Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Rocky Marciano, Mike Tyson and a heroin-free Sonny Liston would have made mincemeat out of Ali
BarkGrowlBite | June 5, 2016
Muhammad Ali, a great heavyweight boxing champion, died of septic shock Friday night after suffering from Parkinson’s Disease for 32 years.
Ali’s death has brought forth so many glowing accolades that one would think he was another Martin Luther King, Jr. Half of NBC’s Saturday evening news broadcast dealt with the life and death of Ali. So did much of the first intermission during Saturday evening’s Penguins-Sharks Stanley Cup finals game on NBCSN with a special tribute by sportscaster Bob Costas.
Muhammad Ali is arguably the most famous person in the world, but there is a world of difference between being the most famous person and being the greatest fighter.
Having been in the fight game during the late ’40 and early ’50s, I believe I’m qualified to make some observations on great fighters. A great fighter Ali was, but certainly not the greatest. Former heavyweight champions Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Rocky Marciano, Mike Tyson, and a heroin-free Sonny Liston would have made mincemeat out of Ali. That “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” style would not have worked against those great fighters.
Joe Louis was a really great heavyweight. He was an outstanding boxer and his punches could knock out any opponent. In his prime he would have outboxed and outpunched Ali. Muhammad would have been flat on his bee-stung ass by the sixth round.
Then there was Jersey Joe Walcott whom I consider to be the greatest heavyweight in modern boxing history. Jersey Joe was so good that he could not get fights with any of the leading contenders. When the 37-year-old Walcott finally won the heavyweight championship, he was already well past his prime. Ali wouldn’t have lasted more than eight rounds, if that many, with Jersey Joe in his prime.
By the time Sonny Liston fought Ali, he was a heroin-stupefied boxer. Here is a little known fact: When Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) fought Sonny Liston for the championship he was getting beat up so bad in the early rounds that he wanted to quit. His corner forced him to continue. Liston, who was out of shape and under the influence of heroin, petered out in the sixth round, giving the championship to Ali by a technical knockout. A heroin-free Liston would have pulverized Ali by the sixth round.
Rocky Marciano and especially Mike Tyson were such devastating punchers that, in their prime, they would have flattened Ali well before the end of the fight. Marciano's opponents who escaped being KO'd, did so only by backing away from him for the whole fight, trying to avoid his punches. And Tyson could send an opponent flying into the rafters with either hand.
As an aside, I used to sit with Rocky Marciano while we watched fighters sparring in Stillman’s Gymnasium after hours. What amazed me was how small Marciano was compared to other heavyweights. He was a really nice guy too.
So far I’ve mentioned only modern day heavyweights. Before that era there was Jack Dempsey who probably would have beaten all of them.
And let us not forget there are other divisions besides the heavyweight one. Light Heavyweight champ Archie Moore was one of the greatest fighters ever. Pound-for-pound, welterweight and middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson was probably the greatest fighter of all time. Carmen Basilio won both the welterweight and middleweight titles on sheer guts and determination, thus putting him up there with the greatest. And featherweight champions Willie Pep and Sandy Sadler were also among the greatest modern day fighters.
In the pre-modern day era there was middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel. The “Michigan Assassin” is rated by many boxing historians as the best middleweight ever to put on the gloves. He threw devastating knockout punches from any angle with either hand. Ketchel was fearless, even taking on heavyweights, including the great heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. In the 12th round of their fight, Ketchel actually floored Johnson. The heavyweight champ got up and KO’d the Michigan Assassin with his next punch, leaving two of Ketchel’s teeth embedded in his glove.
Ali was indeed the greatest fighter during his reign as heavyweight champion. However, the fighters that I have mentioned would have, in their prime, handled the “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” style of Ali. So, when all those sports writers and celebrities refer to Muhammad Ali as the greatest fighter of all time, it makes me want to puke.
Having said all that, I want to add that I admire Ali for the outstanding fighter that he was and for all the charitable work he did once his boxing career ended. He helped raise several 100 million dollars for Parkinson’s Disease research and for that we can all be grateful. Also credit Ali for fighting just as hard against racism and discrimination outside the ring as he fought in the ring.
Ali went out like a true champion, his daughter saying that her father’s heart kept beating for 30 minutes after all his other organs had failed. Great he was, just not the greatest of all.
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