Mike tyson " muhammad ali is the greatest, not robinson , and ali was much faster "

He's entitled to feel that way given his natural bias and the knowledge he has (had?) of the sport, in terms of both results and skills.

ALI is one of the very few with a legitimate case. His skills, accomplishments and wins are just mind boggling excellent. To say he fought and beat the best is an understatement considering he fought in one of, if not the greatest HW division in history. The guy was wrongfully stripped of his titles, exiled, and won them all back with a second dominant reign. It's amazing that he could still put together 19 total defenses, and in all likelihoood they should've all been as undisputed champion as well. He could've possibly broken Joe Louis' record if not for that extended layoff, not to take anything away from Frazier who earned that win in 1971. Ali's hand speed, footwork, defense, chin and heart are A++. Amazing that I disliked them for awhile at first only to come around to full appreciation.

 

I'm curious. Do you rate Muhammad Ali above Sam Langford as a boxer?

Not criticising outright, but I like articulate posters explaining oddball viewpoints. It makes food for thought.

 

:thumbsup

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsQm7sHyNd4&feature=related[/ame]

OT: Real interesting comments about Razor Ruddock

 

Yes Ali proved himself the best, Langford proved he could be a top level boxer at the age of 17 at 140lbs (while not clearly being the best) and proved he could grow into a top level boxer at 180lbs, while not being the best at heavyweight either. The fact he grew into 180lbs carrying plenty of muscle, makes the fact he was once 140lbs completely irrelevant on what he achieved at heavyweight, simply put he grew into a bigger man

Langford never proved himself the best in any division and gets props for being a top HW while weighing 180lbs, which is what Marciano, Dempsey, Patterson, Jack Johnson all weighed. Jack Johnson was once a middleweight, should he be P4P no1? Patterson, Ellis were ex MWs too, Jones a WW in the amateurs, do they have a case for being P4P no1 of all time too?

Now Langford may have been the best middleweight or light heavyweight, but that wasn't really proven and is based on conjecture. In his own time he was robbed of opportunities based on his race, today here we almost compensate for that going the other way, praising him for things he didn't quite achieve

 

Bar one pound on the scales PP, he proved himself the best at Lightweight by beating Gans.

 

Thought it was 5lbs, great win for a 17yo no doubt