Wilt Chamberlain challenges Muhammad Ali to fight - Fathers of the Sport

[tom11zz884]

The fight would have been a joke..Ali would have knocked Wilt out in one or two rounds.

[suriamarsuli]

The thing is,It's funny when you compare a guy who has start trained boxing from 12 years old to be defeated by a guy who has only few months of boxing training.This is no Rocky Balboa hollywood flick.And Ali always had problems with smaller fighters like Frazier and Norton.He dominate tall fighter like Terrell and even refused to knock him out and continue punishing him for 15 rounds.

Terell thought he had the height advantage to keep Ali at bay,but was suprised by his speed.

[mrcjrowe]

Like Muhammad Ali said, if that fight ever came off... all the people listening to the radio stations would have heard the commentors shout out... TIMBERRRR ! lol

[Rockyfan10060]

Why would anybody think a basketball player who's never fought professionallyh can beat the man who is one of the Greatest fighters ever to walk the face of the Earth? Wilt was lucky he didn't get embarassed.

[michaelyouth]

@Rockyfan10060 Please, you have such fools. Look at the person below your comment. There is no way in heaven that a basketball player can beat a boxer, without being trained in boxing. He doesn't have a developed chin or body. He would get his ribs broken, his nose broken, and he was out of luck he might get killed. Boxing is more about height or size. It's about speed, tactics, stamina, chin and heart. Basketball stamina is far from being the same as boxers stamina.

[straty899]

@michaelyouth Well I think given 6 or 8 months Wilt could have won the fight. Not only was the man strongest to play in the NBA (benching over 500 pounds, dead lifting over 625) he also had a MUCH larger wingspan than Ali. While you are right about boxing stamina being different it is important to note that Wilt had the most stamina of any NBA player. The man was almost mythical in his physical prowess. But with no training Ali would have beat him in 3-5 rounds. Love them both!

[michaelyouth]

@straty899 Listen I hate it when people say the thing I'm going to say now, but I have to: You are an ignorant, stupid person if you honestly believe that. Do you think Wilt could withstand the punishment, a simple middleweight is much tougher than Chamberlain. Ali hit maybe three times as fast and hard. Lifting weights, won't do much for your BOXING strength. What is wrong with you man? He's fighting the heavyweight champion, he would lose against an unexperienced boxer.

[straty899]

@michaelyouth What's wrong with you? You are an ignorant, stupid FANBOY (i have to put my personal touch in it.) Chamberlain knocked out much larger basketball players in one punch. Im not saying that means he could do anything close to that to Ali but you have to respect his strength, his weight, his reach, etc. Sorry I insulted your boyfriend, but chill. We can debate things while being civilized.

[michaelyouth]

@straty899 I guess your right about the civilized part. The only reason I believe that Ali would have annihilated him is because Ali was a heavyweight boxer and Wilt was a basketball player. There is no comparison, I went from soccer to boxing, and left it, because of education, a year ago, and there is not even a single comparison. You can not train a year to fight, you not about 2 years to get in shape, to fight an ordinairy heavyweight. The champ would kill an untrained person.

[straty899]

@michaelyouth Thank you. I understand why you think there would be no chance with the difference in sports and your personal experience. But Wilt Chamberlain was one of the best athletes of the century (top 5 from what ive read) and he was a multi-sport athlete having great success in high jump, shotput, volleyball (kinda), not to mention he is the most dominating basketball player of all time. If you put some research into his physical prowess from credible sources, it evens the fields.

[straty899]

@michaelyouth I understand the fact you can't train a guy well in 8 months for a fight, but you have to understand it the other way around, Ali never prepared for a fight where the guy had such physical dominance over him. I find that often being prepared (ali's advantage) usually wins but one can not simply overlook the huge physical advantage that came with Wilt.

[michaelyouth]

@straty899 He had a physical advantage, in size, I agree.He didn't nearly have the speed of Ali, or the quickness. Neither did he have the ability to take a punch, in the stomach or chin.You need about 2 years, and I say this of experience, of 5 times a week training, an hour daily,for you to get ready to take blows to your body.Wilt could not develope his boxing muscles at that age anymore. He was strong, I agree, but not a boxer. Shaquille, with his size, lost to a middleweight.

[straty899]

@michaelyouth I disagree. Wilt was having supreme physical punishment from players in the 60s, he even had his front teeth knocked out from a man who decided to punch him. While these aren't boxers punching him, the men had no gloves on. I agree though with the lack of quickness, Ali simply was on another level there. Dont give me the Shaquille nonsense though, Shaq is a fatter, slower, less coordinated, more easily tired, and yes, WEAKER than Chamberlain.

[michaelyouth]

@straty899 True, but if Shaquille, with his size can lose to a middleweight that easily, think of what would happen to Wilt against the champion. I still think Ali would beat him to a pulp, because a basketball player, can't just withstand punishment for 15 rounds against the champ. Not to mention Ali was fast he could hit Wilt 3, 4 times,hard, and not even get hit himself, because of his superior reflexes and quickness. Ali could take a punch from Foreman. Wilt would be no problem.

[straty899]

@michaelyouth Look I don't think this argument is going anywhere. I have to admit I am more of a basketball fan than a boxing one, and that neither of us is going to change the mind of the other. I still think Wilt with some training could give Ali a good run for his money (as Ali even said) and I am glad that one of them backed out (Both have stories of backing out) because to see both legends fight one another would have been a blow to both men. Good day.

[bordertown]

I love Ali but I don't think he knew what he was up against here.

[freakmetal23]

no disrespect to the champ, but I do think WIlt would have knocked him down

[MrSoulSamCooke]

Don't start poppin off LOL

[EGarrett01]

Wilt seems awfully cocky for a guy who could barely win an NBA championship, let alone one in a different sport.

[RandomLevitation]

@EGarrett01 I don't ever remember during those championships though having to fist fight anyone let alone box haha

[arther1045]

@EGarrett01 how do you barely win a title? Either you win it or you don't. Wilt won 2 and rather easily. Ali would have koed him in one round.

[Epimpin101]

@EGarrett01 because he was playing against a team with 5 hall of famers, and he was the only one on his team that could do shit. 1 player can't beat 5 no matter how good he is.

[EGarrett01]

@Epimpin101

Actually Wilt played with Hal Greer, Chet Walker and Billy Cunningham on his team, all at the same time, all of whom were multiple time All-Stars.

[straty899]

@EGarrett01 And he won with them!  Interesting how when he got the help he won!

[EGarrett01]

@straty899

He had those teammates for several years and didn't win. They won one when he started passing the ball, but that's it. Thus the word "barely."

[straty899]

@EGarrett01 Going against the greatest basketball team in history that had been together for years, with arguably the best basketball player of all time, and still winning 1 championship, is amazing. And if you are using the "barely" excuse, then its Boston who "barely" won against Wilt's teams... many times coming down to a last second shot that went in. (sometimes with a VERY favorable roll.)

[EGarrett01]

@straty899

Well if he couldn't beat the best guy at BASKETBALL, what the heck made him think he could beat the best guy in a whole different sport that he'd never even practiced? Mwahahah.

[straty899]

@EGarrett01 Once again its not 1 v 1. Chamberlain is better in every part of basketball (besides free throws) than Russell, yet for the most part he wasn't concerned so much for winning. Chamberlain wanted records and he got them. Russell wanted rings and he got them. Comparing his success in one sport has no relevance in what he can do in boxing. I dont know if Chamberlain could win in boxing but just look up Jim Brown - he says Ali backed out of the fight. Just a thought.

[EGarrett01]

@straty899

I actually did look up Jim Brown months ago, it's a related video to this one. He says he wasn't stupid enough to want to fight Ali. Not that Ali backed out. Come on, man.

[Brad1112223]

@EGarrett01 That was Wilt's style. He was cocky. In basketball he could back it up too. In his time, he was mostly hated by fans because of his attitude. Then again if I was statistically, the greatest player in the NBA in the 60s' I'd probably be cocky also.

[TehJoshMaster]

@EGarrett01 Yea, what @Brad1112223 said. He was the only person ever to score 100 points in the NBA and he also did it in an amateur league game. He was no doubt statistically one of the best to play the game. Besides, I would do the same thing talking to Ali just to joke around, haha.

[Yeeeebooy]

@EGarrett01 Nigga, have you seen Wilt's stats? He has the right to be cocky.

[mnypwrrspkt]

2 of my heroes.. Wilt for fuckin thousands of women, Ali for bein the greatest and so pretty and his swag was off the hook 

[smarteffort]

so why didn't the fight happen??

[M055B0RG]

ali wants that challenge man , chamberlain standing there with his arm out , ali just wants to get at him sooo bad

[Pk3llz]

wilt would've got his ass kicked

[3787811]

@Pk3llz I'm not sure about that, being a martial artist, i can tell you on the street yeah for sure, but in a ring with rules, height and strength matters, and Wilt is stronger than any boxer that Mohammed Ali has faced, the guy could move cars and deflate basketballs with his bare hands, and Wilt was not a basketball player to begin with, he was an athlete, boxing is much more athletic than it is about fighting, dont get me wrong i give the upper hand to the champ, but Wilt is a myth almost...

[huraha96704]

@Pk3llz You are exactly right. Look at 7' Julius Long brother and cousin in the NBA. Julius Long has been KOed numerous times by smaller heavyweights. Look at 6'9" Too Tall Jones KOed in his first fight with Abraham Meneses a journeyman heavyweight. Jones was KOed for about 1 minute. He was pampered by his corrupt promoters though who had the ref in their pocket. Meneses was disqualified for hitting Jones after he KOed him. After that Jones never fought a fighter with a winning record.

[KARENK72886]

cool video, cheers. just a lil intimidated...poppin off...hahaha

[glennmach]

Cool Video, Lol !!! For once Muhammad Ali might not have been the Greatest.If Wilt had the chance to give him so lefts and right hand punches to Ali's head.Thumbs Up !! ..Cheers,Marc Jones..Los Angeles,U.S.A.(Aussie Vocalist)