Louis or Ali?

Fantasy Fights

By kiki

I wrote this on a Facebook boxing group I belong to. The members are always setting up fantasy fight between fighters from different eras, which I think is wrong.

Comparing fighters from the ‘40’s-‘50’s to later era fighters is not fair because fighters, and people in general, in later years grew so much bigger. So when we are talking about fantasy fights I like to go with the “very thing been equal” concept. I know you are going to tell me “but that’s not reality” and I’ll tell you “of course it's not reality, it is after all about fantasy fights” There is no reality when you’re fantasizing!!!

But that been said I think the better question when comparing fighter from different eras is to ask “who was the better fighter, who had the greatest repertoire of punches, who had the biggest artillery, who had the biggest heart, who could take a punch better”…In the case of Louis and Ali there is no question who had a better repertoire and heavier artillery, Louis did… Louis could fight on the inside and outside, Ali could not, Louis had a great left hook and right hand, Ali did have a great right hand, but not much of a left hook, Louis could work the body, Ali could not, Louis could knock an opponent out with a jab, Ali could not, Ali’s jab was a flicking jab at best, sometimes thrown with an open glove. Chin? Both of them got dropped by some not so great fighters…Heart? Both had the heart of a Lion!!!...I submit that Louis was the better fighter of the two.