No he was not. Ali had a vast amatuer career capturing numerous
championships and won a gold medal in the olympics. And when he returned home to segregated and racist Louisvile, Kentucky, he could not even get served a sandwich in his own hometown.
As far as his religious beliefs go, at least he had the principles to stand up for his beliefs and had his title stripped during his peak years.
All of that aside, you obviously do not know the real story about the joke that was the computerized fight between Ali and Marciano.
In Archie Moores own words that I heard myself. And Archie at that time was the ONLY boxer who actually fought both Ali and Marciano:
*"During the filming, they both had to go down as part of the various scripted endings of the fight.
Ali took a body punch, and sat on his stool but refused to go to the canvas, and laughed. Marciano also laughed and went down as instructed. Yes Ali asked for more money, but he asked for it because of the fact that he needed it after he was stripped of his title.
Marciano said during the filming, I have never seen that big a man with hands that fast."
*The "Heavyweight Champion" that Marciano defeated for the title was 37 year old Jersey Joe Walcott, who was knocked out by Joe Louis years earlier, and he was way past his prime. Marciano was 28 years old at the time and it took him 13 rounds and a trip to the deck to win. Jersey Joe was not a great champion. At best, he was a journeyman with an inconsistent record. When Ali won his first title he won it at 22 years old and beat Sonny Liston, who was a knockout puncher with one of the best jabs in history, and feared by everyone. Liston would would have beaten Marciano to a bloody pulp.
Ali stopped Liston in the 7th round and knocked him out in 1 round in the rematch.
The so called third rate fighter that Ali lost to was as you say, Leon Spinks. When Ali fought Spinks he had already long ago cleaned out the entire heavyweight division by beating every top contender out there. Most of whom were champions themselves. Ken Norton, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Jimmy Ellis.
All of thse men would have towered over Marciano, cut him up and stopped him.
Ali had also beaten some great contenders who would have been champions in the weak era that Marciano fought in.
That aside, Ali beat Spinks in a rematch at the age of 36!
Nearly the age that Walcott was when he LOST his title to Marciano.
Quality of opposition and length of career are two of the most important metrics in rating a champion.
*Marcianos opposition was substandard compared to Ali"s. Ali fought and defeated fighters who are ranked as all time greats. And he beat them IN THEIR PRIME. Marciano did not defeat a single all time great during their prime fighting years.
*Marciano was the champion for 4 years and fought a total of 9 years.
*Ali was champion for 3 years in his first reign, and came back almost 4 years later after having his prime years taken away, and won his title back and held it another 4 years during one of the most competitive eras in heavyweight boxing history.
He fought a total of 20 years.
* Joe Louis statement that "Rocky would have beaten him when he was younger" was Joe being gracious. He needed money to get the IRS off his back and Rocky gave him a shot. Joe was always humble in victory and defeat. That's the kind of guy he was. The real greatest overall fighter in history, Sugar Ray Robinson told me that himself, and he grew up in Detroit around Joe.
Lastly, I am not disparaging Marciano. Winning 49 fights and losing none is commendable, no matter what. He was a nice guy and I even have his autograph, and was sad whn he died in that plane crash. But he was not the greatest heavyweight champion by any means.
But he was a good one.
Here is what the real experts say:
From THE RING: The greatest heavyweight of all time - The Ring
