Muhammad Ali vs Bruce Lee

I used to think Bruce was just an actor, but he was actually pretty skilled. I saw a video of him sparring and he was lightning quick. I think he can take this one if he continuously leg kicks Ali and maintains that distance between them.

 

Ali decks him once and he goes down. Ali may have had average power to somewhat above average punching power for a world class heavyweight, but I suspect that he would easily lay out an iron chinned world level welterweight, let alone a welterweight sized man that's not used to taking punches like a world class welterweight would be. Fight lasts as long as it takes Ali to land a clean punch.

 

Bruce Lee could punch through Ali’s chest wall and pull out his heart and show it to him.

Then Muhammad would beat the absolute hell out of him, take his heart back, put it in and beat on him some more until Lee was out.

All in the first 90 seconds.

But when it’s over, Lee wouldn’t have a mark on him. A karate man bruise on the inside.

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According to Bruce Lee he would Cripple Cassius Clay. According to Brad Pitt Bruce Lee would end up a stain on Cassius Clays trunks.

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They asked Bruce Lee this and he basically said “take a look at the size of me and size of Muhammad Ali”

 

Lee would have been a featherweight, not a welter.

He was a fan of Ali.

And Lee said that if you had a limited time and wanted to learn how to defend yourself, you should learn to box.

 

Ali had something like 70 pounds on Bruce. And Ali was an elite combat sport athlete. An all time great one, at that.

Bruce had a bit of sparring experience, a lot of coaching experience, a few rooftop fights and boxing matches in his hometown, and other stuff of that sort. It's like matching a prime Emanuel Steward against Ali.

Lee loses this horribly. Heck, he would lose to prime Victor McLaglen, too (in acting or fighting).

 

To be honest this Q.T movie doesn't even meke my top ten Q.T movies.

 

There were a couple boxer vs martial artist striker matches in that period. It usually ended badly for the martial artists.

Mike Quarry took part in one of them, I think.

 

Unless Lee manages to land a very vicious kick to the head and has Ali down for the count (very difficult task given Ali's incredible head movement+granite chin), Ali just picks him apart. Huge reach and height difference, and Ali is like 6 weight classes bigger with way more professional fighting experience. Might resemble the Bob Foster fight but even worse because Foster had significantly more boxing training and was much taller than Lee. Ali wasn't a very powerful puncher at HW, but when his opponent is a freaking lightweight/Jr welterweight with a slender frame, he may as well be using brass knuckles.

Better matchups might be Lomachenko whose skilled and quick but not very powerful, Henry Armstrong, Alexis Arguello, Tim Bradley, Maidana, or Juan Manuel Marquez. If Lee is allowed to kick and has a full year of sparring with a great trainer to prepare he might have a chance against those guys.

 

a lot would depend on how Ali adapts to evading kicks, and also if Lee's kick speed was on par or greater than some of the faster jabbers Ali fought, Ali would be punching down at Lee too