The Strength & Athleticism of Wilt Chamberlain

[polecateddy]

Tony Halme is not a wrestler.

He performed in WWF and other entertainment rackets.

He attempted MMA as well and failed at that.

That guy was a joke and a total steriod junky. It's sad though he killed himself. I'm also not buying this feats of strength business. For a large man his levels are again very good but not exactly extraordinary. Arnold himself was not renowned by any stretch of the imagination as one of the strongest bodybuilders. A lot of the stats mentioned bar probably the bench not sound vastly different to what say Tyson Fury lifts in the gym.

[Robinson]

I see above a lot of bench stats mentioned or this and that
so what...

I have never ever known any of that to ever relate to
prize fighting.

I know guys who are crazy strong at lifting steel but can
not wrestle to save themselves, they can not even perform
the most basic of side supplexes or a lift from pader let alone
throw a punch worth a damned or kick a man at the back
of his head.

A fighter is a fighter first. Anything else is either a compliment
or a gimmick.

Halme was taken down, mounted and sub'd in seconds by a much
smaller but real wrestler, Randy Couture back in '97.

I think Halme was a good celeb in Finland (I think he made music too?)
but he was not a fighter worthy any real note.

[polecateddy]

Quite. Leif Larsen the heavy was brilliant at benching 220 pounds for reps back in his American football days. Means nothing!

[Controversial]

Yep physical strength means little and doesn't equate to punch power. Paul Anderson often rated the strongest man ever, Kimbo Slice a good bare knuckle fighter and Anderson Silva the MMA superstar have tried to make the leap to boxing and bean unsuccessful bordering on crap in some instances.

Chamberlain may have been physically gifted and a great all round sportsmen but it means little and doesn't guarantee any success in pro boxing.

[Robinson]

There is more in common between Donald Bradman and Jackie Robinson or Pele and Herschel Walker
than a top tier MMAer and Boxer or an Olympic wrestler than boxer.

Combat sports are not so easily clumped together as they so often are by
'experts' they are distinctly important set of skills relevant to varying
and different sports.

Sure some guys will manage a good cross over but ultimately near all the
fundamentals are wrong.

As an MMAer you are expected to speak everyone elses combat sport
language in order to train ie you box with boxers, wrestle wrestlers etc
but very seldom do any of them speak MMA. I can tell you that each
is distinctly unique and hard BUT relevant for their own sport.

These academic arguments are just that. A fighter fights inside of his
sphere of combat. A ball player or what ever else plays ball. If they wanted
to fight they would.

And don't talk about money being the drawing card for ones motivation
Olympic wrestlers are elite animals who compete at the heighest levels
for nothing and in obscurity. And most MMAers get paid peanuts compared
to other sports players in relative levels of success.

Fighters fight because they are fighters. Even the super stars like Ali.

[HomicideHenry]

Tony Halme is not a wrestler.

He performed in WWF and other entertainment rackets.

He attempted MMA as well and failed at that.

I should have elaborated more on Halme. No he wasn't of the graeco-roman or catch style or 'legit' wrestling that one would associate with true competitiveness; he was a performer in the rather athletic world of professional wrestling where it is merely exhibitions of athleticism. His 'worth' as an athlete was primarily in boxing, however because of his role as 'The Viking' in the WWE made him one of the early competitors of the UFC brand. Unfortunately for him his debut opponent, also making his debut, was a 'true' wrestler in Randy Couture and, of course, 'The Natural' beat him inside of two minutes.

Yep physical strength means little and doesn't equate to punch power. Paul Anderson often rated the strongest man ever, Kimbo Slice a good bare knuckle fighter and Anderson Silva the MMA superstar have tried to make the leap to boxing and bean unsuccessful bordering on crap in some instances.

Chamberlain may have been physically gifted and a great all round sportsmen but it means little and doesn't guarantee any success in pro boxing.

All I tried to show was how well, or rather easily, it was for Chamberlain to adapt/adjust to different sports throughout his lifetime. While physical strength means little, I've seen far less athletic men (Floyd 'Jumbo' Cummings, i.e.) who were essentially strongmen in gloves go rather far in the business, while others flopped. Physical strength doesn't always translate to punching power, as Primo Carnera showed (the giant Italian was able to clean and jerk well over 300 pounds in his teens) in his career, as he lacked the fluidity that boxing often requires for that explosiveness to generate kayos; the same thought process goes with Jess Willard, who as the lore goes was discovered throwing 500 pound bales of cotton onto a wagon while working on a farm.

[Bobbyptsd]

Wilt and the Boxing Fans

Most likely if Wilt got involved in one of those 'barnstorming tours' where he faced a string inept opponents,
he would again be boo'ed unmercifully.

Kind of like the Primo Carnera Show.

His best bet, would have been a 'One for the Show'.

The pressure would have been on Cassius Clay to take him out.

Never mind Muhammad Ali(which by the way is his name, we've been over this), Primo Carnera would have destroyed Chamberlain.

I mean, I figured that was obvious, but hey, I don't want to miss an opportunity to take another shot at how absurd all this is.

[polecateddy]

Fight Contracts

Muhammad Ali wouldn't sign to fight Wilt...........

'That is a Fact'

Yet, he would sign for a 15 round pre-mma, mma fight in Japan?! You fricking ding bat!

[polecateddy]

Probably just joking around for some easy publicity. I'm sure I read once that Ali once asked Jim Brown to try and hit him when Jim was going in about a possible fight between them. And when Jim failed miserably to get close to landing a punch, the whole idea was dropped. Cos it was a really BAD idea! Lol

[Giancarlo]

I very much doubt that is an A.P. report.

Maybe you can link us to it............................. or should we just assume, as usual, that you made it up?

[Bobbyptsd]

Fight Contracts

Muhammad Ali wouldn't sign to fight Wilt...........

'That is a Fact'

Yet, he would sign for a 15 round pre-mma, mma fight in Japan?! You fricking ding bat!

[Bobbyptsd]

You have over a thousand posts more than me in significantly less time, and they all appear to be about Ali.

"Jack-off", indeed.

[polecateddy]

I think Al Oerter could have been a bigger puncher than Chamberlain. He really was an amazing discus thrower! Lol

[polecateddy]

Cassius Clay

Said if he trained for 6-Months, he could have beaten Wilt Chamberlain in a 'One-on-One'
Basketball match up to 21.

Wilt Chamberlain,

"I could spot Cassius '20-Points' and tie my left hand behind my back, and I would still win. The Chump
would never get a shot off."

There's a video clip somewhere of Lennox Lewis running rings around Frank Bruno in a charity basketball game. I think Lewis could have beaten Chamberlain with that 20 point spot.

[HomicideHenry]

There's a video clip somewhere of Lennox Lewis running rings around Frank Bruno in a charity basketball game. I think Lewis could have beaten Chamberlain with that 20 point spot.

That's about as ridiculous as saying Chamberlain really could of beaten Patterson or Ali.

[Ambling Alp II]

Homocidehenry, (sorry that you were offended that I referred to you as homocide earlier)
you do now see how ridiculous it is to think Chamberlain would have picked up boxing in 6 months and been at the top?

As I was saying earlier and you keep misinterpreting, I agree that he was a high school phenom. I agree that he was the best college player.

I was just saying that he wasn't the best player in the world in High School or even college. He kept getting better and better before he reached the NBA and eventually became the best basketball player in the world. He didn't become the best basketball player in the world in 6 months of playing basketball. It took those years in High School and College to develop his game.

[gp.]

There's a video clip somewhere of Lennox Lewis running rings around Frank Bruno in a charity basketball game. I think Lewis could have beaten Chamberlain with that 20 point spot.

That's about as ridiculous as saying Chamberlain really could of beaten Patterson or Ali.

With a 20 point spot in a 21 point game?

Chamberlain would still probably have won, but it's not nearly as ridiculous.

[polecateddy]

There's a video clip somewhere of Lennox Lewis running rings around Frank Bruno in a charity basketball game. I think Lewis could have beaten Chamberlain with that 20 point spot.

That's about as ridiculous as saying Chamberlain really could of beaten Patterson or Ali.

With a 20 point spot in a 21 point game?

Chamberlain would still probably have won, but it's not nearly as ridiculous.

6 months of training and Al Oerter would have buried that pansy netball player in a boxing match!

[Bobbyptsd]

You have over a thousand posts more than me in significantly less time, and they all appear to be about Ali.

"Jack-off", indeed.

And you follow every move I make

That would make you, by your own admission,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a Jack-Off Follower..........

It's hard not to follow you, when your garbage is everywhere.

[polecateddy]

Wilt Chamberlain

Had he fought Cassius Clay in 1967.

90% of the Boxing Pundits felt that Wilt could go the distance, if he fought a 'non-aggressive' fight.

Lay back and throw and occasional jab. He had the strength and stamina to go 'All Night Long'.

Wilt Chamberlain,
"The pressure is on him. If he doesn't knock me out by the 4th-Round, he will look like a Joke. I have nothing
to lose, and I'll be able to give him a few 'NBA-Elbows' too. I only have to catch him once, and if I do, I'll splatter
him like a Pumpkin."

Which pundits? Clearly Ali would have been able to hit a 6 month novice at will and stop him, whatever 'strategy' Chamberlain choose to go with. This is a silly thread!

[DaveyMac]

True Story

Wes Unseld boxed 2-Rounds with Sonny Liston in Baltimore on Saturday - December 7, 1968.

The Baltimore Bullets had played the Los Angeles Lakers at home on Thursday - December 5th.

The Bullets had the weekend off.

Sonny Liston was in town to fight Amos 'Big Train' Lincoln on Tuesday Night - December 10th
at the Baltimore Civic Center.

The 22 1/2 year-old Wes Unseld {Rookie} and his friend Bobby Orms {also a Rookie on the Bullets}
went to see a Sonny Liston sparring session on Saturday - December 10th.

Wes, at 6' 7" and 245 lbs. was a muscular brute.

During the 'open' sparring session, one of Sonny's handlers {possibly Joe Pollino} needed another big man
for to spar with Sonny, as one of the hired sparring partners had not shown up yet.

They took one look at Wes, and asked him if was willing to tangle with Sonny. They had no idea of who
Wes Unseld was.

Wes had boxing skills, but gave up fighting when he got to the University of Kentucky in 1964.

Wes Unseld didn't go to the University of Kentucky. In fact in 1964 there were no black athletes at UK.
Wes attended and played basketball at Louisville.

[raylawpc]

I'd rather convert a basketball player into a boxer than any other athlete.

The conditioning required is similar. Boxers and basketball players are trained for constant movement over somewhat long periods of time - aerobic exercise. Both also engage in spurts of rapid action. Basketball players engage in unpadded physical contact - not getting punched in the head perhaps, but still knocked around.

Also the required footwork in basketball is similar to boxing. A basketball player's defensive slide is very similar to movement in boxing. (You drive from your hips, and try not cross your legs). A pivot in basketball is relatively the same as pivoting in the ring.

I'm not saying every basketball player would make a great boxer. But if I was told to pick between a football player, basketball player, or baseball player to turn into a boxer, I'd pick the basketball player.

[Clint Magnum]

I'm not going to reply to Il Duce as he's mentally unstable.

However, to the other posters who think Wilt Chamberlain would have done well at boxing.
Is this is based purely on physique & his prowess at other non contact sports?
I played basketball to regional county level as a stress release when not boxing, predominantly to keep up my reflexes, fitness and speed.
The reason is because having done both, there is no doubt in my mind that playing basketball is very helpful & simliar physically to the training done in boxing & vice versa, ie reflexes, short bursts of exertion and explosion in the calves and core & in particular hand/eye coordination amongst other things.

However, as Tyson once said, "Everyone has a plan, until they get puched in the face."

Without seeing Chamberlain hit in the face or body repeatedly by so much as a normal man nobody has a right to even say his name in the same sentence as any National level amateur boxer, let alone a pro WORLD champion. Have you any idea how many years and hours of repetiton, timing and practise it takes for a HW to hit as fast and accurately as Ali?
The only reason this match up would be interesting is the freak show element, because Chamberlain is so physically bigger. It IMO is incorrectly assumed he would stand a chance due to sheer size and conditioning & that he was very well coordinated for such a tall man.
Contact sports are a unique beast.
Unless you actively participate and have taken Heavyweight punches to the face, either as a fighter or even in sparring with any HW, I respect your opinion but don't value it when it comes to theoretics based on cross sport matchups. Wilt would have never developed sufficient accuracy to get anywhere near a HW champ, let alone develop the ability to avoid being seriously hurt as each round progressed.
Only my opinion though.

[raylawpc]

But saying "He never did it," does not translate into "He couldn't do it."

[Boilermaker]

I wouldnt have thought that basketball has anywhere near the conversion records as Rugby league football, when it comes to success of transferring sports, although i could be wrong.


Anthony Mundine (admittedly with some amateur training and good pedigree) became a national champion within about 4 or so months and was fighting (reasonably competitively too) for a world title within about 18 months.

He is more of a "superman" than this chamberlain fellow, but if he was as naturally gifted as is said, is it really completely impossible for him to do the same thing?