An openly gay fighter who used his gayness to taunt opponents and make them uncomfortable would be hilarious. Has anyone ever done that? Wear rainbow flag trunks and pink sparkly boots, use YMCA as his ring walk song, etc.
You think a pure boxer at his peak can't easily box a shutout against a much less skilled big hitter? I recommend watching Holmes-Shavers I. Larry Holmes as he was entering his prime, up against the Wilder of the 70s. I see ZERO reason why prime Ali, with his added foot speed and dodging ability over Holmes, wouldn't do the same thing to Wilder.
70sFan was being sarcastic. Anyway, Shavers was by no means the Wilder of the 70s. All they have in common is power and average skills. Wilder is taller and with a bigger reach, has a better chin and is also faster. All those things matter bigtime. Btw, I also think he hits way harder. Anyway, your example is not exactly relevant for our scenario. Yes, Holmes was an out boxer like Ali, and yes, he was clearly way more skilled than Shavers. But Holmes also had a reach and height advantage, and was faster. In our case, Ali is at a disadvantage when it comes to reach and height. Also, Wilder has a better chin and stamina than Shavers. And before you mention how he was exhausted against Fury, bare in mind that he had to add extra muscle mass since he was dealing with a bigger guy than him, who also knew how to use his weight and lean on him. Against Ali, Wilder won't need to bulk up, his size is more than enough.
Usyk? Povetkin? Fury? Wlad? Vitali? They all look from a technical stand point superior to guys like Norton, Foster and Bonavena who all had success against Ali.
Well, I'm no expert in technique, but Foster and Norton look fine to me? When I say fight, I mean the whole combo of technique & everything else that goes along with it.
I think it's possible, in today's boxing, he could be more popular than he was. IMHO, he'd fight anybody and beat them all, and boxing fans would love that! He'd not only have all or the vast majority of the belts, he'd be Lineal Champion as well. I think he'd make a fortune today, his style wouldn't hurt him at all, and he might even decide to retire undefeated, with less damage to himself. There would have been no forced layoff, and we would have gotten to see him at his very best.
Ali stops Wilder in 3rds max. Why it's very simple. Wilder is a novice in skill level compared to him.
I don’t think he’d be as famous due to the fact that boxing isn’t as popular of a sport and the overwhelming choices of media and entertainment options. His electric personality might elevate him as a reality tv star. He was however very political and with the degree to which America is divided I can’t help but think that his voice would find it’s way into it somehow. As for how well he’d do in the sport it’s hard to say. Would his natural talents land him in the hands of a great trainer ? Would he be forced to fight differently due to shorter fights and bigger men ? Would training and nutritional guidelines shape a different Ali ? Would his NAME even be Ali ? Who knows ?
Foreman and Bonavena quite possible, but Quarry and Ellis, no way. But anyway, the thing you are completely disregarding is that none of these men fight like Wilder or have his attributes. Now that doesn't necessarily mean Wilder is better than all of them, but that the way he matches up with Ali is different than the way they matched up with Ali. Also, you are completely disregarding the circumstances in which Ali beat those men. For example, in Foreman's case, it was a question of him punching himself out. That will never happen with Wilder. Even if Ali applied the same rope-a-dope tactic and assuming Wilder is stupid enough to do what Foreman did, Wilder will be far more successful against an Ali that lays on the ropes. IMO if Ali does that, Wilder knocks him out. Also, despite not being more skilled, Wilder is harder to hit than Foreman, due to the extra speed and reach that he has. Bonavena was doing quite ok until he got tired and Ali clipped him with that left hook. But that was in a 15 round fight, this will only be 12. And just like Foreman, Bonavena was slow.