Out of the following: Gene Tunney Ezzard Charles Tommy Loughran Jersey Joe Walcott Jack Sharkey Max Schmeling Harry Wills
My initial gut reaction is Charles as the most, but then it's like does he actually do any better than Patterson
In order of the toughest down to the least toughest - Charles Walcott Tunney Wills Schmelling Sharkey Loughran I would still favour Muhammad over them all though. Ali v Charles would have skill popping out in abundance.
There is no ,,,most likely to beat Ali in this crowd. Charles may be the most skilled of the bunch but he simply can't beat him.
1. Charles 2. Walcott (could even inverse this for a young Ali) Big Drop off 3. Schmeling 4. Tunney Another Big Drop off 5. Wills 6. Sharkey 7. Loughran
All of them slim to none... And slim left for the day. And if they dreamed they could beat prime Ali, they need to wake up and apologize.... But seriously Charles , Walcott, and Tunney could frustrate Ali for a few rounds until he figures out their rhythm or style. Then he'd tattoo them. The rest not in the same ball park as far as skill level and athleticism.
I think that all of them have something to trouble him. Yes they would all be underdogs, but I could probably come up with a fight plan for any of them to make it a good fight.
Sorry J. I'm usually right with you in opinions But the only way you could make any of those fights interesting, is using the versions of Ali from 75-76 on through the end of his career. But prime Ali ( 65-68) and the version that came after until about 1974 beats the hell out of any of those fighters if he's in shape and motivated.
H2H Schmeling is clearly the best one here. Best speed/power/size/skills combo. Tunney and Charles follow after. Walcott gets knocked down a bit because while he was a great counter puncher, he wasn't as good as pushing the action as the guys above him, and given that Ali wouldn't be looking to lead, this could make it hard for Walcott. Of course, this will also make it challenging for Ali as both guys will be looking to counter punch, but I still value the superior aggression of the guys above to win more points. I don't know enough about Wills to rank him. Schmeling Tunney Charles Walcott Sharkey Loughran
