Sam Langford vs Muhammad Ali

About right ...

 

Just about how I see this.

 

It is styles ... Langford was a short guy ... 5'6" or 5'7" or so ... he had a very long reach for the height at 74", was very strong, fast, durable and likely the hardest pound for pound puncher that ever lived. The list of heavyweight opponents who said not one ever hit them harder, from Wills to Smith to Flynn goes on and on ... however, as always, styles make fights ... the men who troubled him most at heavyweight used hieight , reach and a very good left jab .. Wills was a perfect example. Flynn, weak chin and all, was able to use his height and reach to give Sam fits ... even McVey in their initial encounters was very difficult because of his good jab ...

I see Sam being able to excel at heavyweight against the 200 and under class that came at him to fight ... the Tommy Burns, the Dempseys, the Marcianos, maybe even a Frazier ... however he was too small to slug with a Liston, Foreman or Tyson and too small to deal with an Ali, Holmes, Lewis ... great fights for him at heavyweight would be Charles, Tunney, Sharkey, Schmeling ... guys that could box and punch ...

 

It doesn't surprise me that Ali is picked as the clear favourite against Sam here. His height, weight and reach makes the fight seem tough on Sam when you factor in Ali's hand and foot speed.

What we can't measure and when trying to compare the two fairly is live speed and live eyes on the ring action. Is there anyone on this forum who witnessed a Sam Langford fight? You would be hard pressed to believe that anything would be easy for Ali if you were in the same circle of people who were lucky to see them both fight. Definitely a winnable fight for Ali but a tough one at the same time.

At his best he would give every heavyweight a fight they would never forget while handing out a whuppin' at the same time. The man packed a pretty ferocious punch and came from an era where endurance to go 20 rounds was the standard. Foreman, Liston, Lewis, and either Klitschko wouldn't scare Sam. The films don't give Sam justice of any kind. The difference in technology is beyond compare really. This in itself is the main reason why being witness to both fighters is significant in making an honest judgement on what would happen between the two in a fight.