Not the greatest fighter of all the time as in talent but the biggest superstar in boxing. Probably in sport to be honest
HWs @ that time was very strong,ATG not about being beat once in awhile but who you face on the other side of the ring. Ali was a very special boxer with a amazing chin to go with his skills one of my all time fav boxers.
I think you have to look at fighters in their prime not bad nights when green and on the way up against seasoned experienced fighters , also when you consider his 3 and a half year lay off in his prime and what he did when not prime he probably is. people point to him losing odd bouts, but when you consider he didn’t fight Norton until his 43rd fight after nearly a hundred amateur bouts and after the lay off as mentioned earlier and getting older , he would never have lost to Norton in the sixties when prime. And obviously Spinks was taken lightly when in his late thirties. and I don’t think we need to even mention a 38-40 year old with the onset of Parkinson’s who had been fighting for nearly twenty years as serious losses ie Holmes and Berbick. when he is so far from prime it’s ridiculous. Taking all these things into consideration and what he did inbetween with his career and what he did for the global recognition of the sport I would say he is the greatest of all time.
Again the Ali Rope a Dope edition was good but the 1966 version was a way different champion and fighter. These modern day fighters would be swinging the wind while getting out boxed. He would have lived in their heads rent free. Take a look at the Cleveland Williams fight, 1966, and the Ernie Terrell fight from Feb 6 1967. There was no such thing as Rope A Dope. The Ali who came back from the layoff would have lost to these modern day heavyweights. Different Strokes To Different Folks.
He did fight Superman in a DC comic ,not much going on in the 60's / 70's era so that's also a big advantage without social media ,that was a real shocker to be in a comic book even though Ali won that fight bc they took Supermans peds away. will be hard to top him given the fact boxing was just a U.S sport really and he had the spotlight with boxing being forefront in sports ,this wont happen again theres just to many thiongs agoing on and to many choices on social media that the focus isn't what cable T.v is showing bc everyone can watch anything at anytime in ANy country now with social media. As long as you keep saying hes the greatest he is. Is he ? Well he kept everyone focused on the sport even today no one can beat this man ,his super [powers prevail so no fantasy matches win either bc you can give Ali whatever you like. . On that note he was inducted into the martial Arts Hall Of Fame in 2015 ( I was there ) ,unfortunately he wasn't he was sick but they had a huge projection screen and mix of hundreds ppl were there ... /instructors / Actors/ Martial Artists etc were there ,it was surreal . He had great impact that reach beyond boxing ,hes an icon ,theres a difference between greatest and best ppl need to realize this. Based on boxing history you have to give it to him.
I'll repeat my choice ..... The Greatest Muhammad Ali !!! We were denied nearly 4 years of his absolute prime for purely political reasons. Just imagine what he would have achieved had he not been banned. As it was when he came back he was STILL one of the best. ALI !!! ALI !!! ALI!!!
Lol! It’s a little touchy when Ali gets met with any sort of criticism and not the parroted “He da greatest!” Not all of us are sheep and brainwashed and Ellerpuke doesn’t like that
That's the power of charismatic narcissists for ya. They talk such good nonsense that the gullible masses eat it up.
