Huge Ali fan so don’t take this as a criticism of him, like you have said he was past his best. But if memory serves me the ref was forced to stop Ali’s holding an average of 15 times per round in that fight. Left right hold, left right hold, left right hold. It’s best to not point to that as an accomplishment since it should have been a disqualification. What Ali did is enough to champion him without building low points into high points.
The mans talent and will are a remarkable combination. Perhaps the greatest combination of the 2 of all time. But we can never know for sure. Comparing eras is a guessing game weighted by personal preferences. Lewis was talented but lazy, Tyson was talented but mentally fragile, Ali was talented but refused fundamentals he could have employed, Louis was talented but slow of foot. Lewis could have beaten Ali but lost to a number of Ali’s opponents, Ali could have beaten Louis but lost to a few of his opponents. The could haves could go on forever.
I, like you, think Ali is the greatest. But we can’t say we know that. And we can’t tell others that disagree that they are wrong. Well, we could, but that would point to our ignorance more than theirs.
Bookmarks