Muhammad Ali Analyzes the Pre-1970 All-Time Great Heavyweights

By Scoop Malinowski

I DVRed a Classic Wide World of Sports episode from February 15, 1976 by ABC which featured Howard Cosell visiting the then-reigning Heavyweight champion of the world Muhammad Ali at his Deer Lake, Pennsylvania log cabin and showing him old fight films of all the heavyweight legends. Here are some of the comments Ali made…

About Jack Johnson:  ”Jack Johnson had a wild style. He had to be a great fighter because he beat everybody at that time. He had a great defensive style against the people that were hitting at him. I wasn’t hitting at him. He was good for the time.”

Jack Dempsey:  ”He was a good fighter but he wouldn’t have beat me. No left jabs, no left hooks, just a lot of wild fightin’. Take it and give it. They throw punches from anywhere. I can’t prove it but I think they wouldn’t have a chance with fighting me. That kinda man wouldn’t stand a chance. These fighters didn’t know how to dance, these fighters didn’t have any footwork…Like a bunch of women, no skill, no class, no nothing…They were great at slugging, they could take a lot, they could hit and hurt you, and they could go all night long, 100 rounds if they had to. If I couldn’t knock ‘em out I’d have to beat em to the punch. I’d just have to box em all day, box and move.”

Gene Tunney:  ”If you look at Gene Tunney, this is where boxers started getting better. He throws punches sharp and quick. He’s strong, fast and quick. He’s about the best of the old-timers. I’d say Tunney is the greatest old-timer, as far as punching is concerned, and skill. Tunney uses good movement and footwork, something that most heavyweights don’t have. I thought I was the only heavyweight to do it. He’s jabbing and moving.”

[Cosell compares Tunney's footwork to Ali's in the Frazier fights but Ali doesn't completely agree.]

“He’s moving like me – but no rhythm.”

“Dempsey is dangerous in close, like Frazier and Marciano. Tunney wants to pop him and keep his distance. Dempsey is a good ducker, he could bob a lot. Tunney’s the best of that era. I see him sometimes and I tell him he was one of the best of all times.”

[Cosell asked Ali how he would box Tunney?]

“Keep my distance, take my time. It’s easy to fight a guy with Tunney’s style. I don’t like in-close fighters like Marciano, Joe Frazier and even Jack Dempsey, because they were wild in close. I like to stand there, pick my shots, take my time. We’d be two fighters standing there. The man that is fastest would win. I would win because I’m faster than Gene Tunney.”

Max Baer:  ”Yeah, I heard about him. Baer is not scientific. He’s strong, threw a whole lot of wild punches. Determined, strong, steady movement, hard, strong. Primo Carnera takes a lot of punishment, he’s not that skilled.”

Joe Louis: “Joe Louis was fast, but he had no footwork. Joe Louis was good here (closer range), fast jabs, hooks, rights but no footwork. He moved like a mummy. He would never catch me. If he would just move, he just stays in the same hitting range. He has no movement. I was smart enough to move when I get hit. Joe Louis was one of the greatest of all time but no footwork…These fighters (Louis and Max Schmeling) are so dumb, they didn’t know how to backpedal or run.”

Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore:  ”Scientific, tricky, they could cut the ring off. They would have been tough. But I think my boxing skills, my speed, reach and brains would have beat them.”

Rocky Marciano:  ”Oooh, he hit hard. Not to take anything away from these guys, especially the ones who are deceased, I think on my best day and his best day, I’d knock him out. I truly think he was better than Joe Frazier. It’s hard, it’s just up to the imagination…He kept fighting even with his nose hangin’ off. I did the computer fight with him and my arms were sore from just playing around with him, imagine how they’d feel if he was in his heyday…Rocky Marciano came along at the right time, with the right promotion, he beat Joe Louis, Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles when they were old…He’s wild, chops, just wild punches, no class, no skill. He can’t whup a great fighter who is ripe, he whupped an old man (Charles).”

[At the end of the show, Cosell asked Ali which of the heavyweight champions would have been the most difficult for him?]

“From what I’ve seen in these films, the men who crouched and fought in close – Dempsey, Marciano might be more trouble. Fighters who leaned back – Jack Johnson. I had trouble with people like George Chuvalo. I had trouble with Ernie Terrell – a lot of fighters who wouldn’t rank up with these fighters.”

(Ali & Cosell Oil Painting by Scoop Malinowski)