Muhammad Ali's defensive skills

Dont really need alot of defense when you have the offense Ali did...His offense was his defense

 

No i wouldn't say his offence was his defense his defense was his agility ect he didn't have a great offence though? he would dance around to not get hit a guy who's offence was his defense is like Henry Armstrong not Ali, i've never heard of offence while moving back and dodging punches, he had very bad technical defense though, in the 1st Frazier fight if he just kept his right hand a few inches higher he wouldn't of been hit with some of those lefts especially early on i mean it's not very hard to lift it up a little and protect your chin, he just didn't seem to want to do it

 

Maybe not fundamentally sound in the way he moved back to
Avoid punches, but damn effective at his best. Uncanny speed
and reflexes, check out the Foreman fight for some slipping
against the ropes.

 

It was his physical gifts that allowed him to pull that style of defense off. Some oldtimers said Jimmy Wilde had a similar style but he was a Flyweight I believe.

Ali not only had the height and coordination to avoid punches while pulling back but also an athletes anticipation. He knew every inch of the ring and he was able to use the ropes to his advantage by leaning back getting a man to reach then spinning off of them.

I think it would be more accurate to say that his defense created his offense more than anything.

 

He controlled range as well as anyone. Wonderful footwork and upperbody movement, but yeah, obviously not a guy you'd want to emulate unless you had those same freakish gifts.

 

Ali had an incredible offense. He was a punching machine, incredibly quick and accurate and he threw every punch in the book perfectly...to the head. His punches were slashing/cutting blows with enough power to do damage...he hurt iron chinned opponents like Liston and Foreman on several occasions....enough at the very least to keep them honest.

 

Great control of distance, good parrying skills, good side to side head movement. His athletic gifts obviously allowed his unorthodox maneuvers but I wouldn't say he was altogether irresponsible or unsound like some would suggest.

 

He knew how to move, had good parrying skills, clinching (70s) and good reflexes. His agility also helped. But also had technical flaws.

 

If he wasn't irresponsible or unsound in not defending from punches that he could have not been hit with simply because he did not want to lift his hand a few inches higher who's fault is it then? Dundees, Bundini Browns...

 

He took too many punches.

 

This.

 

Yes, he could have had a better guard, but let's not make it out like he was the only fighter that kept his hands low.

 

Early in his career, Ali had quick defensive reflexes, and fast footwork. Since he was the larger man in nearly every fight, he was extremely hard to catch, particularly in the opening rounds of the fight. In his second career, Ali lost the reflexes and foot speed that made him special, however he developed world class clinching skills.

Due to his unorthodox style, showboating and low guard, Ali was often open to hooks and jabs. Indeed, Frazier, Banks, and Cooper floored Ali with left hooks. Hitting Ali with jabs was accomplished at all phases of his career by Jones, Norton, Lyle, Young and Holmes.

I would say Ali had a good overall defense, but it’s also highly over rated.

 

Every fighter gets hit. Having his hands low gave him advantages in providing a false target, visibility, and throwing from a low angle out of visual range. He had the chin to compensate the few that got through.