BoxRec

I know, morbid topic

1) Frazier- 1 & 3. I think he hit Ali with the most damaging and devastating shots.
2) Shavers- Ali hit solidly.
3) Holmes- Almost put him second. Larry couldn't miss him
4) Foreman- Great body shots. Did George hit Ali solidly on the chin often?
5) Norton- Broken jaw in 1st fight. Got hit w/ a lot of looping rights in 3.

Your order and reasoning?

1. Frazier. It's obvious.

2. Norton. It's obvious too.

3. Holmes.

4. Shavers.

5. Foreman

6. Bonavena

7. Doug Jones

8. Fanbois

9. Inoki

10. NOI

Gotta consider that left hook that floored Ali by Cooper.

I think the Frazier and Norton fights caused the most damage.
Ali was already damaged when he fought Holmes, that fight should never have happened.

DrDuke wrote: ↑09 Jul 2023, 12:15 1. Frazier. It's obvious.

2. Norton. It's obvious too.

3. Holmes.

4. Shavers.

5. Foreman

6. Bonavena

7. Doug Jones

8. Fanbois

9. Inoki

10. NOI

#8 and #10 ? ?

Frazier and Norton without question.

Both because they fought him more than anyone else, and both hit him significantly more than anyone else I'm sure.

I'd imagine he took more punishment in the fights with Frazier and Norton than he took in 10 others against lesser guys.

The 'Thrilla In Manila' was brutal.

Norton being so high up surprises me but he did hit Ali a lot. Oogiebe mentioned Cooper but that was just one shot.

Is it just me or did George not connect with many head shots? Doctors have said kidney and liver shots can also mess you up in the long run.

My personal opinion. Who damaged Ali the most??? Ali damaged himself the most.
He let fighters punch themselves out absorbing punishment on purpose.
He thrilled the fans but did so much damage taking the hits.. Loved Ali but he deserves his share of the blame

His sparring partners.

Tony1244 wrote: ↑09 Jul 2023, 13:40

DrDuke wrote: ↑09 Jul 2023, 12:15 1. Frazier. It's obvious.

2. Norton. It's obvious too.

3. Holmes.

4. Shavers.

5. Foreman

6. Bonavena

7. Doug Jones

8. Fanbois

9. Inoki

10. NOI

#8 and #10 ? ?

Of course, #8 damaged more his reputation among resonable fans, but #10 seriously damaged his brain.

HomicideHenry wrote: ↑09 Jul 2023, 17:18 His sparring partners.

Definitely some truth to that one as well. All them years of sparring add up on the body just the same as the fights. Damage is damage.

All of the above.

Ali's great and sometimes underrated chin did him no long-term favours, that much is for sure.

American government for the 3 years out

Switch hitter wrote: ↑10 Jul 2023, 12:57 American government for the 3 years out

That may have made him more popular in the long run. 1968 and 69 could have been Ali's finest years, but he ended up fighting everyone anyway.

as far as single fight opponents, maybe Chuck Wepner with all those rabbit punches for 15 rounds.
3 year s later 15 rounds with Earnie Shavers probably didn't do Ali any good either.
also Ali's second comeback fight with Oscar Bonavena was a rough one for him.

Redback Rasta wrote: ↑10 Jul 2023, 02:42 All of the above.

Ali's great and sometimes underrated chin did him no long-term favours, that much is for sure.

Muhammad Alis chin was never 'under-rated".

Muhammad Ali did develope a thyroid problem later in his career.
i wonder if that was a result to all the body punches he had taken
earlier.

Caractacus wrote: ↑10 Jul 2023, 18:01

Redback Rasta wrote: ↑10 Jul 2023, 02:42 All of the above.

Ali's great and sometimes underrated chin did him no long-term favours, that much is for sure.

Muhammad Alis chin was never 'under-rated".

It is surprising on forums, when the discussion turns to great chins, how few times Ali is mentioned in the top few.

I certainly rate his chin among the very best.

Redback Rasta wrote: ↑10 Jul 2023, 18:27

Caractacus wrote: ↑10 Jul 2023, 18:01

Redback Rasta wrote: ↑10 Jul 2023, 02:42 All of the above.

Ali's great and sometimes underrated chin did him no long-term favours, that much is for sure.

Muhammad Alis chin was never 'under-rated".

It is surprising on forums, when the discussion turns to great chins, how few times Ali is mentioned in the top few.

I certainly rate his chin among the very best.

The man could take a punch and would allow guys to wear themselves out swinging for it.
Entertaining to watch but not good for the brain

gilgamesh wrote: ↑10 Jul 2023, 00:41

HomicideHenry wrote: ↑09 Jul 2023, 17:18 His sparring partners.

Definitely some truth to that one as well. All them years of sparring add up on the body just the same as the fights. Damage is damage.

The way I heard it was for the cameras Ali would dance, etc and make sparring partners look silly but when the cameras weren't around he basically had them beat the crap out of him so he was conditioned to absorb punishment. So I think if that's true his sparring partners more than anyone else did the most damage.

Other then the Cooper fight, was Muhammad Ali ever really caught and hurt by a single punch between 1963 and 1967 ?

Caractacus wrote: ↑10 Jul 2023, 14:57 as far as single fight opponents, maybe Chuck Wepner with all those rabbit punches for 15 rounds.
3 year s later 15 rounds with Earnie Shavers probably didn't do Ali any good either.
also Ali's second comeback fight with Oscar Bonavena was a rough one for him.

Oscar's trainer kept yelling, "Hit that heavybag !!".

Cosell was saying "Oscar is A Powerful Powerful Man !!".

He was often referred to as "Ringo". Apparently had a certain resemblance to The Beatles Drummer.

1975 was the Wepner bout. 1977 was the Shavers bout.

Weird how Wepner knocked Ali down with that mediocre body-punch, and yet Shavers couldn't floor Ali despite Landing hard punches fairly often.

Losing to "Leon Spinks" in 1978 Had to have been the bout that made Ali realize that he Really Needed to retire Very Soon. Probably the Most Damaging to him, Psychological-Wise.
This made for a Great Rematch build-up though, and also obviously for Ali's behalf, enabled him to be a 3 time HW Champion(The first in HW Boxing History). The Money and The Prestige of that Distinction kept Ali in the "Keep on Keeping on" mindset approach.

Ali deciding to take on Holmes in 1980 is Very Baffling in itself, and furthermore the way he cut weight So Unnecessarily and in such So Unhealthy fashion in preparation for that one is Mind Boggling. A complete shell of his former self by that point in time. He would've done better in that bout if he had just let himself enter the ring with the natural extra pudge build, like he sported in the 1979 exhibition bout versus Lyle Alzado. People think that Ali went easy on Lyle but I just don't see that in that bout. Furthermore, Lyle was No Easy Work Joke, as he had previously gone 36-1 as an amateur boxer before choosing American Football.

Caractacus wrote: ↑11 Jul 2023, 14:54 Other then the Cooper fight, was Muhammad Ali ever really caught and hurt by a single punch between 1963 and 1967 ?

Chuvalo landed Alot of Body-Punches in that 1966 bout.

Chuvalo was a good puncher. 64 ko's out of 73 wins.

Caractacus wrote: ↑11 Jul 2023, 14:54 Other then the Cooper fight, was Muhammad Ali ever really caught and hurt by a single punch between 1963 and 1967 ?

Caught and hurt? Guess that would be a big fat no.