Was Ali's level of athleticism for a HW boxer unprecedented at the time?

They actually do share a similar style! Agreed Mark.

 

Top post Shay. Pre exile Ali was something else.

 

I'm not sure, but I'm curious if there was any boxer who weighed 280 pounds and could do a backflip like Joe Joyce and still fight at one pace for 12 rounds..

 

Peak Ali from 64-67 did not get hit anywhere near as much as the later version.

 

i am sure John L would have beaten Ali in a booze drinking contest but nowhere else.

 

People confused speed and unnecessary movement with overall athletic talent. He was freakish in his speed, but bounced for little reason. Jack Johnson was an example of a significantly more coordinated big man. Not as fast, granted. But speed without coordination is Andre Berto. Ali and Andre? P4P, very similar. Much like George Foreman and Yuri Foreman (no relation).

 

Please explain why YOU think his movement was unnecessary?

 

He's trolling a bit. Or yanking your chain. Whichever sounds better.

 

Almost assuredly he was a better sprinter. Certainly a better lifter. He certainly had the explosive fast twitch muscle make up.

 

Yes, put either of them in a decathlon type competition (OK, skip the pole vault) and Jeffries and Sullivan would come out on top.

 

Descriptions of prime Sullivan are similar to those made of Dempsey and Tyson. Speed, balance and power were his main assets. Of course we have no actual footage. I haven't seen footage of Jeffries, outside of training clips, that demonstrate anything more than brute strength and determination.

 

That’s got a lot to do with who he was fighting

 

Hey let them fight in a no holds barred bout in a barn and let’s see who wins too… Sullivan… the answer is Big John L… the super athlete.

 

Oh, come on, buddy. It's me you're talking to. I been to Georgia on a fast train, and I wasn't born no yesterday. Watch James Toney, then watch Ali. The unnecessary expenditure of energy on things that can be rolled with and blocked in the pocket may make you look more athletic to some if you're fleet of foot but to a trained eye, he just doesn't have the coordination to fight in the pocket the way many athletically gifted boxers do. You don't waste energy you don't have to. But he has to. What he has in speed he unfortunately lacks in coordination.

Why does everyone jump right to trolling and completely bypass insanity?