If you were a boxing coach which fighter and fight strategy would you choose vs Ali?

Joe Frazier. Constant pressure, working his way past the jab and then bullying him into corners and against the ropes, then punishing the body

 

That's pretty much the ideal gameplan...enough said.

 

make it a dogfight. Chest to chest.

 

Working the body would work. Using a counter jab would also throw Ali off his rhythm. Ask Ken Norton.

 

I think too much is made out of this. So he blocked and countered the jab. That's just standard tactics, hardly a stroke of singular genius. Of course he wasn't alone of Ali's ca 60 professional opponents (about 40 of them ranked) to try this. Norton had more luck with it due to having a very good jab and an awkward style, that's all.

 

I would hire Eddie Futch.

 

I think Joe Frazier and exactly what Yank Durham had him do is a good call.
Otherwise I'd take Marciano, Dempsey and have them do it.

 

This would be tough. If the fight my fighter fought against Ali is after Frazier and Foreman fights with Ali, then I would know knocking Ali out might be out of the question. I would have my fighter fight an unorthodox herky jerky Michael Spinks kind of fight. Move and move and jab with a pawing jab, and then land awkward punches to the body to slow him down, but not to knock him out, and then swarm after the first punch lands and swarm in each combination when Ali is defensive, and score points and win a decision. Michael Spinks had a great style to beat the great boxers with good jabs. Unorthodox works better than predictable with the greats like Ali and Holmes. Had Spinks just gone in and stood in front of Larry it would have been a disaster.

 

Anybody feel a peak-Jack Johnson could do it? He would perhaps force Ali to be the aggressor, something he was not comfortable doing, force Ali to attack the body, which he never really did either, and would be excellent at picking off Ali's jab and countering as Ken Norton did. I've always felt from a technical aspect, Johnson had a lot of advantages, but I've never really thought about him actually beating Ali.

 

:?

 

Nobody was going to outbox Ali. I would instruct my fighter to get close make it rough and a bit dirty. That would make Ali stand in and fight with his ego. Id put Tyson in with his speed, power and chin. He was good at throwing elbows when he was younger.

 

Good choice,

Charlie Goldman and Cus D'Amato might also be good consultants for this one.

 

I'd go with a left hook specialist: Dempsey, Frazier, Walcott