Tyson would've destroyed Ali. Marciano would've destroyed Ali. Norton DID beat Ali. Hell... let's carry it further and say Butterbean would've beat Ali. Ali wasn't all that great. He was disrespectful... he dodged the draft... he clowned opponents. Some here even refuse to use his chosen name. It's Clay this... Clay that... almost with disdain. Yet any other athlete in any other sport changes his name and we all flock to use it. What's the point in all this hate??

Was Ali TBE? Most probably not. At least in my own personal opinion. There's plenty of other fighters who could probably claim that with more backup than Ali. Is Ali an ATG? He most certainly is. He won some fights nobody thought he would win (Liston, Foreman)... and was involved in some of the sport's best classics (Ali-Frazier III). He polarized the sport. He made some people love him... made others hate him. But the result was the same. He drew people to the sport. They either wanted him to win, or wanted him destroyed.

Let's face it. Were it not for Ali during that time, boxing wouldn't have made that huge leap in popularity that made it so popular in the decades that followed.

I'd like to hear from the haters themselves. What is it about Ali that brings out the vast amount of hate? I'm just curious. Were you around when Ali was fighting? Did you hate his off the ring antics? Did his stance on Vietnam or race relations irk you? Did you take his hate relationship with Joe Frazier personally? Are you pissed that Larry Holmes (as Holmes is and will always be) never got the attention you thought he deserved because he followed in Ali's footsteps?

What?