

Lets give this a try:

60s
1) Cassius Clay (Ali)
2) Sonny Liston
3) Joe Frazier
4) Ernie Terrell
5) Cleveland Williams
6) Zora Folley
7) George Chuvalo
8) Eddie Machen
9) Floyd Patterson
10) Oscar Bonevana

 

70s

1) Muhammad Ali
2) George Foreman
3) Joe Frazier
4) Ken Norton
5) Larry Holmes
6) Ron Lyle
7) Ernie Shavers
8) Jerry Quarry
9) Jimmy Young
10) Joe Bugner

80s

1) Mike Tyson
2) Larry Holmes
3) Tim Witherspoon
4) Pinklon Thomas
5) Mike Weaver
6) Greg Page
7) James Smith
8) Tony Tucker
9) Tony Tubbs
10) Micheal Spinks