Ali; One of a Kind
A lot of people have tried to emulate Ali over the years, with mixed results. Ali had tremendous advantages in hand and foot speed. He also had incredible timing. These attributes enabled him to hit with power while retreating, which also meant he was usually hitting an opponent who was advancing which further magnified his punching power. He was also very quick mentally and anticipated very well, allowing for him to adapt to different styles. Then, the big difference. Heart and toughness. It would be impossible to name a fighter who stood in there with the power punchers that Ali handled...Liston, Cleveland Williams, Shavers, Frazier, FOREMAN, Lyle...I can imagine it was really discouraging for these monsters to land punches that had ko'd many fighters and see them not have much effect on Ali. That's a complete fighter. Might never see his equal.
A lot of people have tried to emulate Ali over the years, with mixed results. Ali had tremendous advantages in hand and foot speed. He also had incredible timing. These attributes enabled him to hit with power while retreating, which also meant he was usually hitting an opponent who was advancing which further magnified his punching power. He was also very quick mentally and anticipated very well, allowing for him to adapt to different styles. Then, the big difference. Heart and toughness. It would be impossible to name a fighter who stood in there with the power punchers that Ali handled...Liston, Cleveland Williams, Shavers, Frazier, FOREMAN, Lyle...I can imagine it was really discouraging for these monsters to land punches that had ko'd many fighters and see them not have much effect on Ali. That's a complete fighter. Might never see his equal.
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