If Ali didn't come back to boxing.

[VG_Addict]

What if Ali didn't return to the ring? Would Foreman have been HW champ longer?

[Stevie G]

Originally Posted by VG_Addict

What if Ali didn't return to the ring? Would Foreman have been HW champ longer?

Very probably. It's quite feasible that he'd have held the title until Jimmy Young or Larry Holmes was ready to challenge him.

[slip&counter]

Absolutely. There was no one really to challenge him. Probabily would've been champ for another decade. Ali ruined him.

[Stevie G]

Originally Posted by slip&counter

Absolutely. There was no one really to challenge him. Probabily would've been champ for another decade. Ali ruined him.

Only Ali could have comprehensively beat him at that point in time. George was a beast. H2H,he'd have done pretty well against the champs prior to and after him.

[Low blow]

I'm just wondering why Ali might not have returned to the ring? Was he debating retiring after 67?

[Stevie G]

Originally Posted by Low blow

I'm just wondering why Ali might not have returned to the ring? Was he debating retiring after 67?

I think the poster was referring to the scenario of the boxing authorities banning him for good.

[Low blow]

Originally Posted by Stevie G

I think the poster was referring to the scenario of the boxing authorities banning him for good.

Ok thanks for the clarification. I could have seen Foreman retaining the title for years but he did lose a fight a few years after to someone who's name I can't think of at the moment.

I'll never get sick of talking about Ali. What a king.

[BillB]

Originally Posted by Low blow

I'm just wondering why Ali might not have returned to the ring? Was he debating retiring after 67?

Prison. He came within a whisker of going.

[JWSoats]

Originally Posted by Low blow

I'm just wondering why Ali might not have returned to the ring? Was he debating retiring after 67?

His case kept dragging out in the courts. For years it was not known when or if the Supreme Court would hear the appeal. By early 1970 it was looking more and more like he would never return to the ring. He started saying publicly that he was done with boxing. Prior to the showing of the Marciano-Ali computer fight movie, Ali promoted the film by saying "Come and see me in the ring for the last time..." It was on the basis of these announcements that Ring Magazine finally declared the heavyweight title vacant in January, 1970, having stood by Ali's due process in the intervening years.

[JWSoats]

Very likely Foreman would have dominated the rest of the decade. Much would depend on how he handled his title reign. Had he remained active and concentrated on perfecting his craft, he might have pulled the skills of young George and old George together, in which case he could have been dominant for a very long time. Title defenses against Quarry, Lyle, and Shavers could have been great fights. As a fully developed, mature, and confident champion, Foreman probably would have successfully defended against Jimmy Young, and maybe even Holmes, who would have been the stiffest test for him. When you consider that George regained the heavyweight title over twenty years after he lost it, and with a ten year layoff, you really have to wonder what might have been.