Prime Ali vs prime Holmes?

That's a bunch of bull****. He was never superman. He didn't have good enough defense to ever be unbeatable. If he had better skills, he would've fared much better in his 30's (see Hopkins and Floyd).

I do pick prime Ali to beat Holmes. Post-exile Ali, never.

 

:roll:

 

'IF' they meet prime for prime then Larry never would of been SPARRING and studying a PRIME Ali YEARs before he fought Ali,,,unless the time travel dudes rigged it up so Holmes could keep his former experience Sparring and studying Ali while Larry came into his Prime.

However, even if we allow for this time travel allowing Larry to be in his prime with the EXTRA many years he experienced and learnt from, well I still say that Ali beats Holmes, not a blow out by any means,,, however, Ali's speed when Holmes was learning was at its greatest and going down, this is a EASIER adjustment then one in his prime putting his speed and timing together as he did as Cassius Clay,,,,

That said, don't think I am a Cassius Clay fan boy or a Holmes hater as I am both and neither in ways, Plus I think that Lennox Lewis would of beaten Ali because of Range/Size/Angles/Holding/etc and all that boxer's and boxing trainers have learnt what works when challenging superior speed and mobility when armed with EXTRA height , size and strength.

So don't go thinking I really give a crap about who would win based on who they were to me, I liked them both, Holmes was kinda dumb but smart as hell in other ways,,, that freaking jab was like a octopus using a boat oar to poke into your face,,,,i don't think Ali would come out of this fight without a sore face, I simply think that in his prime the Ali SPEED factor would rush into the danger zone with Homes with greater, well SPEED and the CONFIDENCE that comes from LIVING LIVE in this greater speed,,,thus I could see Cassius wacky Holmes with some solid stinging shots and Holmes having to regroup to deal with being hit,,,,,I could see Larry regrouping well and looking at Ali,,,then I could see Ali essentially telepathically saying to Holmes, "I am going to do that to you again right here and right now" , then I could see Ali mostly doing it and repeating that over and over on and off throughout the fight and coming out with a win at the end.

Maybe I am wrong. Whatever, both great fighters, Ali was a SHELL of what he was prior when they met, ok not a SHELL, but he was not as GOOD as hard as that maybe to accept. As Cassius Clay he did a few GHOST like things in the RING,,, some Roy Jones Jr stuff, that Sugar Ray stuff, both Sugars I mean, lol, His speed was such that either a combo of body speed multiplied by mental speed in using that body speed or whatever, Cassius Clays speed was so great that if you had not sparred or fought with him before the NATURAL adjustment period to figure out in a 15 round fight with Clay bounding around like a clown using bluffs all night to mess with your timing, well it would be a HANDICAP for anyone,,, sure maybe by the 7th round you figure out that you have don't have to DUCK/FLINCH so far when Clay bluffs you that you no longer look like such a IDIOT, however, that may not mean too much depending, lol, thus I say Cassius beats Holmes prime for prime not just because of his better speed but because of his better way of utilizing that better speed the very first time that Holmes ever faced it at Ali's PRIME.

Not that Holmes was not Fast, Larrys Jab was as fast as Ali in my mind. They both were in those speeds of they are just going to hit you even if its a glancing blow,,, and yeah Holmes right was very fast as well, however, Cassius and even Ali for a time had OVERALL speed, his agility was off the charts,, plus he was very out of the box using ways of focusing by showcasing to his opponent how his SPEED was too much for their TIMING to overcome,,,

so yeah,

 

Ali fared well in his 30's. He beat Foreman at 32. That Ali beats Holmes. The reason the mid to later 30's Ali went downhill was from all the ring wars. Ali fought everybody and they all came to take away Ali's title and fought very hard. Ali took much punishment as the years rolled by and then by 1977 was already showing signs of P.D. which further slowed him.

 

There is no way Zaire Ali beats Holmes. Ali took advantage of a poorly developed fighter in Foreman. Holmes would be hell for that Ali and Ali would lose the battle of jabs by a landslide.

 

Bet on Holmes then. The Zaire Ali was too much for Holmes.

 

Show me where I can bet.

 

In imagination land.