Would a prime Ali have knocked out Gassiev?

No but he'd outbox him relatively comfortably

 

This right here...

 

No. Ali's KO record against 215+ lbs opponents was abysmal, despite bigger HW's largely being carthorses in those days. If you weren't a bum, LHW/small cruiser or shot (figuratively or literally) Ali had very little KO threat. If you had a good chin and engine, Ali wasn't stopping you. Even if you were suspect in one of those departments, an Ali stoppage still wasn't likely. If skinny as he was against Cooper, Ali would have been on his bike for the whole fight trying to avoid being KO'd. If fatter as he was against Foreman, he would have turtled on the ropes and taken a consistent battering.

 

No.

 

He regularly came in 205-213, Gassiev regularly came in 210-215. Usyk regularly came in 205-210, same for Dorticos.

 

Ali's prime was spent in exile, but if he had been allowed to fight between 25 and 28, he was weighing in between 210 and 215.

Cruiser limit used to be 190...it is now 200.

 

Muhammad was very skinny when he chopped up Henry Cooper in a title defense on May 21 1966, there was no knockdowns but Henry received 14 stitches, TKO 6. I believe Ali was something like 206 lbs for that fight, Ali glided around Cooper, he took Henry's left hook with no problem, Ali was never a puncher. But Ali did not need Modern (Steroids) Nutrition like these overweight fighters of today, but you are young and admire size and weight. I admire fighters who looked in shape, minus Modern Nutrition. Different strokes for different folks.

 

LHW Cooper had paper-thin skin and a KO ratio of 49% against LHW and small cruiser opponents. Yet he managed to all but spark Ali, who needed the bell and DQ worthy chicanery from the corner to save him. When Ali had an extra 10-15 lbs of fat on him he was much more durable and stopped getting dropped.

Steroids weren't really in vogue back then, though I've heard that Ali took PED's in the 2nd half of his career. There are HW's today who look in far better shape than anyone in those days, such as AJ, Wlad and Wilder. There are also many HW's who carry large amounts of body fat, which has many advantages. Aesthetics aren't very important because the heavyweight division (which is inherently about great size and weight) isn't a bodybuilding contest. If top HW's would perform better if they were lighter, that's what they would typically do to gain an edge.

 

Maybe not ko him, but I think he could stop him on cuts. Ali was great at twisting his glove on faces at high speeds to split his opponents open.

 

This size thing is over rated....Mike Tyson was relatively small still knocks out all these so called Monster Heavyweights around at the moment....

 

But you judge fighters of yesteryear by today's standards, I have been watching boxing since 1965, I saw Muhammad Ali fight since the first fight against Floyd Patterson. I judge the fighters from the standards of what they fought by. You and I differ, which like I posted, different strokes for different folks. I do not care for Steroid induced large flabby fighters, no one can naturally put on weight or grow to jolly green giant proportions naturally, I was not born yesterday. I really do not pay much attention or easily impressed by the current crop of heavyweight divas, just like you are not impressed by the heavyweights of my era. I like to watch the littler weight guys, they fight, they do not like to leave anyone in suspense of when they are going to fight like a weekly soap opera.

 

Are you sure? Ali was 201 for the rematch, Henry Cooper was 188. I saw it live on ABC's Wide World Of Sports on May 21 1966, I saw it on television with my Dad and Uncle. The fight before against George Chuvalo on March 29 1966, Ali weighed at his heaviest 214 lbs.