Who are some boxers that could have beaten Ali in his prime or at least get close?

Well no one (or very few) on this forum think anyone could ever beat pre exile Ali...

I think Frazier & Marciano beat him
And Holmes/Lewis are 50/50
And many of the top 15-20 are live dogs

 

Marciano...

(runs away)

 

Maybe a fighter Ali couldn´t impose his reach on, like:

- Wlad
- Lewis
- Bowe
- Joshua
- Wilder
- Godzilla Douglas

Of course a fighter who was made to beat jabbers, with probably the highest combined amount of power and speed: Tyson

Maybe a very quick slickster who could match Ali technically: Spinks or Byrd

And, before you guys laughing, this one would be an absolute stunner to watch! Never ever would two 210lb man in a boxing ring speed it up like this: The dancing destroyer Herbie Hide against the shuffler.
This guy was superb, but vulnerable against raw power. With Ali, there isn´t that much power coming to fear for his mandible. On the other hand, Hide could step up to Alis quickness with the difference, that he was much better offensively than Ali was. I believe this one might be a teriffic fight.

Marciano? The only thing Marciano could do against Ali was carrying power into the championchip rounds.....against a fellow who is well known for gassing late....................not!

 

To beat Ali between 65 and 68 , the opponent had to have great foot speed, great jab, great and short left hook. Prime Frazier, prime Holmes,prime Tyson. Frazier had the foot speed and hook, so did Tyson, Holmes had the jab, . Those would be my 3 choices.

 

You saying he had slow feet?

 

But he had the jab, possibly the best in Heavyweight history . And what Holmes did best (That jab) could pose a serious problem for prime Ali. A great jab can offset what Ali did best ( foot speed,reflexes, his own jab) force him to do what he did to other fighters, make them reset their offense.

 

Yeah and a prime Holmes wouldn’t have been caught by Coopers left hook the way Ali was. Maybe Ali was kinda clumsy as well as he got caught by lefts as he moved?

 

I take it you're not a fan of Ali.

 

Cant deny his greatness. I had him at number one in a H2H heavyweight list on another thread ahead of Holmes,Tyson and Lewis but that don’t mean that I think he’s perfect in all aspects of the boxing game in terms of skills, styles and effectiveness. He’s has weaknesses and faults as well but some here at times don’t seem to see that at all.