Why didn’t Ali box at heavyweight in the Olympics?

Lighten up, Francis.

 

Bokaj has been on fire in this thread making simple of what some/plenty have found complicated.

 

Thank you, that’s interesting. I believe you’re 6’7” yourself? That would be a good vantage point to judge from.

I read some amateur stats a long time ago that gave Ali’s height as 6’1 1/2” - he obviously grew to be taller but the problem is I can’t remember what year the write up related to - could’ve been 1958-1959.

I’ve had a quick look at some very early pro fights - Alonzo Johnson and Alex Miteff to be specific - Ali was still only 19 but his height was announced as 6’2 1/2”. Many people hang on to that height because it’s on several of Ali’s passports (but there has been 6’3” listed on at least one passport also).

Possibly 6’2 1/2” was his last “real” height measurement but made at an age when still growing?

 

Thanks!

 

There is a lot of rounding up going on with heights in boxing. If Ali was rounded up to 6’3” it’s probably fair enough.


I wonder if it is to do with Floyd Patterson never being the genuine 6 foot? Seems like they had to add inches to everyone to make sense of his listing. The measurements of HW champions before Patterson seemed more reliable than after it.

Ali seemed to tower over Floyd more than other six footers like Liston and Ingo had. So he was well clear of over six foot.

Because of the discrepancies I bracket all under 6’4” as a six footer, All anyone can say is Ali was one of the taller six footers.

a lot of 6’1 -6’2 guys started getting listed at 6’3” and Ali looked a hair taller than say Norton and Lyle and maybe Larry.

Interestingly The military officially round up to the nearest inch so that there is no half inch measurement for anyone. So there probably is some justification for this practice.

 

Rounding up does happen, for sure.

Ken Norton in his book GOING THE DISTANCE said he was measured an exact 6’2 3/4” in the marines - even so, Ken might’ve been at the age when some further growth was possible - but likely that was his last official measurement which was rounded up to 6’3”.

Actually, I’ve read many giving Norton the slightest edge in height over Ali - but outside the ring at least, Ken wore big heels - it was the 70s after all, lol.

At any rate they both weighed in on the Carson show bare foot and they looked almost identical in height.

Old newspaper reports had Dempsey at 5’11” or 5’11 1/2”. Later, he became 6’1”-6’1 1/2” - to me, Jack generally looked a shade shorter than Tunney who was generally listed as 6’1/2”.

I don’t think they moved heaven and earth just for Floyd but certainly one fighters false height measurement can lead to other false perceptions by comparison.

Ironically, inflated stats can actually shortfall some fighters for their relative achievements - the height and reach disadvantages both Patterson and Tyson overcame being two cases in point. Both sub 6 ft and 71” reaches.

 

agree wholeheartedly. Amazing what was achieved with such visible disadvantage in height and reach.

 

Likely Ali was 1/2" under 6'3", & Bugner has been listed at 6'5".
But yeah these debates can go on forever.
On one hand mornally heights are rounded up.
OTOH sometimes measurements can be not standing at full height or early in the day...

Go to youtube & you can see a clip with Ali & Clint Eastwood (hitting a speed bag ensues) where Ali expresses admiration for Clint at 6'4" & says he is 6'2".
So that is evidence in your direction-but Ali (like Foreman in 2nd career jovial & modest mode) was not always that precise-see the clip with him & Wilt Chamberlain on Dick Cavett discussing their prospective fight, Ali exxagerates or gets the already massive wingspan wrong (more likely) by a whopping 10", 101"!

Even the 91" may be a bit of an understatement though, 'cause they measured Wilt when his arms were both hyperextended AND not parallel to his body.

 

It wasn't. Gear was available a good decade before Ali turned pro.

 

No, steroids were synthesized in 1935, but were certainly not available for the vast majority of folks-nor used recreationally OR in the west-by 1950.
They became relatively common for strength athletes Eastern bloc nations in ~ the mid '50's.
Then became at all common in the 1960's in the west.

As explained above, they were looked at askance-as was just weight training-until the 1980's.

We have to reject the unfair & ahistorical illogic that just because someone possibly could have got their hands on something-despite cohorts rarely even considering it, & rejected by those in the sport & trainers-& their being no evidence whatsoever that folks used it...

That just becase it was within the realm of *

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* that they could have attained it, that it is at all likely they did!

 

Taking steroids wasn't even frowned upon when Ali was coming through. Dr. John Ziegler the pioneer of Dianabol worked with the US olympic team that took part in the Rome games. The same games where Ali made his name. It's very naive to think Ali wasn't involved with gear.

 

Not to take it off track - but I've also questioned Terrell's 6'6" listing. I just watched his fight vs Gerhard Zech, the latter often listed as 6'5" and sometimes 6'5 1/2" at best. As best as I could tell, there was nothing to choose between them in terms of height. Methinks Ernie might well have been 6'5" or at least closer to that than 6'6".

 

Sorry man that is neither a fair nor sensible conclusion.
That one official involved with the team was involved with steroids in no way damns Ali-that is an extreme "guilt by association".
According to that logic everyone ever associated with him was using PEDs.

That it was neither frowned upon nor illegal does not show any evidence that anyone likely took it!
Especially when in one sense something strongly correlated with PEDs was deeply frowned upon-weightlifting.
It is not at ALL naive to say that is not at all convincing.
That anyone could do anything does not establish it as likely.