Who was Muhammad Ali's greatest opponent?

Question

Liston? Frazier? Henry Cooper?

Answer 1

Ali faced many great opponents, but i think frazier was his greatest opponent

Answer 2

Whenever I think of Muhammad Ali's career I immediately think of Joe Frazier.  Then comes George Foreman.  

Anyone who says Ali became a Muslim to avoid the draft should explain why he is still a Muslim today.  He gave up more than three of his prime fighting years, and millions of dollars, to follow his faith.  The U. S. Supreme Court said his refusal to serve in the army was not draft evasion, that he was a legitimate minister of his faith.  

Anyone who calls Ali a bum suffers more from dementia than Ali, unfortunately,  does.

Answer 3

I always thought it was George Foreman.

Answer 4

joe

Answer 5

It has to be George Foreman, I believe they fort twice at Cesars Palace, Ali knocking out Foreman once and Foreman knocking out Ali once .

Both being great fights!

Answer 6

On the top ten list Foreman would have been Ali's greatest opponent.  Certainly his three fights with the great Joe Frazier were classic but Foreman beat Joe twice.  Norton was just a tough Ali opponent but he was always in trouble against heavier punchers which Ali wasn't.

Cooper landed a shot on Ali but one great punch doesn't make a great opponent.  Liston nailed Ali with some heavy shots in the 4th round of the first fight but one great round and the following rounds and next fight certainly take alot of Liston's luster away.  Do I think Liston was a great fighter?  Definitely but what explains the 2nd Ali fight and his looking like a totally different fighter against Ali.  Liston didn't even try.

Scott:  Excellent comments

Answer 7

When Ali fought Joe Frazier on March 8th, 1971, even though Joe Frazier was the recognized champion, many felt like Ali was the real champ.  Both fighters were undefeated and it was a big event.  Of course Frazier knocked Ali down in the 15th round and won the decision giving Ali his first career loss.  The other two fights (won by Ali) were also battles particularly The Thrilla in Manilla.  Ken Norton also gave Ali several of his toughest fights beating him once and losing two somewhat controversial decisions the other two fights.  They say that styles make fights and in the case of Frazier and Norton, both seemed to have the fighting styles that gave Ali his most difficult fights.  In my opinion Frazier was his greatest opponent and Norton his second greatest opponent.

Answer 8

I would have to say Joe Frazier, followed by Ken Norton. Both fought Ali 3 times.

Frazier handed Ali his first defeat on March 8 1971 (first fight I saw on the box), Ali avenged this in 1974 in a non-world title bout (on points), then they had their greatest fight in october 1975 in 'The Thriller in Manilla', where Joe could not come out for the 15th (last) round. Ali later said that this was his hardest fight and closest he had come to death...neither fighter was the same after this fight.

Ken broke Ali's jaw in their first fight which was a non- world tile 12 rounder (Norton won on points). Ali won the second and third fight, with the last one in Yankee Stadium, New York being controversial. Although I wanted Ali to win, I felt Norton should have got the decision.

Hope this helps!

Answer 9

The US Government and judicial system, fight the power!

Answer 10

Good point Scott.  Also, I think the young man who made the remarks about Ali fails to realize that another big reason Ali wanted nothing to do with the war is because there were still public places, such as restaurants and so forth, that "Young Cassius" as he calls him, was not allowed to enter simply because of his skin color.   It still amazes me that as late as the 60s this great country still suffered from such social ills.

As for Ali's "Greatest" opponent it would HAVE to be Joe Frazier, Hands Down.  Frazier is the "Yang" to Ali's "Yin".   In every way you could judge fighters,  and to some degree,  MEN,  Ali and Frazier are mirror opposites.   There are MANY comparisons.  

Perhaps the most noticeable difference is the fact that both are Black Americans.   Doesn't make sense does it?  Here's why it does.  

Black America, for all it's troubles during those times, suffered from another, suddle but damaging social ill.  There was the stigma of "attractive" and "ugly".   Some might not fully understand this but read on anyway.  

Within Black America,  as in with many other non-white groups in the US,  there is always the division of class.   You have educated Blacks and uneducated ones.   Though Ali wasn't a formally educated man, such as on a post college level,  he was very articulate and bright.   He was tall, fair skinned (another complex many Blacks suffered from), attractive, witty and personable.

Joe Frazier, by contrast, was stout.  He wasn't a bad looking man.  However, next to Ali,  and by the standards of many Black Americans,  he was the blackest of men.  He was not polished as was Ali.   Joe bore the rugged appearence of a blue collar worker.  Ali hardly LOOKED like a boxer.  Joe often wore the half grown beard and had the wooly hair that many Blacks often shunned.  Though Ali never processed his hair, he was always said to have that "good grade" of hair,  another often spoken phrase among Black Americans.

Black Americans, perhaps more than any other group, suffered from a severe ''self-worth'' crisis.  Joe was many of the things Black Americans had come to dislike about themselves.  Ali was much of what many Blacks strived to be.  

Both were good men in their own right.  However, they were very "Different".  Sadly, much of America, in general, was never taught that "Different"  doesn't necessarily have to be a "Bad" thing.  

One of the biggest differences between the two was speech.  While Ali didn't always use proper English, it was never thought that he "couldn't" use it.  Joe spoke like the typical southern "simple" Black man,  an image much of Black America tried to get away from.    This is why it was so easy for Ali to lable Frazier an "Uncle Tom".  Again, some might not understand but it was a deep rooted insult to Blacks at that time, perhaps second only to the "N" word.

The list could go on forever of the differences between the two.  The bottom line is that Ali was much of what was ''accepted'' among successful Blacks while Frazier was much of what was not accepted.  

Once my father explained this to me I actually felt for Joe because, in truth, he had no defense against these stigmas.  Ali was, at heart, a good man.  I dont think he ever realized how deeply his antics hurt Frazier.

This is what made Frazier hate Ali.   In the ring and out, Styles make fights.  When you add that to the major differences between the two,  there is no greater rivalry in boxing,  perhaps in all of sports.

Answer 11

Mark-Andrew M... BY GOD, very well said. If people would watch more footage of fights, instead of of shooting of with a comment , they might see, yes, Ali did recieve some gift decisions.

I agree with the comments here. Frazier, yes, but most of all Norton. They trained for, and had Ali's number.

Ali the greatest,yes(?), Maybe(?), maybe not. I can see a very small handfull of boxers who could beat him, style wise, most evertime. The greatest P4P(Ali) not even close!

Just because a man say's he's the greatest does'nt make it so.

I could tell you I'm the best street fighter, Beer drinking, love making, fish catching S.O.B. in the world. But that dont make it so. There may be a better fisherman out there.

Answer 12

Ali said himself that his toughest fight was with Henry Cooper.

Answer 13

Firstly, to Opal1331:  You're the bum, dude.  You're disgusting.  If you love wars, fine.  Go fight one.  But don't tell others they should kill people in the name of their corrupt and evil government.  You slime.

Secondly, Ali will always be remembered most, in the ring, from his bouts with Joe Frazier.  Two of their three fights were epic bouts which still remain among the greatest fights of all time.

Answer 14

A lot of people will say Joe Frazier, but I would have to go with Ken Norton.  Ali beat Frazier twice without controversy (yes, the second fight was close, but not that close).  Norton had that "crab style" defense that gave Ali a lot of problems.  And I truly do believe that he was robbed against Ali in their third fight.  Look at their reactions when the fight ends- Norton looked right at Ali and yelled something to the extent of  "I wooped you tonight!" and Ali just turned away and walked to his corner with his head down and no celebration- he had the look of a beaten man.  Norton on the other hand was picked up by his cornermen because everyone knew that he won the fight.  The judges, however disagreed and gave Ali the split decision.  Add to the fact that Norton broke Ali's jaw in their first fight and I would definately give him the honor of being Ali's toughest opponent.   In my eyes, Norton won their trilogy 2-1.

Another tough opponent for Ali- Jimmy Young.  Everyone you ask who's seen the fight will tell you that Young was robbed; he put on a great performance against Ali and outboxed him (similarly to how Young outboxed George Foreman), but again the judges saw it differently and gave the fight to Ali.

Answer 15

Larry Holmes

Answer 16

His biggest and most dangerous opponent was the United States selective service board, or better known as the "draft board" and this chicken livered bum loved this country so much he became a "Muslim" to avoid serving and evaded the draft.

  The worst part is, this "super mouth " got away with it and made millions in a country he would not defend or support.

Scott M;  I don't know if you're old enough to remember when Cassius decided he wasn't going to serve this country, and by his own admission stated that he was a conscientious objector, by becoming a Muslim, and didn't believe in violence or war.  He did not do this until he was in danger of being served with draft papers.

No sir, I don't suffer from dimentia, or any other affiction, I just remember the disgust I had when he pulled that c**p, and in my eyes, he is a "bum".

  For a person that doesn't believe in violence, he sure made a lot of money doing just that.

When you also say he didn't trry to dodge the draft, consider the folowing:

"Vietnam War

In 1964, Ali failed the U.S. Armed Forces qualifying test because his writing and spelling skills were sub par. However, in early 1966, the tests were revised and Ali was reclassified as 1A. This classification meant he was now eligible for the draft and induction into the U.S. Army. This was especially important because the United States was engaged in the Vietnam War. When notified of this status, he declared that he would refuse to serve in the United States Army and publicly considered himself a conscientious objector. Ali stated that "War is against the teachings of the Holy Qur'an. I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers." Ali also famously said in 1966: "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong ... They never called me ******."[6][7]"

He was not a declared Muslim prior to this event !

Answer 17

Joe Fraizer, anytime he fought against him it was highly publicized.

Answer 18

Stylewise it may have been Ken Norton or Jimmy Young who both pushed Ali to the limit.  I think the best fighter Ali faced was George Foreman who, although he wasn't the greatest or most talented boxer, was the strongest and aside from Ali, dominant, heavyweight of that era.

Answer 19

howard cosell

Answer 20

Joe Frazier