# Who was the greatest **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786 "2004-03-27T19:40:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![laughingpiranha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@laughingpiranha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laughingpiranha)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/1 "2004-03-27T19:40:56Z")
Who would win between Bruce lee and muhammad ali? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/2 "2004-03-27T19:58:04Z")
Bruce Lee. Boxers just about always get their butts kicked by martial artists, at least on the fights I’ve watched. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/3 "2004-03-27T19:59:35Z")
**ALI** , of course. ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/4 "2004-03-27T20:40:02Z")
Somewhere around here I’ve got a copy of “The Making of Enter the Dragon” by Robert Clouse, the director. I remember Bruce Lee addressing this question at some point, and I believe his take was that Ali’s skill and speed combined with his considerable size advantage would be more than he (Lee) could handle. I’ll see if I can dig up the book and get an accurate quote. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/5 "2004-03-27T21:09:22Z")
Well, Muhammed Ali has Parkinson’s but Bruce Lee is dead so I’d have to give the advantage to the living. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/6 "2004-03-27T22:52:11Z")
I think we’ve done this a couple of times. General consensus was that Ali was too big and fast to be “handled” by Lee with an assurance of winning. Having said this, however, the undead are faster than they used to be, so who knows? ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/7 "2004-03-27T23:01:35Z")
I don’t know if Bruce could kick kareem abdul-Jabbar’s butt I bet he could handle Ali ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/8 "2004-03-27T23:15:49Z")
Maybe the OP meant it that way, but I didn’t read the OP to say “Who could whip who’s ass?” Not knocking Bruce Lee, but I just don’t see how anyone could stand up against Ali for the title of “The Greatest” For one thing IMHO Ali invented the term and applied it to himself. At one time, he was the most recognized person in the world. I just do not see Bruce Lee matching up to Ali, irregardless of who could whip who’s ass. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/9 "2004-03-27T23:19:36Z")
> [@pool](#): > > I don’t know if Bruce could kick kareem abdul-Jabbar’s butt I bet he could handle Ali Get real! Ali would take Kareem out so fast it would not be funny. This reminds me of the time when “Too Tall” Jones thought he was going to take over the boxing world. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/10 "2004-03-28T00:52:11Z")
Of course I don’t know, but I would put my money on Ali. First of all Lee was 5’7" circa 135lbs, Muhammad Ali was circa 200lbs and was 6’3" (using both men’s primetime measures). Secondly we saw the pounding that Ali could take from men +6 feet tall and over 200 lbs. I can’t believe a Foreman or Frazier body blow to the ribs could be _that much less painful_ than a Lee kick to the same place. Same with kicks to the chin or nose. I think Lee could “get on his bike” in boxing paralance and try to create a Leonard-Hagler fight (if you know that history), but ultimately I think Ali would connect and pretty much knock him out. The wild card, to me, is that I don’t know how much punishment Lee could take. It is possible that an Ali punch to the ribs would disable him. And also possible that Ali would need to hit him pretty squarely in the head to bring him down. As I said I am not sure there & that would make a difference in how long (And great) the fight was. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/11 "2004-03-28T01:44:39Z")
:eek: Undead kung fu masters! That’s some scary shit. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/12 "2004-03-28T02:08:45Z")
OK, heated debate going on here - my husband insists that Ali would win because his “hand speed and hand reach” would disable Lee. I disagree - I think self-defense schooling would allow Lee to take Ali out in about 3 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/13 "2004-03-28T03:32:00Z")
My tai chi teacher (who studied under Fu Zhongwen and Ma Yueh-Liang, in case that means anything to you) once mentioned that good boxers are very hard to fight mostly because they’re well-trained in shifting their weight. I’d give the fight to Ali. ---
**Author:** ![crakcrjakc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47c2d/32.png) [@crakcrjakc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crakcrjakc)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/14 "2004-03-28T03:34:29Z")
oh man bruce lee would absolutely win a fight to the death. ali isn’t trained to kill people he’s trained to punch. all lee would have to do is get him down once and it’d be over. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/15 "2004-03-28T03:51:16Z")
In a fair fight? Ditka. Of course. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/16 "2004-03-28T04:15:38Z")
A fight between Ali and Lee could go either way. Ali has the clear arm reach, but Lee was extremely fast with his feet. If it was a street fight with no protective gear, it could definitely go either way. One swift kick to the right spot is all Lee would need. One punch to the face is all Ali would need. Tossup ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/17 "2004-03-28T05:06:15Z")
> [@laughingpiranha](#): > > Who would win between Bruce lee and muhammad ali? You mean at chess? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/18 "2004-03-28T16:46:45Z")
“I am the greatest! Knight takes queen!” ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/19 "2004-03-28T16:52:09Z")
> [@I Love Me](#): > > In a fair fight? > > Ditka. Of course. Foot-high Ditka, or full-sized Ditka? ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786/20 "2004-03-28T17:16:11Z")
One lightning-quick kick to Ali’s knee would end any fight. Bruce Lee said as much, when someone asked him what would happen if he got in a fight with someone much larger than him. Lee developed perhaps the most lethal fighting system in the world–provided you’re not limited to the rules of boxing. He oft-repeated remark was: “There’s no need to kick above the knee.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-greatest/236786.md?page=2)