Ezzard wrote:He never fought Holmes though – who would land.
If Holmes were to win 4 out of 10 fights then distilling that to a single 15 round fight would be exactly 9-6 in rounds to Ali… Considering Terrell took 2 rounds off Ali I think that’s a pretty sensible estimate of the fight.
If you seriously think that’s unreasonable then I don’t know what to say…
In the 60s Ali also got floored by Cooper, Banks…repeatedly hurt by Jones…should we not then take it that his chin wasn’t as good in the 60s as it was in the 70s? Please, that’s a mischievous point that doesn’t need a reply.
Distilling it to a 15 round fight means Ali would win 9 rounds to 6? huh? Becasue you think Holmes would win 40% of the rounds he would win 40% of their fights?
It doesn't usually work that way in sports. If that is the difference between the fighters, then Ali would win a much higher % of the time than 60%. He would just usually win by roughly that amount (9-6) most of the time. sometimes, a by a little more, sometimes a little less. Holmes would win a very low % of the time.
Let me put it another way, Ernie Terrell won 2 out of 15 rounds vs Ali. No way would Terrell win twice if they fought 15 times.
If you watched a fight now and the one guy won 9 rounds to 3, you wouldn't think that the loser would win 25% of the time. H would just lose by something similar to 9-3 almost ever time. sometimes it may be 10-2, sometimes 8-4. He would still lose almost evertime.
Also don't agree that since Ali lost a grand total of 2 rounds vs Terrell that somehow that translates into 6 rounds that Holmes would win. He probably would have more closer rounds than Terrell managed, but he would still lose them. Very doubtful he is going to manage to actually win 6. At least you are being somehwat realistic, unlike some of the BS we get from the Ali-haters.
The fights vs Cooper, Banks, and Jones were before his prime.
Have you ever seen the Banks knockdown? Don't blink. It lasted about a second and Ali was not hurt at all. It's a textbook example of a flash knockdown.
Repeatedly hurt by Jones? No, he was not repeatedly hurt Jones. He was never in any danger of getting knocked out or anthing like that.
When Ali was fighting these guys, he was still in the early stage of his career where he was getting better with almost every fight. Against Banks, he had been a pro for less than a year and half and only had 10 previous fights.
Holmes got knocked down early in his career. Frazier got knocked down by the legendary Mike Bruce. Doesn't mean anything. Often young fighters make silly mistakes and get caught with a punch they would get nailed with when they have more experience. They also aren't used to absorbing big punches that they get used to with more experience.
No, we should not take into account that his chin was as good in the 1960s as it was in the 1970s. Why? Because during his prime years (Starting in 1964 or 1965-1967), his chin was every bit as good as it was later on. He never got knocked down or hurt at all. You don't magically get a better chin after you hit your prime. It's ridiculaus to think so.
