How many of his prime fighting years did Ali lose during his forced retirement? Was he ever as good after he came back as he was before he left? Who of all the great heavyweights do you think could have beat Ali in his prime?
“How many of his prime fighting years did Ali lose during his forced retirement?”
3 and a half, I think.
“Was he ever as good after he came back as he was before he left?”
Absolutely. He beat three of the greatest fighters of all time—Frazier, Foreman, and Norton—after the hiatus. The best he fought before was probably Liston. There was no decline until after ‘75. All we really lost in his time off was him beating up on more people whose names we’d never remember anyway.
Some people say he lost to Frazier the first time because he was rusty, but he fought a couple tune-ups before Joe, and both were legitimate contenders. You could say Ali lost a bit of his former speed and grace, but he traded it for mass, which no doubt helped him against bruisers like Frazier and Foreman.
Since he was undefeated before the hiatus and lost five times after, a mythology has grown around his “lost years.” I think that’s hype.
“Who of all the great heavyweights do you think could have beat Ali in his prime?”
Frazier and Norton beat him in near the height of his powers, so obviously they could. Holmes beat him after he should have retired, but he would have had a chance. I think Foreman, aside from Ali’s legendary reflexes, was physically superior. Especially after Big George learned his lesson from the rope-a-dope, he had a chance.
Tyson, in addition to being basically the exact same person as Liston, failed every big test he ever faced. Holyfield was always overrated. Lewis, on the other hand, I’ve always felt was underrated. They suspected he had a weak jaw ever since Oliver McCall knocked him out, and Hasim Rahman confirmed it. I doubt he was as strong as Ali proved himself to be in Manilla.
I don’t really know enough about the early greats, like Braddock, Louis, and Marciano, to comment. I understand Marciano’s style was similar to Frazier’s, and that he was the consummate knockout artist, so who knows?
roughly 3 and a half years. only ali knows just how much he lost. there are very few, if any, examples of a professional fighter laying off for that long and coming back to have any type of a new career. boxing is called the ‘sweet science’ for good reason. besides all of the banging and bashing there are so many little things involved with reflexes, etc. ali was not given any credit for how he came back, there was still quite a bit of hate for him over his draft refusal and nothing he could do would have satisfied the political climate at that time. you had to be there to see what went down in print and TV. just unreal, and very understandable to fans and non fans alike. the Ali/Quarry comeback fight was really something to see and only another pro fighter or trainer was able to see the difference from the pre layoff Ali or the comeback Ali or so it is said. he was a very diff. fighter after his return. go to youtube and view the pre and post ali fights. they never gave Ali the credit I felt he deserved for that 3 and a half year comeback when sometimes 6 months off spells the difference in a boxer. I do not know if Ali could have beaten the older champs or not, hell, any 220 pound pro fighter could/can take out another at anytime. fun to think about it for us fans tho!