1967 Muhammad Ali against Prime Lennox Lewis

Seano said:
I believe that was prime Cassius Clay, yes. Beat Liston in his very next fight.
You may have seen a more intelligent fighter post exile but physically he was as good as he was ever going to be.
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Nonsense.... By 1966/1967 he had drastically improved compared to 1963.
 
Actually, I guess I mixed up the Cooper fights.
 
Tomas said:
Ali probably wins via decision

I don't think the height and reach advantage would really do much in that fight. Ali fought Ernie Terrell who was 6 foot 6 with an 82 in reach, and Sonny Liston who had a 84 inch reach.

I think that's probably one of the best HW fantasy match ups that can be made though. Ali vs Lewis, Frazier vs Mike Tyson, Foreman vs Holmes, ect.
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Good post but I think Lewis would fight defensively and take advantage of his size to win a decision. It would be interesting to see if Ali's speed and movement would carry him to victory but it would be a very tough fight for him.
 
JSN said:
I’d have to really watch a lot of film to have a true opinion, but my gut says Lewis got this. TBH I think that when it come to who would actually win (not the same as greatness), Lewis is the best HW boxer we’ve seen.

I won’t lie, I’m super impressed with Fury, especially as he’s shown that he can do pretty much everything you can ask out of a boxer (and he’s huge), but Lewis was still huge and had crazy firepower bundled in a very sound package. It’s sad that he dropped some fights he shouldn’t have, because if not it would be hard to deny him the #1 spot.
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When McCall stopped him it was before his prime under Stewart. Against Rahman he was obviously out of shape and proved who the better man was in the rematch. They're still stains on his record but I don't think they mean much in an all time H2H match-up like this.
 
Strychnine said:
Ali easily outpoints him.
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Lewis fighting behind a jab would be a nightmare for Ali I think. Ali could definitely win but after the fight he'd look the way he did when they called the Thrilla in Manilla.
 
LangfordBarrow said:
Lewis fighting behind a jab would be a nightmare for Ali I think. Ali could definitely win but after the fight he'd look the way he did when they called the Thrilla in Manilla.
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Yeah, I can see that happening. Lewis' reach is like Dhalsim from Street Fighter!

street-fighter-v-dhalsim-statue-pop-culture-shock-collectibles-903164-07.jpg
 
Area809 said:
To beat Lewis you have to hurt him. Don’t think Ali could’ve done that. Lewis will stick his jab in your face all night long and bang you with a hard straight right hand. Would’ve had the height, weight and reach advantage. Ali lighted fighting on the outside; that would’ve been impossible with Lewis’s style and size.

2 different eras of heavyweights. We like to romanticize about Ali, but he was not fighting giants in the 1960s.
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Liked the post but disagree with this. Difficult but not impossible.
 
Roids said:
Holyfield was 37 years old in their rematch, and only 217lbs, yet he managed to box him and lost a close decision, its very plausible that prime Ali could have out boxed him as he was much faster than a 37 year old holyfield and a better boxer. Lewis can't just stick a jab in the face of a faster mobile fighter.
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This would be key. I don't see Ali avoiding the jab all night long but maybe enough to win a decision.
 
LangfordBarrow said:
Good post but I think Lewis would fight defensively and take advantage of his size to win a decision. It would be interesting to see if Ali's speed and movement would carry him to victory but it would be a very tough fight for him.
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I just think one thing Ali has always had over his opponents, especially in his prime, is volume. It's not necessarily that he has really good cardio, but he somehow always has enough in the reserve to keep on punching in combinations until the end of the fight. Even in the high temperatures of Manilla in a 14 round war against Frazier he was throwing insane volume in the later rounds.

I guess I can see Lewis trying to lean on him, clinch, and fight rough, but I think the movement would be enough to counter that. In the mid/late 1970s I think that clinching style would do better against Ali. But when he had his legs in the 60s it'd be different
 
LangfordBarrow said:
Lewis fighting behind a jab would be a nightmare for Ali I think. Ali could definitely win but after the fight he'd look the way he did when they called the Thrilla in Manilla.
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Why wasn't Liston's jab a factor then?
 
LangfordBarrow said:
Liked the post but disagree with this. Difficult but not impossible.
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How does Ali’s with his style get inside Lewis? Lewis poses a problem that no one did in the 60’s or 70’s. A huge man with a very good jab, patience and high boxing IQ(unlike Foreman in those days). It’s hard for me to see it happening. But let me know how you see it.
 
Area809 said:
Liston wasn’t 6’5 with an 84’ reach.
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Liston had the same reach as Lennox.

IMO Liston's freakishly long reach for his height, made his jab even more effective than Lennox, as his opponents frequently misjudged distance.
 
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cabal said:
A victory for Ali would be a true upset
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Ali is always called "the G.O.A.T.", like he was some dominant wrecking machine, but arguably his two biggest wins came as an underdog (Foreman, Liston). On the flip side, two of Tyson's biggest bouts came as a massive favorite that he was upset in (Douglas and Holyfield). So, this is all to say that I am not sure if Lewis would have beat Ali, but he almost certainly would have been favored. The modern betting side of the game has been dominated with people's obsession with big muscles and knock out power above skill and boxing ability, even tho the Usyks keep beating the AJ's as the Ali beat the Foreman and Listons.
LangfordBarrow said:
Styles make fights. Liston was a wrecking ball but I don't think he was the ring general Lewis was and it's debatable that he was still in his prime. Lewis fighting tall and behind a jab would be a much tougher fight for Ali I think.
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Precisely. People used to say David Haye could deal with Wlad because he dealt with a bigger opponent in Valuev. The problem is Valuev is a giant uncoordinated goof ball, like Primo Carnera, where as Wlad knew how to use his size and was a world class boxer and athlete in addition. Ali may have fought big men, but no one came close to having the athletic and boxing ability Lennox had.
 
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