Ali was good, worthry of being in the boxing hall of fame, but not the Greatest of all time!!! I'm so sick of hearing that he was so great. I've watched all his fights he wasn't that great! Half the people he fought looked like uncoordinated retards. The heavyweight division was weak in his prime during the 60's. Aside from Liston and an aging Floyd Patterson. Joe Louis was a greater heavy weight than Ali. The thing that made Ali great to so many people is the fact that he was huge into the civil rights movement which was a HUGE issue back then. That's what made him such a champion for everyone struggling for civil rights. People superimposed this onto his boxing career which gave them a biased opinion of him. Yea sure he won the title 3 times. Holyfield won it more than that, does that make him the greatest now???? A lot of fighters could win the title 3 times if they stay in the game long enough.
2006-12-22 05:30:43 · 17 answers · asked by Bunz 5 in Sports ➔ Boxing
I do! I could'nt agree more with you!
BTW Jam123, Joe Louis didn't retire undefeated and it was "The Brown Bomber" not the Chicago Bomber. That was Rocky Marciano who retired undefeated the one and only to do so. Louis' record is 69W (55KO) 3L 0D.
2006-12-22 05:56:02 · answer #1 · answered by dudeman612 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You answered your own question. Aside from being the greatest heavyweight ever he was a great speaker for race relations. There is nothing wrong with that. For those of you who said he was a draft dodger you are right but he stood up for what he believed in and lost 3 years of his career when he was quick as hell. He was found not guilty by the U. S. Supreme court. Leave the man alone he paid his price. What condition would he be in today if he could have avoided more punishment? He wasn't as quick when he came back. Watch his fights before and after the lay off. He had to change his style and he was still great but he got hit alot more.
2006-12-22 22:05:17 · answer #2 · answered by gman 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Muhammad Ali is the greatest boxer ever. He beat the best of the best and he did it with Parkinsons. If Muhammad Ali hadn't had Parkinsons he probably would've never lost any of his last fights.
"I say that George Foreman was the greatest."
Muhammad Ali knocked George Foreman out in 8 rounds when George Foreman was 25 years old, in his prime.
In terms of technique and how many boxing greats he beat, Muhammad Ali was the best. He could punch while running backwards! How many boxers could do that? He beat the best. He beat Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Sonny Liston, Ken Norton, Ron Lyle, Floyd Patterson, Archie Moore, and he beat them all more than once. If you can find anyone else who did this, name them. If you can find anyone who could beat Ali in his prime, name them. The 1960s and the 1970s were the best years ever for the heavyweight category (just look at the boxers) and Muhammad Ali beat them all.
2006-12-22 09:29:46 · answer #3 · answered by LaissezFaire 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
LOL! Ali never embarresed himself untill the very end of his career. He beat all the best boxers of his era as well as some hard fought losses. I remember a good heavyweight that Ali beat named Ernie Shavers. While Shavers could barely crack the top 10 during the 70's, I would bet the ranch he would destroy the current top heavyweights that clutter the division. If you want to talk over-rated, throw out Mike Tyson's name. The guy never beat anyone except the retreads who were afraid of him before they ever stepped into the ring. Anytime he faced someone who was not afraid, he ran into big trouble. You are only as good as the talent you beat and Ali beat some of the best. You may not like him or you make think someone else is better but that does not mean he should not be considered one of the greatest boxers ever.
2006-12-22 08:29:06 · answer #4 · answered by k_silver67 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's not easy to make other great fighters look like
uncoordinated retards. Maybe you should step up and try.
Was Frazier a uncoordinated retard??He could take you now.
Ali will always be the Greatest!! Your right not just for boxing.
He stepped up in the face of government, in the face of everything, and helped the American people (Black and White) pick their faces up out of the embarrassing Vietnam dirt.
Helped soldiers of the day start to have respect for themselves and their country again.
Walk proudly young man you are in the presents of greatness.
Trust those of us that were there, That was no little fight.
He will always be an American Hero.........The Greatest!!
2006-12-22 11:11:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
overrated? mr. bunz i suggest you re-familiarize yourself w/both boxing and american history! i cannot possibly improve on the responses so eloquently laid out by brent and several others. ali dominated the richest, most diverse period in boxing history and triumphed before and after his prime - just think how great he would've been considered had he actually fought during those years. the true mark of his legacy was the style he created that so many others copied from sugar ray leonard to roy jones to so many others; the practice of religious and racial self awareness and self-pride and trash-talkin' that can be seen echo'd in the greatest subsequent atheletes from jabbar/alcinder to reggie jackson to jordan and beyond. as for the crack about the military...technically, he was not a draft dodger because, rather than run away like so many others did, he stood toe to toe w/the usg and fought the system, legally, at his own expense. the decision against him was overturned by the supreme court(just happens to be the highest court in our country - perhaps you've heard about it). do some of you "draft dodger" name callers feel more qualified to rule on ali's situation than the supreme court? what this country did to ali was illegal and shameful(stripping him of his title), just because he had the guts to stand up and fight for what he believed in - which was earth shattering for a black man to do in the 60's, given all the assasinations that occured at that time. at any rate, compare ali's rogues gallery to that of any other heavyweight and see why he is considered the greatest of all time. go back and watch all his fights and see a legend in the making and a man who, more than any other, lived up to his potential and became more than just a fighter, and more than just a man..and for the record, holyfield won his titles against fighters who were either has-beens or never was' and couldn't compare w/ali even if he won the title 50 times! and if he has any sense left in that shiny pate of his he'd better retire before he loses more than just a fight!
2006-12-24 04:41:29 · answer #6 · answered by The Dark Knight 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
what youre going on about is the whole 'ali only won because of his status' thing. Like you said; its not that he was fighting a lot of retards, he was just very unretarded and knew how to fight. He was fighting on into the 70's remember.
Holyfield was not the greatest; he didn't start an entire legacy. Ali is a legend
2006-12-22 09:54:38 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No way man. Ali fought the best of the 60's and 70's and looked excellent doing it. He had blazing hand speed and perfect coordination, amazing accuracy, and one of the best heavyweight chins of all time. He took all that smokin' joe AND george foreman could throw and every time he was ever knocked down he popped right back up. He had unquestionable heart and determination, and oh yeah...he never fought in his real prime! He was suspended from boxing in his prime years!
2006-12-22 18:26:06 · answer #8 · answered by sirpunchalot 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
JAM123 - Louis didn't retire undefeated. He was knocked out cold by Schmeling in their first fight. He came out of retirement to try to win the heavyweight title (and to be able pay back taxes to the IRS) from Ezzard Charles and lost. He also lost to Rocky Marciano and both these losses he was aging and past his prime. Besides the first Conn fight which he almost lost and by the way Conn was a light heavy, the second fight with Schmeling and the two fights with Walcott (Walcott beat him the first time as Louis was given the decision) what other significant fights did he have in his career? The sportswriters deemed the majority of his opponents the "Bum of the Month Club". I'm not knocking Louis, but the asker of the question talks about Ali's quality of opposition. Let's list some names of the fighters Ali defeated: Joe Frazier twice after losing the first fight. Frazier is a hall of famer. Ken Norton twice after losing the first fight. Norton is a hall of famer. George Foreman, Ali knocked him out to regain the title. Foreman is a hall of famer. Sonny Liston twice by KO. Liston is a hall of famer. Patterson twice by KO. Patterson is a hall of famer.
He fought in an era (the 1970's) when the talent was the deepest in the history of the heavyweight division, and he was past his prime, still he prevailed. If these men fought in the 40's, 50's they would be extremely competitive and Louis would not have held onto his title for 14 + years. Ali beats any heavyweight in the history of boxing when he was in his prime (in hindsight no one actually saw Ali's prime as he was stripped of his license and title at 25 and did not box again until he was just shy of 29). For any professional championship level athlete to be out of the sport they participate in for 3 years and 7 months and be able to come back and regain their championship status, as Ali did, is a remarkable achievement. Food for thought, Ali defeated Foreman who was able to do the same as Ali. Stay out of the fight game for an extended period of time and regain the title. That itself proves Ali's quality of opposition was the best in the history of the division. No Ali is not overrated.
Thank's for the question Bunz.
2006-12-22 06:47:07 · answer #9 · answered by Brent 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Truly believe that he was the best ever....did not feel that way but like I later learned to appreciate the "Beatles" for their talent as well as "Elvis".....I feel that over time I have come to accept that he truly was the "Greatest of All-Time".......I really did not want to believe it at first......took me years to believe that Liston wasn't greater......a man that size with the speed and power that he had was found in no one else since....my vote goes for him.............some truth to your comments....his activism in civil rights makes him a bigger hero to others.....still Ali all the way!
2006-12-23 06:16:57 · answer #10 · answered by Mickey Mantle 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋