Bruce Lee vs. Muhammad Ali who would win?

[Xue Sheng]

Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them.They have late minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and will. the will must be stronger than the skill
- Muhammed Ali

Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.
- Muhammad Ali

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.
- Muhammad Ali




All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.
- Bruce Lee

Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against.
- Bruce Lee

Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick.
- Bruce Lee

The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.
- Bruce Lee

You just wait. I'm going to be the biggest Chinese Star in the world.
- Bruce Lee

 

[Joab]

I lived in Seattle for over twenty years and met many who were taught by Bruce Lee while he was in Seattle, my Sifu in Wing Chun was taught by James DeMille who was taught by Bruce Lee. All say he was a phenomenal fighter, and they couldn't do anything against him. Just because he was an actor doesn't mean he wasn't a great fighter.

I really don't appreciate the responses that belittle the topic. If you don't like the topic don't post, ignore it. Let those who want to have a little fun with a fantasy match have their fun, don't be a downer to the rest of us.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I lived in Seattle for over twenty years and met many who were taught by Bruce Lee while he was in Seattle, my Sifu in Wing Chun was taught by James DeMille who was taught by Bruce Lee.

From what I understand, Lee was a good teacher and put together an excellent system. His students who went on to become great teachers are a testament to Lee's success in this area.

All say he was a phenomenal fighter, and they couldn't do anything against him. Just because he was an actor doesn't mean he wasn't a great fighter.

Absolutely it does not mean that he wasn't a great fighter. But just because he made some cool movies doesn't mean that he was either. It is very apparent from seeing him on screen that he was incredibly athletic and certainly had the tools to fight a mean fight. Certainly his peers in the industry spoke very highly of him in this.

Was he a great fighter? Probably.

But aside from hearsay and anecdotes, there is no documentation of this. Though I personally do agree that Lee likely was a great fighter. Was he on Ali's level? Not likely.

But whether or not Lee was a great fighter wasn't the question posed. You asked whether Lee or Ali would win if they fought. The facts favor Ali. That does not lessen Lee's abilities in any way. Ali was one of the greatest fighters and arguably the greatest boxer of the twentieth century. Lots of great fighters couldn't beat him. They were still great fighters though.

I really don't appreciate the responses that belittle the topic. If you don't like the topic don't post, ignore it. Let those who want to have a little fun with a fantasy match have their fun, don't be a downer to the rest of us.

You posed a question on a public forum and got answers. You don't have to like them, but so long as you are posting on a public forum, and so long as the responses are on point and do not violate the site rules, asking people not to post is a bit unreasonable.

Daniel

 

[repz]

You can look up Joe Lewis comments on Bruce Lee being a fighter. In his own words he said Bruce Lee was not a fighter, never offered to spar him, nor did he ever saw bruce lee spar. He trained with him for 2 years I believe. You can google his interview.

he said many positive things about Lee though, but not about his fighting ability.

 

[Xue Sheng]

You can look up Joe Lewis comments on Bruce Lee being a fighter. In his own words he said Bruce Lee was not a fighter, never offered to spar him, nor did he ever saw bruce lee spar. He trained with him for 2 years I believe. You can google his interview.

he said many positive things about Lee though, but not about his fighting ability.

Interviews \ Joe Lewis – Bruce Lee

DW Forum - You have said on numerous occassions that Bruce was not a fighter, but at the same time you say that Bruce was the first Ph.D in martial arts fighting? And you have also written about how when you first met Bruce you were really prejudice in those days, especially of little guys as fighters, what changed your mind? You also write that in those days you didn't care much for talkers, you say, "don't tell me how to fight if you never fought", you go on to say "I was a doer in those days, and I didn't care much for talkers. In other words, don't tell me how great you are, how great your style is, or weather your stuff works or not. Let's simply get in the ring and I'll find out within a matter of seconds". What was it that changed your mind and become one of Bruce's students? Why were your classes private, and were Chuck Norris, or Mike Stone taught privatly also?

Joe Lewis - Bruce told me he did not care about competing. He had no interest in it, and he said he felt there was nothing to gain by him doing so. Little guys, in my opinion, have always been the best trainers. This is because tactically very early in their careers they figure out how to conquer larger opponents. Mike Stone, who I respect, convinced me to study with Bruce. Martial arts does not have a long history as does boxing. Bruce Lee was a wealth of knowledge. No one knew what he had. Bruce Lee was proud to be the instructor of three world champions, Norris, Stone, and myself. With private lessons, he could customize each lesson to fit and compliment the attributes of the individual. I teach this way also.

 

[LuckyKBoxer]

May sound like a silly question, one is dead and the other far into Parkinson's tragically, but back when both were alive and in their prime, who would win? I would say in the boxing ring, and with boxing style rules, Ali would win. He was incredibly quick and agile for a big man, almost a foot taller, close to 100 pounds heavier, and he would be in his element. In a no holds barred street fight, I think Lee would win with an incredibly quick kick to Ali's knee. Certainly it would be a fascinating contest, to see who would win, would have been a good scene in "Game of Death" to be sure...

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Ali would have beaten Lee in a fight with the only rules being no weapons..

The weight difference was tremendous, the reach advantage was tremendous, Ali was a great athlete as well, I could see Lee leaving to avoid fighting, but I do not see any scenario where Lee wins that fight. I absolutely hate Boxing, but I realize its strengths, Lees knowledge would not have been enough to overcome Alis knowledge and advantage in virtually every other physical aspect. Just my 2 cents.

 

[repz]

Interviews \ Joe Lewis – Bruce Lee

Plus theres also,


DW Forum - Could you answer me on one simple question concerning JKD? What exactly was Bruce teaching? I mean did he have specific way of treining his students or maybe he just said "well, we're gonna learn this from wing chun, that from boxing and those kicks from taekwondo"?Were there any specifics only for jeet kune do?So, have you sparred with Bruce Lee (because I've heard many versions of your fighting-relation ship with him).

Joe Lewis - Bruce and I would only do drills related to combat. We did not give them names, such as Wing Chun etc. If it worked we used it and I have always trained that way. I do not care about names or styles, that is all garbage---and I mean garbage. Either your kick or choke worked or it didn't: the style did not carry any super magic or extra powers.

----------------
Joe Lewis - I learn fast. I made black belt in one year in Okinawa in three different styles. I am a fast learning. I can get all your stuff in a matter of weeks, and I mean anybody who can fight. I worked with Bruce less than two years before we grew apart. We used to work together for 6 to 8 hours at a time. I would be at his house at one in the afternoon, and not leave until maybe ten that night. Is that one lesson? Bruce was not a fighter. He was an actor and a teacher. He was a great teacher.

 

[CoryKS]

Who would you take between all the guys mentioned in this thread... and Ditka?

 

[72ronin]

Pfff, Ali was too pretty LOL to scrap outside the ring, without gloves and a mouthpiece i dought his will to fight. He a draft dodging racist, posted a link to it earlier..

I repeat, if Frazier was allowed out for that last round, Ali would have died in the ring.

Mike Tyson is the best in boxing history full stop.

If you think that all the best fighters in the world have stepped inside the ring or octagon your wrong, some train others etc.

As for weight and reach sealing the deal, thats ridiculous. Take another look, the more compact left hook of Tyson for egsample has WAAAY more power than Ali could ever muster..

Am i saying this in favour of Lee, no, becouse he chose not to compete. Why do you think Lewis spent 2 yrs with him if he wasnt a great fighter? In his own words Lewis says he dont waste time with pretenders, and he learnt so much from Lee for his own fight career!! Fight records are there for those who choose to fight, they tell you themselves that dont make them the best. It just makes them the best in that division/Association is all..

Are you saying we should all drop some sterries and head for the boxing gym LMAO

edit; no ones heard of "thumb in the eye" stopping boxing matches immediatly?, low blows needing recovery time?? Look at the variables again, this surely was not a question of Lee stepping in the ring was it!!
Lee could kick Ali in the nuts before Ali could say "im the prettiest" LOL

 

[punisher73]

Pfff, Ali was too pretty LOL to scrap outside the ring, without gloves and a mouthpiece i dought his will to fight. He a draft dodging racist, posted a link to it earlier..

I repeat, if Frazier was allowed out for that last round, Ali would have died in the ring.

Mike Tyson is the best in boxing history full stop.

If you think that all the best fighters in the world have stepped inside the ring or octagon your wrong, some train others etc.

As for weight and reach sealing the deal, thats ridiculous. Take another look, the more compact left hook of Tyson for egsample has WAAAY more power than Ali could ever muster..

Am i saying this in favour of Lee, no, becouse he chose not to compete. Why do you think Lewis spent 2 yrs with him if he wasnt a great fighter? In his own words Lewis says he dont waste time with pretenders, and he learnt so much from Lee for his own fight career!! Fight records are there for those who choose to fight, they tell you themselves that dont make them the best. It just makes them the best in that division/Association is all..

Tyson (in his prime) was a force to be reckoned with for sure, but he is/was not the greatest. Tyson never fought anybody who was good and in their prime during his reign. There were alot of other guys who fought lots of good fighters in the ring to prove they were the best.

Tyson was a HW, just as Ali was. He might have been shorter, but he was bigger than Ali in muscle mass not sure where you were going with that. Tyson was 5'11 and weighed 220, Ali was 6'3 and 230. Lee was only 125 lbs, still not going to be generating as much power as a HW.

Lewis stated that Bruce was not a fighter and didn't compete. Lewis said that Lee was a good coach. Lots of guys are, doesn't mean that they are good fighters as well.

I'm not an Ali fan, but realistically I don't see Bruce Lee winning the fight.

 

[kaizasosei]

Mike Tyson is the best Boxer i've ever seen. I hope he keeps in shape and stretches his legs so that he can still prove how good he is.

j

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Now Tyson and Ali in their primes would be an interesting match-up.

Daniel

 

[kaizasosei]

yeah, that would be real interesting. Don't know if Tyson has changed his style some, but Mike's energy against Ali's economic movement...would be a sight to see, for sure


j

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

While I'm not a fan of Tyson, I would like to see him get his life back together and be a successful boxer again. From what I recall, his style changed a bit after Cus passed away, and not really for the better.

Daniel

 

[Omar B]

What I want more than Mike returning to the ring is I would love to see him open up a gym. I would beat a path to whatever door it is so I could learn from Tyson, and I'm sure many would too.

 

[repz]

Mike style under Cus was something called Peekaboo boxing. Its good for small fighters, especially Tyson since he was short in the heavyweight division, but still had power. Peekaboo is duck and slip and work close, hence the name "Peekaboo", where they hid and pop back out.

When Tyson stopped training with Cus, he stopped using Peekaboo. I remember a black belt article where they compared peekaboo boxing with wing chun. It was an interesting read, though i dont remember much.

 

[DeLamar.J]

May sound like a silly question, one is dead and the other far into Parkinson's tragically, but back when both were alive and in their prime, who would win? I would say in the boxing ring, and with boxing style rules, Ali would win. He was incredibly quick and agile for a big man, almost a foot taller, close to 100 pounds heavier, and he would be in his element. In a no holds barred street fight, I think Lee would win with an incredibly quick kick to Ali's knee. Certainly it would be a fascinating contest, to see who would win, would have been a good scene in "Game of Death" to be sure...

Who would win in a real fight? Bruce Lee all the way. Boxing is a sport with many rules, and boxers train to win by those rules. Kung Fu has no rules, and they train every part of the body to be a weapon. Boxing is way to limited to stand a chance. Put Bruce Lee in the ring and put rules on him like no kicking, no elbows, ect, and you have just turned the fight into a joke. Real fighting has no rules, the closest thing to real fighting in a safe way is MMA. Put Ali in a MMA match and he would be destroyed. Ali was a master of Boxing and the rules of Boxing.
Boxers only use there arms, and dont even use elbows, backfists, knife hands. Boxing is so limited.

 

[blindsage]

Pfff, Ali was too pretty LOL to scrap outside the ring, without gloves and a mouthpiece i dought his will to fight. He a draft dodging racist, posted a link to it earlier..

Funny how the last part has nothing to do with his fighting ability and yet seems to color your whole opinion.

I repeat, if Frazier was allowed out for that last round, Ali would have died in the ring.

Into hyperbole much?

Mike Tyson is the best in boxing history full stop.

Your perception of 'best' in boxing terms is confused.

If you think that all the best fighters in the world have stepped inside the ring or octagon your wrong, some train others etc.

Nobody stated that. You're assuming.

As for weight and reach sealing the deal, thats ridiculous. Take another look, the more compact left hook of Tyson for egsample has WAAAY more power than Ali could ever muster..

Nobody said weight, and reach were all that mattered, you're reading things into statements that aren't there.

Am i saying this in favour of Lee, no, becouse he chose not to compete. Why do you think Lewis spent 2 yrs with him if he wasnt a great fighter? In his own words Lewis says he dont waste time with pretenders, and he learnt so much from Lee for his own fight career!! Fight records are there for those who choose to fight, they tell you themselves that dont make them the best. It just makes them the best in that division/Association is all..

In his own words Lewis said Bruce wasn't a fighter, you're arguing with Lewis, not anyone here.

Are you saying we should all drop some sterries and head for the boxing gym LMAO

Again, this has nothing to do with what anybody said. You're reading what isn't there.

edit; no ones heard of "thumb in the eye" stopping boxing matches immediatly?, low blows needing recovery time?? Look at the variables again, this surely was not a question of Lee stepping in the ring was it!!
Lee could kick Ali in the nuts before Ali could say "im the prettiest" LOL

Prove it. Exactly, that's the point.

 

[blindsage]

Boxing is so limited.

Until you get your *** beat by it.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Until you get your *** beat by it.

I'm with you, lLimited or not it sure has great potential for beating someone up.

I have to say I watched the Tyson vs. James "Bonecrusher" Smith fight and I saw James "Bonecrusher" Smith throw a punch that appeared to come from the floor and had all his weight behind it and it hit Tyson right in the head and it did not phase him a bit. My first thought was "that punch would have killed me". If there is one thing many boxers can do really well it is punch. And if they are a real good boxer they can also take a punch.

I saw Ali Shadow boxing for fun once on a TV show and that man was fast and you could tell strong. And it was a relaxed type of strong I see in a good Xingyi sifu. I have no doubt he could hit like a truck. Bruce Lee was incredibly fast and also rather powerful and his basic idea was if you can hit me you can hurt me... but you have to hit me first.

Could Ali beat Bruce Lee or could Bruce beat Ali.... I have know idea and I truly don't care.. Both men tend to impress me with their skill.