Which fights would prove that "67 Ali" was unbeatable against anyone in history ?

No one is unbeatable, the only 2 fighters I'd put close to that level were Ray Robinson at welterweight and Duran at lightweight.

 

Liston fight above all. That was an incredible performance against a VERY dangerous opponent. 67 Ali is just a better version of that Ali, so that's why I rate him so highly.

 

The Liston I fight, and the Folley and Terrell were pretty damn impressive as well.

But yeah, the Sonny above all. Though proving his birthdate is slippery, It's a fairly safe presumption that Liston wasn't quite 34 at the time of the fight, so no really sure he much (if at all) past his prime. More than a few of the fights he had after Ali seem to indicate he was still absolutely no joke, so there's that.

 

The Williams and London fights were absolutely insane..

 

I do not think personally that peak 1967 would have lost to any of the heavyweights that he faced in the 1970's and lost to. Sure, Muhammad Ali would have defeated Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, and Leon Spinks but not by a blowout of any kind. Those two, Frazier and Norton would have been enormously competitive. In 1967 at age 25, Ali had speed, reflexes, stamina, and footwork, also he had a huge chip on his shoulder due to the racism he had to endure, remember the 1960's was during the early stages of Civil Rights and our citizens did not want a meaningless war in which many brave men and women were either maimed or killed because of political interest. Ali of 1967 would have decisioned both Frazier and Norton, Ali was never a hard knockout puncher. Ali would have outsmarted a very raw Leon Spinks in 1978. Remember in 1967, there was not the use of Rope A Dope in Ali's arsenal, only in sparring or clowning around, Ali could move for 15 rounds if need be, but as another talented poster has posted, no one is unbeatable.

 

This.
To me, Terrell was the biggest threat to Ali's primacy he ever faced and he handled Ernie with ease. Folley was old, Williams was a shell, London was a only a mid-level contender at best. Chuvalo was a significant win. George was tough and at his best at the time. The Patterson win was almost as impressive as the Terrell fight, but it wasn't a "pure" piece of evidence because of Floyd's back injury. I can't remember when in the fight he claimed the injury occurred. These are just musings on my part. I was really convinced, though, of Ali's greatness after he took Terrell apart.

 

As compared to some of his later fights in the 60s, I think Ali’s performance in the first Liston fight is somewhat underrated.

While his natural gifts were well on display, Ali also did a lot “by the book” in that fight - and more so than in any fight that followed.

I would choose the first Liston fight and the Chuvalo and Terrell fights as the best grab of performances to exemplify Ali being all that he could be - forming his “best” case against most other HWs in history.

 

There are no fights, in and of themselves, which prove any fighter is unbeatable. I do believe 1966/67 Ali is about as unbeatable as any heavyweight could be. Like @Reinhardt, I believe welterweight Ray Robinson and lightweight Roberto Duran are about the most unbeatable any fighter could be. I never saw Robby fight but I saw a good amount of Duran fights when they happened and there are no fights that would prove him unbeatable either.

It is a cumulation of fights watched and the underrated but all-important eye test which really dictates an opinion about a fighter. Bud Crawford is a great example. His resume, while better than his detractors would claim, is not star laden. However, you only have to watch Crawford fight once or twice to see how special he is.

 

A good post Fogger.

 

Thank you, Richard.

 

You welcome my friend.

 

I know..what more do I or could I want?

BUT I wished Ali punched a bit more to the body.

I know Ali was more enamoured with the art of the head shot and greater attention to the body might’ve also perhaps put his pretty face at greater risk (lol).

Just citing the Terrell fight as one case in point - I think Ali could’ve got Ernie out of there with more body work - not just for the damage it would cause in itself but for the purpose of bringing Terrell’s acutely high guard down.

IIRC, Ali had Terrell in pretty bad shape in round 7(?), sending him teetering to the ropes. That shaky moment only seemed to strengthen Terrell’s resolve to survive and shell up like a turtle even more so.

Besides all that, Ali’s maintained movement and punching through 15 rounds was something else.

Ironically, over his whole career, the target area Ali showed the most relative disdain for (the body) was also the same target area for which he upheld his own greatest resilience (along with his chin) as compared to other fighters.

I’ll never forget Norton’s quoted words which were, more or less: “Hitting Ali to the body was like hitting a slab of concrete.”