Would Ali be too small for today's heavyweight division?

That is literally the only argument Wlad has going for him being a great so how is it a shallow point?

And who are you call my points shallow when you base Vitali's 'greatness' on non-factors like never been down and ratio of rounds won/lost- never taking into account that his run of opponents was well bellow average.

Mayweather turned pro in 96 same as Wlad. He has been #1 a lot longer than Wlad has been, in multiple weight divisions. Beating guys ranked on the P4P list , HOF'ers and ATGs.

He beat 20 world champs when they were world champs. Never beaten , never down.

How many guys ranked in the P4P did Wlad beat?

Povetkin will never enter the HOF. Byrd never beat anybody and Ike proved how he would fare in better HW era's.

I never heard you rating Mayweather as a great. I bet you would vote Wlad was greater in a duel poll. :tired:dead

 

I doubt you'd hear Wlad Klitschko himself ever state he is an ATG and could have beaten Ali (or even think it). Though, I should imagine he'll get into the IBHOF, on longevity of reign, alone.

 

You're not very good at this. In addition to being on top for 10 years, which is very rare at any level in pro boxing, Wlad achieved a high pound for pound status. Few if any heavies achieved higher!!!

He was so good in his prime, some found him boring, just like Mayweather, except Wlad tended to knock his guys out.

Only Louis and Holmes have more title defenses.

Wlad ducked no one.

Fights between currently ranked pound for pound heavyweights are very rare. Lewis, and Holmes I think had none. Tyson had none. Maybe Ali had one or two. You ask questions without even knowing the qualifications to them.

You're ignorant to say never. There are quite a few heavies in the hall that were not as good.

Then you don't pay attention. Big surprise! I have said Mayweather is an all-time great, and underrated by modern historians. In a pound for pound sense, I think he's even better than Wlad. Mayweather is likely the best pound for pound guy in the past 20 years.

The issue with Mayweather was he was very risking adverse at times, and waited for the right moments to take fights, and avoided others who might have been dangerous.


Now can we get back to Ali. Would he be too small today?

 

Don't attempt your lies on me because i'll expose them.

Wlad briefly featured on the P4P list in 2014. He very quickly got rubbed off it.
Dominated a decade and his P4P status came and went like the drop of a hat. That's entirely down to fighting nothing but cans and the Ring recognized that.

Maywaether entered the P4P list in 1999 and NEVER left it since he retied last year.

That's right. Mayweather was so boring he broke PPV records in multiple fightsatsch:nut

What's Wlads history in historic PPV's?

Mayweather- Ring Fighter Of the Year 2007.
ESPN Greatest Fighter of the Last 25 Years.
His opponents were Ring Mag fighters of the year- Pacman TWICE , Marquez , Hatton.

Awards given to Wlad - ZERO.

Wlad shamefully ducked his rematch with Corrie Sanders.

Who?

At least Mayweather used supreme skill as a defensive strategy.
Wlad fought like a human barnacle against everybody he ever met

Changing the rules so he could throw all his weight down on guys to compensate for his one dimensional skill-set. . Those guys being far lower down the totem pole than the guys Mayweather was facing which makes Wlad career FAR worse.


Mayweather never held a gigantic size advantage over anybody. This is why he drew historic numbers in throughout his career and is why Wlad got relegated to free to air channels like Eurosport.

While Wlad was getting clowned by Fury , Floyd at the same age was clowning an already established ATG.

Floyd is an ATG of this era. To put Wlad on the same list as him is a total joke.

 

How could he be too small for this era when Chris Byrd was a two time world champ?

Wlad beat a shot to bits Chris Byrd to become Champ.

If Burd could beat his brother , what do you think Ali would do Vitali?

Cruiser's Haye , Ademek, Chambers were 3 of the biggest names.

Williamson was an Ali impersonator and had the same dimensions but wasn't quarter of the boxer Ali was. He made the Klitch quit from fatigue in just 5 rounds.

 

Skill level today and the last ten so years in the hwt division is the worst in my lifetime. No hwt knows how to throw a left hook anymore. Slip punches? What does that mean?

 

I don't think anyone picked Wlad conclusively to beat Ali. I suggested only it would be a tough night for Ali. Wlad, at his best, is a very tough night for anyone who ever fought in the division. Every reasonable professional trainer has and would agree.

We're talking about prime Ali. Exactly how many fighters would you pick over that version?

 

So whats his best performance?

If he is so good , why did he plant Pulev and Fury on a movement restrictive canvas?

Lennox Lewis was standing right next to the ring shaking his head while they removed 6 inches of illegal foam before the Fury fight.

Why the need to consistently cheat and foul if he is a true ATG.

This is sport. Respect box. Not a man.

 

Why did Mayweather need a 26 FOOT ring against Maidana?

Why did Ali need loose ropes in Zaire?

One could go on and on and on...

 

If I'm honest, I think even a post-exile Ali runs rings round Wlad - even with Klitschko at his best (whatever/whenever that could be considered to have been). Early '70s Ali, even then, still demonstrated a combination of agility, reflexes, hand-speed and an armoury of punches not seen in any fighter, during Wlad's reign.

How hard a night could Wlad have given a Fighter; the likes of which he'd not even come close to seeing before (let alone a pre-exile version of Ali)?

 

Ali did not need loose ropes in Zaire. Ropes were loose because the ring was an 18 footer and the only ropes they had were designed for a 20 ft ring. Nothing to do with Ali. Nothing to do with Ali's management.

Ali at his best from 1964 to 1975 handles Wlad EASILY. Wlads style is reminiscent of the Amateur Russian hwts from the 70's we all laughed at. Stiff, straight up, no head movement....a walking statue. Take away his PEDS and Wlad is a very tall lanky 220 pounder. So let's bring him back to the 70's without PEDS and see if he lasts 6 rounds with Ali.

 

John. Sorry you have zero clue. I grew up in the best NY and NJ gyms. I frequent gyms all over the world now. The skill level and knowledge of boxing skill today su..s. Very hard to find a good trainer today. Back in the 60's and 70's you could walk into any gym and find 6-10 excellent trainers. There is no comparison whatsoever.

 

Correction.

There have been a lot of Heavyweights with fast hands since the 70's. There has NEVER been one with the footwork of pre exile Ali. Unorthodox though that footwork might have been.

 

Ali's jab was measured to be faster than SRR. No hwt had quicker punches than prime Ali.