What was Ali`s best fighting weight?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by mark ant, Jul 15, 2019.


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  1. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    Someone just said Ali weighed 221 for his third fight with Norton, but his body looked softer in that clash than in some of his better performances, so what was his perfect fighting weight and what did he weigh during his best fights?
     
    mark ant, Jul 15, 2019
    mark ant, Jul 15, 2019
    #1
  2. Unforgiven

    Unforgiven VIP Member banned Full Member

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    212
     
    Unforgiven, Jul 15, 2019
    Unforgiven, Jul 15, 2019
    #2
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  3. scartissue

    scartissue Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I agree, 212. So many of his fights he came in right on the money at 212, which seemed to be an optimum weight until age crept in and he began coming in heavier.
     
    scartissue, Jul 15, 2019
    scartissue, Jul 15, 2019
    #3
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  4. The Undefeated Lachbuster

    The Undefeated Lachbuster On the Italian agenda Full Member

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    210ish, I agree with the top about 212
     
    The Undefeated Lachbuster, Jul 15, 2019
    The Undefeated Lachbuster, Jul 15, 2019
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  5. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    He weighed around 212-214 in his rematch with Cooper and was moving faster than I have seen him in most of his fights to stay away from getting caught with that hok again.
     
    mark ant, Jul 15, 2019
    mark ant, Jul 15, 2019
    #5
  6. Ken Ashcroft

    Ken Ashcroft Boxing Addict Full Member

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    He wasn’t anywhere close to 212-214 pounds for his rematch with Cooper in 1966. In fact he was barely over 200 pounds. He weighed 201 pounds to Cooper’s 188 pounds for that fight.
     
    Ken Ashcroft, Jul 15, 2019
    Ken Ashcroft, Jul 15, 2019
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  7. GoldenHulk

    GoldenHulk Boxing Addict Full Member

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    214 his first fight against Jerry Quarrry his sped was never better.
     
    GoldenHulk, Jul 15, 2019
    GoldenHulk, Jul 15, 2019
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  8. young griffo

    young griffo Boxing Addict Full Member

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    216.5 lbs

    It could be coincidence but two of Ali's more impressive and complete post exile performances in my view were Quarry 2 and the Rumble in the Jungle and Ali weighed in at the aforementioned weight for both.
     
    young griffo, Jul 16, 2019
    young griffo, Jul 16, 2019
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  9. Jackomano

    Jackomano Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    It depended on the opponent. But Ali did seem to be more comfortable at around 220 lbs in his early to mid 30’s, since even Pacheco admitted that during his comeback he preferred Ali over 215 lbs, since Ali by his 30’s would dangerously cut his water intake to get under 215 lbs.
     
    Jackomano, Jul 16, 2019
    Jackomano, Jul 16, 2019
    #9
  10. George Crowcroft

    George Crowcroft Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Ali of the Cleveland Williams fight, which is imo his best performance, was 212. So I'm in agreement with most
     
    George Crowcroft, Jul 16, 2019
    George Crowcroft, Jul 16, 2019
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  11. Tonto62

    Tonto62 Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    212lbs imo
     
    Tonto62, Jul 16, 2019
    Tonto62, Jul 16, 2019
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  12. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    When Ali was heavier than 216.5 it meant he hadn`t trained properly, Larry Holmes who was Ali`s sparring partner during the 70`s stated that Ali would only train for the last two weeks of his training camp before his fights at that stage.
     
    mark ant, Jul 16, 2019
    mark ant, Jul 16, 2019
    #12
  13. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    Faster than when he fought in the 60`s?
     
    mark ant, Jul 16, 2019
    mark ant, Jul 16, 2019
    #13
  14. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    You might be right, this is what I read Ali weighed for the first Cooper bout:
    35,000 spectators witnessed the first Ali-Cooper fight in the first open-air fight at Wembley Stadium in 28 years. Ali weighed 207 pounds at this time; Cooper was about 20 pounds lighter. Ali also had a 4 1/2 inch reach advantage over Cooper. Maybe that`s why Ali couldn`t take Cooper`s power in the same way he took power punches from stronger, bigger heavies later on in his career.
     
    mark ant, Jul 16, 2019
    mark ant, Jul 16, 2019
    #14
  15. Mendoza

    Mendoza Hrgovic = Next Heavyweight champion of the world. banned Full Member

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    210-215.
     
    Mendoza, Jul 16, 2019
    Mendoza, Jul 16, 2019
    #15
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