Even Muhammad Ali would have struggled to deal with Tyson Fury - promoter
Boxing
By
Mirror
| May 07, 2020
Bob Arum - who also promoted Muhammad Ali - believes current client Tyson Fury may well have got the better of the heavyweight legend
Tyson Fury may well have caused too many problems for Muhammad Ali, reckons the Brit's promoter Bob Arum.
Arum - who also promoted Ali - brought the American to Highbury in 1966 where he beat Henry Cooper in a rematch.
He now acts as Fury's US promoter and helped broker the fights which saw him dethrone Deontay Wilder as WBC heavyweight king.
Arum promoted George Foreman's comeback to the ring after a 10-year absence and saw him become the oldest world heavyweight champion in history aged 45 in 1994.
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And when comparing the greats across the eras, Arum admits he thinks Fury might have the better of Ali.
"I look at Ali, I look at Foreman when he won the title when he was 45, I look at Fury," Arum told Sky Sports. "How would Ali have done with Fury? That's a question I wrestle with.
"The Ali before the three-and-a-half years out was absolutely superb. Nobody could touch him, he was so fast.
"Ali was 6ft3in and the guys he fought were about the same size. How would he do against a 6ft9in guy who is an incredible boxer with great footwork?
"I grew up with basketball in New York and the centre was barely 6ft6in. A guard was 5ft10in. Now LeBron James is as quick as any guard but he's 6ft10in.
"Imagine LeBron playing against the small guys of my era. It would be a joke, he would score 60 points every game.
"I can't see Ali competing with a 6ft9in guy like Fury. We had big guys in the old days but they were slow, lumbering.