Who beats prime Ali?

Why don't you wear some earplugs and go play on the train tracks.

 

Prime Henry Cooper!

 

A better way to look at this, is to ask which potential opponents would pose the most serious threat to him:

Swarmers
Joe Frazier would always have been a stylistic nightmare for him. I also think that Marciano might have beaten him for stylistic reasons. Other pressure fighters might also have posed a risk.

Punchers who used pressure behind the jab
Ken Norton employed this tactic to good effect, and it is possible to imagine somebody like Louis, Liston, Lewis or Wlad doing it, with a near perfect fight plan.

Fighters who made him work on the front foot
Ali was very effective against anybody who came after him, but when somebody ran from him he seemed a little lost. Maybe, just maybe, somebody like Gene Tunney, Tommy Loughran, Billy Conn, or Joe Walcott could have frustrated and outpointed him.

 

Prime federal government.

 

Still using stfu? LMFAO!!!

 

This is what I was thinking to, only better put! But Liston? The concensus here seems to be that Liston was passed his prime when they fought, I think that is unfair to Ali. Liston was the champion, he had destroyed Pattersson and was considered unbeatable. Anyway, I think footwork is one of the keys to beating Ali, you don't need to be as fast as him of course (who was?), but fast enough to keep up and good enough to cut the ring. Liston was lacking in that area.

 

I'm stooping to your level but as usual it's over your head. Try to keep up. It's par for the course with your inventive posts.

Tyson was fed Ali clones since his inception. With all the clones following in Ali's footsteps, Cus saw this and knew which heavyweight style would flood the scene throughout the 80's. So Cus got lucky and was introduced to Big Head Mike at an early age, thus finding his answer to the fleet footed boxer. He knew a thing or two about Ali's style, I would think. If anyone would be considered the favorite over Ali in a prime battle head to head, it would by Tyson. Cus taught his boy well.

 

Wlad might be the one I'd give Ali the least chance against. Vitaly might actually be the second.

 

Langford, Johnson and Dempsey are terrible shouts. You haven't even seen a frame of Langford fighting and just about every second we have of Johnson footage suggests he'd have absolutely no defence against Ali's double, triple jab and combos. It would make the Williams fight seem competitive.

Dempsey at least had head movement, but chasing Ali with hands at your waist isn't really ideal.

Tyson would give Ali his hands full definitely, though, and Vitaly and Wlad I both favor against Ali.

 

Why Vitali? I can see the argument for Wlad boxing behind his jab and using his good footwork, but Vitali with his hands held low and his more agressive tough-guy style seems more suited to Ali, although the size would clearly be a problem.