Marciano vs. Norton

I like both of them BUT I really don't rate them until there retired. I do believe Lewis would have given Ali and real test and has the best chance of beating him BUT I also think that Ali's speed would be the telling factor.

 

I think he meant fight, not fighter.

"Toughest fight of my career," according to Marciano in 1962, when he was talking about his bout with Vingo.

 

There are always guys out there who are smaller and faster. They have rarely been champions. The guys with the big punches usually are. Ali and Holmes were not top level punchers and I think that fact would make it very hard for them to deal with much bigger but still skilled men such as Lewis and Vitali, who also had more punching power.

Ali and Holmes were big fellows in their day, but their day is long gone. Today they would be smallish.

 

No it was Harry Kid Matthews, I have the interview in some mag. He mostly base it off of ONE punch though, but he still nameed him as one of his hardest fight.

 

Well, I would like to see the show again, but I thought he credited Walcott with being the best boxer and the hardest puncher he fought. Of course, Walcott was sitting next to him, and perhaps he was just being gracious, but it does make more sense than Vingo.

 

I can agree with that and that is why I say that Lewis would have the best chance of beating Ali, BUT again I think Ali would somehow come out on top. Ali was so fast when he was Champion in the 1960's. His left jab was timed faster then Robinson's. I met Lewis several years go, and I even had the pleasure of introducing him. I was very impressed by him, BUT a lot of boxing people hold his 2 KO losses against him.

 

It's all possible..... Clay was 210 1/2 for Liston and Holmes was 209 for Norton & 211 for Ali in 1980..... BOTH guys were right around 210 pounds in the initial / early going as champion..... By the end of their reigns and best days, BOTH Ali & Holmes were fighting between 220 to 225 pounds on a regular basis...... Ali and Holmes were not monsterous, yet hardly small either...... Peace....

MR.BILL:bbb

 

PLEASE find the magazine, because I have just about all of them.

I have all the "Main Event" shows at home, BUT I am still in Florida until next Tuesday.

http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:19974

 

My take is despite the ko's, Lewis decisively defeated everyone he ever fought. Ali did not decisively defeat Norton in three tries and he wasn't all that old. I am hard pressed to imagine Norton ever defeating Lewis.

I think the huge size advantage for Lewis would be critical. Ali was the greatest in his time, and certainly you can make a powerful case that he was the greatest in an historical sense, but head to head, I think he has trouble with the modern giants.

 

I like "The Main Event" Show, but I hate how they butcher most of the film footage.....:twisted:

MR.BILL:deal

 

225 is smallish today. And that weight is when they were old and past their best. Also, in Ali's case, most of his opponents were smaller than he was, not much larger. Even a big guy like Foreman only had 4 pounds on him. Thirty or forty pounds is going to be a different world.

 

Lennox Lewis is a truly ALL-TIME great champion......... I get really pissed when people call him chinny............... Lewis got iced twice...... Their is NO SHAME in getting knocked into Orbit by the Right Hands of Ollie McCall and Hasim Rahman if they land flush on your jawbone..... Lewis ate a pair of Whoppers in them two fights of 1994 and 2001........... Nobody in their right mind is gonna stand there and allow McCall & Rahman to take a poke at their jaw if they can avoid it......... Both McCall and Rahman landed two sneaky bombs........ Hey, **** happens.........
bbb:yep:shock:

MR.BILL

 

True.... Still a dude who is 215 to 220 pounds today is still worthy and capable of being dangerous.... Take Evander Holy for instance..... As a heavyweight, he has fought between 202 to 220 pounds since 1988..... Holy is a solid Hall of Fame fighter and legit bad ass world champion....

I agree... Ali 4 outta 5 times was the bigger man in the ring......

Holmes was big at first, but by 1982 or so, he began facing new kids on the block that were heavier, but normally less skilled and green..... STILL! Holmes was great...

MR.BILL:bbb

 

True BUT styles make fights, as you know. I think Ali's speed was the best of any heavyweight and speed is Great tool. I have all the top boxing historian ratings and none of them have Lewis over Ali, BUT again, if someone can beat him, it would be Lewis.

 

I love Lenny Lewis, but, he never had the natural fluid movement to box and glide about the ring like Ali and Holmes........... Lewis' movements looked coached and studied to me........ Lewis did get much better as a stylist with Manny Steward at his side from 1995 upward, but Lewis still never was as fluid or as slick / spry as a youthful Ali or Holmes...... BUT! Lewis was a much better puncher........... Lewis is in my top-5 at heavyweight........

MR.BILL