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I don't have a dog in this hunt, as I think of boxing not as a sport, more like Gladiators in Ancient Rome, smashing one another to pieces for the amusement of blood thirsty cretins, but the maximum height for male draftees in 1970 was 80 inches, which equates to 6' 8", so although I accept that there were, and are, basket ball players at 6' 9" or more, some would have got the call.
Beyond Elvin Hayes or a then Lew Alcindor what other athlete would have been on the World Heavyweight Champion's level. Elvis being and Ted Williams being called to active duty for the Korean War are close. Maybe if a Bob Hayes or Jim Hines as the World's fastest Men if they were drafted?
Coach Wooden calls "luck" as preparation meeting opportunity. Ali had both as the war and conscription resistor and thus was able to add to his legend as The Greatest in an area besides his boxing and promotional ability.
What truly separated Ali from all other fighters was less his ring superiority and more his incredible natural talent for promotion. More than any athlete before or since, Ali was able to write the narrative of his competitions and cast his opponent, detractors and the media into whatever roles he needed them to play. Everything it takes an entire production company to produce in the way of a professional wrestling story arc, Ali could do all by himself. He turned Howard Cosell into his personal Ned Buntline.
He was a different fighter after the three year enforced layoff, not quite as fast and graceful in the ring as the earlier edition, but a stronger fighter mentally. He was beautiful to watch in those pre draft fights....a heavyweight who fought with his hands at his sides, using only his quick body and head movements to avoid getting punched. Then suddenly he was on you with a blurry fast combination or jackhammer series of jabs.
Had he not lost those years his greatness would not have transcended the world of sports. It was during those years the world got see whats in the heart and soul of an athlete. I'm not sure of his training regimen during those years, it seems his activism took center stage. His approach to the sport put him way ahead of anyone boxing at that time. Flat footed sluggers and hardly any lateral movement dominated the sport and he could beat them all even after the years off. I can still hear echos of Dundee shouting "stick and move, stick and move." Angelo gets a lot of credit for taking Ali's physical assets and making them insurmountable to any opponent.
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