This is the greatest heavyweight of all time

But how many times was he stopped? Any heavy has the ability to ko another if he sets his feet and shifts his weight properly (one of the key advantages of fighting over 200lbs, if the fighter is properly trained,the weight itself will contribute to the ko,the human head can only take so much force) Ali faced some of the biggest punchers in heavy history, fighters who were well trained, who understood foot placement, leverage,timing etc yet he was stopped only once, against one of the lightest punchers he faced in Holmes. The only times Ali got caught with clean punches when in his prime was when he was clowning, and taking his opponent for granted. Yet great punchers of that era like Williams,Listonx2, Moore, etc barely touched the man(Hell,Liston couldn't hit a blind Ali from Lineament he had on his gloves) Where do you see he was caught cleanly repeatedly in his prime from 1965 to 1968? Lewis faced some very good punchers, but the best in history? Maybe, Ruddick was a very good puncher,so was Tua, Mercer, Mcall, Rahman (Tyson was totally shot by the time he faced Lewis) But so were Ali's opponents like Williams, Listion x2, Shavers,Foreman,Lyle Frazierx3, Moore. The punchers Ali faced were far more noted for their power. Their is no hate for Lewis from me. I just call it like I see it.

 

That's all good my dude, I call it like I see it to and again it's hard to argue with what you've posted, I just see it differently. I'm basing my argument on taking an actual representation of Ali's timeline as a fighter including the 3 year lay off. Like you've said, any heavy has the ability to KO anyone, but the way I see it, is that is truer today than ever before, hence why heavyweight boxing has shifted massively to what it was in Ali's day. They might not be as good technically or better 'boxers' but imagine the Ali that was fighting Young (far removed from his best of course) against a prime Rahman. I don't see how he avoids getting knocked out, but then again I didn't live through Ali's era, so I probably don't appreciate just how great he actually was. This is why comparing eras isn't always a great idea in the first place. It's nice to get your thoughts on the matter though.

 

Right on! Lewis' longevity is incredible. That being said, I don't think it's any surprise that the last 3 'great' heavyweights before the era we are currently in have been in better shape later in their careers than virtually every heavyweight champion before them. That's definitely no coincidence either when we look at some of the best fighters in the last 20 years like Mayweather, Hopkins, Pacquiao and a few others.

 

Vitali is a decent example but Grant wasn't very good and Akinwade was skinny without great physical strength or high end power.

Aside from Vitali I don't think the are comparable to the big men of today. And Vitali was not an explosive hitter despite his size.

 

Bruno,Tucker,Ruddock,Mercer,all big ,all punchers.
Lewis faced as big a collection of big punchers as anyone who has held the title.

 

They may have been considered big punchers in their day but I'm not convinced that would necessarily be the case today. I think they would be found wanting against the likes of Joyce and Joshua but that's just my opinion.

 

I think Joshua is a work in progress who still has a lot to prove before he can be ranked.

 

This is just silly, and Joyce isn't a big puncher and he is a an unproven novice anyway.

 

Sometimes, it just beggars belief.

 

Gotta be trolling or completely clueless.

 

It's hard to tell...

"they would be found wanting against the likes of Joyce"

 

Honestly the Bowl that didn't fight Golota was the only 6'4" or more heavyweight with true talent that could move and fight like a 6 ish. George had mind blowing power but mostly that. This thing of 275 is not boxing. Did bird look that bad against Vit. Is not arreola really too much for Vla? This all started with things like ex NFL Raman benching 500. Then Moseley benches double at welter. 150 and 300. Then all of them Tarver at 175 hits 400. Pablo at 168 hits 350. Whether that is true a crossfit trained person kicks either of their ass like a stamina trained superior fighter. Distances them or KOs them. Maybe a guy like George hits 400. Or could go to 5. Or Ali hit 300 perhaps. Ridiculous

 

Spell correction Bowe and Pavlik