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

wlad would look totally handicapped if he ever got in the ring with Muhammad or anyone remotely close to his calibre.

 

No short punches ,no inside game, but he has begun to use the uppercut more.

 

We saw how well Wlad coped with movement against Fury.atsch

 

Using the keyword TODAY, I would say somewhat. The division is in transition, with Wlad being 40, and the other " champions " being un-proven. Post 1974, I think Ali is in trouble TODAY. Pre 1973, not so much.

Ali had trouble with good / quick jabbers at all stages of his career ( Jones, Norton, Lyle, Young, Holmes ). He would need to press the action ( Ali preferred people to come to him ) to be successful vs. the likes of Wilder, Joshua, Klitschko and Fury...all very tall men who know how to use their jab and size.

Ali's best weight ranged from 210-215. 220+ he was slower and had less stamina, and since he really wasn't a big puncher moving him to 220-230 would take away from his best stuff.

If we are talking the 1990-2010 Ali in some trouble vs the better super heavies in Lewis, Bowe, and Klitschko. Holyfield a similar sized guy ( with a better offense and power ) is 1-4 on fair cards with Bowe and Lewis. Ali would win more than one, I think, but would lose his share too vs the same fighters.

 

I never met Muhammad Ali however, I did stand next to his wax replica which took measurements from every part of his body. He had about an inch on me, so 6'3" sounds about right, but his hair in the replica could have added a small amount to his height. Ali had big legs, big forearms, and a large head.

Ali's height of 6'3" reach of 78" is better than some champions who succeeded him, however, there has been a quantum leap upward in the size of the division sine 1990.

I used to think reach mattered more than height. Now, I'm not so sure! Shorter guys in the heavyweight division are better off being aggressive power hitters today. The shorter smaller boxers without power even the best ones are being pushed out of the top rankings. It's not a trend anymore, it's a fact.

Ali. 6'3, 78" reach.

Ali gives up 3 " in height and reache to Wlad. And he gives up 30 pounds in weight.

Ali gives up 4" in height and 5" in reach to Wilder. He only 15 pounds in weight.

Ali gives up 3" in height and 4" in reach to Joshua. And he gives up about 25 pounds in weight.

Ali gives up 6" in height and 7" in reach to Fury. He gives up 30 pounds in weight to an in shape Fury.



Could Ali out jab the above fighters? Hard to say since all but Wlad are unproven. Ali could not out jab Norton, Lyle or Young. Maybe the 60's Ali could. Then again he had issues with Doug Jones, who was smaller and a decent jabber.

Ali did out jab Terrell, but Terrell looked slow in that fight and had an eye injury and lacked speed, power, and weight of the above men. Liston also looked slow and was shorter.

Conclusion: If the boxer had speed, reach, and power in his jab, the films show Ali has issues. And in his time he pretty much had the edge in height and reach vs. almost everybody.

 

Good breakdown and well balanced.

 

Who hasn't?

But even so, you oversimplify. The two best combinations of speed and teach Ali encountered belonged to Terrell and Bugner. Ali didn't have a problem with either.

Foster actually had one of the best jabs Ali encountered, although no real power at HW. I know you claim Foster out jabbed Ali, but I disagree. Ali countered Foster's jabs with left hooks almost at will. He also countered the long, quick jabs of Terrell and Bugner, making them hesitant to use it (especially Terrell).

And, yes, Terrell claims that he received an eye injury from Ali's thumb, but there's no footage to support it and I think you should be careful at taking someone who was epically humiliated at face value when explaining that defeat. Fighters always have excuses when losing. Especially when being made to look very bad.

 

But my answer to the thread would be "yes". I think Ali would find it harder in today's division if you transport him from the 60's.

But it is interesting to note that he had relatively little trouble with his biggest/tallest opponents in his own day.

 

All stages of his career then proceeds to list 4 out of 5 when he was past his prime.The other,[Jones]
was pre-prime.and he gave Ali problems because he retained a light heavyweights speed and sometimes led with his right ,not because of his jabatsch
He didn't have any trouble with the two best jabbers of his time Liston and Terrell.

 

i'd pick ali over every active hw.

 

The elephant in the room is that Ali was just far more talented than anyone competing today.

 

I disagree, if anything fighters from that era would have an easier time if transported to this era. Reason being Ali and most fighters from then were well schooled. For instance They didn't have to think of throwing the jab at an opening it was instinctive. It was done so many times in the gym it was a instinctive action. If the fighters today were trained well and facturing their size advantages then of course it would be a different story. But the skill level then was far and away much better.

 

Bojaj,

Terrell was slow vs Ali. The photos of his eye after the fight look pretty bad.

Bugner, hardly interested in doing what he needed to do to make it a fight

I forgot about Foster. Yes, a blown up light heavy who was pretty much stopped by anyone decent at heavyweight cut Ali with his jab. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

 

At what age?

I think Kovalev and Ward is more talented than ANYONE in the heavyweight divison too. Doesn't mean they can beat much taller, bigger and harder punchers who also had jabs and skills.

Fury, Joshua and Wilder might have glass jaws, but so did Norton vs puncher's and Ali couldn't dent his chin in three fights. Just saying...

 

Terrell looked slow against the fastest HW ever on one of his best nights. Schocker.

As is the fact that his eye looked bad after 15 rds of punishment.

And you don't think Bugner was interested in winning by far the most important fights of his career? You think he was uninterested in the fame and fortune a win over Ali would mean, or do you think he perhaps found Ali a difficult opponent?

Fighters rarely look their best when facing much superior opponents.