The Speed of Post Exile Ali

You need to watch Ali-Quarry 2. That's the closest version of Ali to his pre-exile version.

Yes, he was still very fast in 71-73.

By 1975 he has slowed noticeably, and by 1977-78 his speed and reflexes were gone.

 

Was nowhere near the speed of pre exile Ali.

 

Certainly Still Very quick... when he wanted to be, But the Quicksilver young man had become a fully mature Man, so a loss of that Twitch-fibre instinctive Speed was inevitable, but more than compensated for in that Mature man Physical strength, so a still fast boxer, he could afford to lose some, but backed up and compensated for, Ali's hand speed seemed to diminish less obviously, His dismissal of Lyle and opening up on Quarry and Patterson in their 2nd fights highlighted this,

Also one mus remember that the Post exile Ali did have a roadshow mentality on many occassions and did not a full effort, saved for Joe Frazier Perhaps, ?

 

In addition to the movement, don't forget the holding.

He got that aspect down perfectly for the Frazier rematch. :yep

 

What little speed Ali may have lost as a result of aging from 26 to 29 was more than made up for by the gain in strength and toughness, both mentally and physically.

I've always thought Ali actually reached a peak for the most important fight of his career, that being the FOTC. Otherwise, he probably doesn't see the 15th round that night.

 

And then Ali beat the physically and mentally stronger 29 and 30 year old Frazier, to settle once and for all who was the better man.:smoke

Ali was still the fastest HW around until the mid 70's. After Frazier II he lost a part of his remaning foot speed, after Foreman a bit of his reflexes and fluidity and after Frazier III most of his hand speed. Which actually was the speed he retained the longest imo. He still had really fast hands in Manilla.

After that not only his speed and stamina but also his coordination and balance were noticeable declined compared to the first half of the 70's. And even then his speed, stamina, agility and coordination was some way below what it had been in the 60's.

 

"And then Ali beat the physically and mentally stronger 29 and 30 year old Frazier, to settle once and for all who was the better man.:smoke" Bokaj





:nono

Come on, you know better than that.

Joe clearly declined post-FOTC, with the ongoing eye and blood pressure troubles. I wonder if diabetes was playing a role at that point, too.

Plus, his interest in boxing waned since he conquered Ali. Less of a joy of combat thing and more of a bottom line business thing. He was more interested in his music at that point.

 

I dont believe Ali beat Frazier in the rematch.

 

The second fight was an inconclusive nothing. The referee ruined it and they weren't allowed to truly fight.

 

I saw rematch and the rubber match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier on closed-circuit television. In the rematch, it was Frazier who was not allowed to fight because Ali got away with far too much holding without Referee Tony Perez clamping on such infractions for the most part. In the rubber match, it was clear that Referee Carlos Padilla was determined to prevent excessive holding by Ali right from the beginning, resulting in a far more memorable fight than the comparatively dull rematch.

- Chuck Johnston

 

Ali-Quarry II - Definitely. Plus Norton II,Frazier II and the Foreman fight. Okay,he did n't use his dancing feet much in the latter one but his handspeed was still amazingly fast at this point in time.

 

Agreed. Manilla was the last time we saw that incredible handspeed. If he'd kept it for a few more years,the likes of Evangelista,Shavers and Spinks would n't have gone the distance.

 

It wasn't just about hand speed though. Ali pre exile took a fraction of the shots of the post exile version because his footwork, and ability to " float " had declined noticeably.