If Muhammed Ali was never banned from boxing how would his career pan out?

There is an additional question that people should be looking at, besides whether he beats Frazier and Norton.

Given his higher level of activity, he would have take more ring wear mid career, and this would likely have precipitated a more rapid decline late in his career.

The same argument equally applied to Joe Louis if he had not been inducted into the army, and perhaps to Mike Tyson if he had not gone to prison.

 

That was a Foreman that was constantly being told he would murder this old man.

A Foreman that would be facing THE MUHAMMAD ALI... That guy would be super prepared.

Plus I didn't say he'd knock him out in 2 rounds, Ali would definitely be winning the fight by the time Foreman caught him and stopped, which I believe would have happened. The only way Ali could have avoided it is by using the Rope-a-dope, which he obviously wouldn't feel he needs after outboxing Frazier and Norton

 

What you seem to have trouble comprehending is the Clay / Ali from 64 until 67 rarely got hit cleanly, and if he did he didn't get hit with the follow up shots. Plus the fact he had very good recuperative powers when he was dropped makes me think that he easily outboxes Frazier, and Norton with both speed and mobility.

These attributes would be hellish for the ponderous slower than treacle Foreman.The pre 67 Ali would have broken Foremans bullying spirit, just as easily, if not easier than he did the bullying Liston in Feb 64. I see similar speed and mobility between the 2 despite their respective ages when Ali fought them. If anything George looked even more ponderous.

I have little or no time for Tyson but I believe he is right on the money when he said on camera ( its posted on another thread ) " Fvck off outta here man No one beats that Ali. **** off " He was demonstrating how Ali threw shots when you didn't think he could, the volume of them, the accuracy of them and the timing of them.

 

Lmao, I have no comprehension problem... However I am sensing that old ride a lot of poster on here like to take...

Anyway, look I'm just being real hear. Foreman hit loads harder than Liston, was bigger, and at the end of the day Foreman would only have to hit Ali one good time to do the damage because he's Foreman. I didn't say KO mind you, I just said do the damage. Now stretch that over 15 rounds, the damage adds up

Like I said in a different post, the reason Ali was able to take the body punishment he got from Foreman, aside from the fact over confident Foreman was just winging them as hard as he could, is because he'd been spending his training camps training his body to do so. He would let his sparring partners beat him up against the ropes to accommodate for the fact he wasn't as mobile as he used to be.

Taking all the wear and tear that was brought up by another poster, especially coming after the tough Frazier and Norton fights (those fights would have been tough no matter when Ali took them, Norton just had a stylistic advantage).

It all would have wrapped up into a shocking George Foreman come from behind KO. Ali would have won the rematch, and the rubber match, but that first fight he wouldn't know what he was up against.

 

With all due respect you sincerely DO have a comprehension problem. To even DREAM pre 67 Ali would have needed to go to the ropes and let the big USELESS Foreman lash at him with those body shots, NEVER MIND think it, is proof enough.

As I said that muppet was even SLOWER than Liston, in both hand and foot speed. It doesn't matter how hard you hit NOTHING, you are still hitting nothing.

George Foreman possessed that unique gift, of even managing to make the K2 brothers looks fast.

 

lol. Well I agree with your outcome Foxy, but Foreman was not THAT slow. And when cutting off the ring & throwing straight punches he could move pretty well.

But Liston also hit extremely hard, & yes, Ali would have been too fast for Foreman, would not need the rope a dope. Norton would not BE so effective against Ali when Ali's footspeed could acoid & turn the tables on his counter-punching. Frazier would be the one to give Ali big shots & wear: but I just do not know if this would be worse than the rust of the lay off. He could have kept speed later without it.

 

I still laugh at the memory of Ali on a chat show doing an impersonation of " The Mummy " ( as he named him, just as he named Liston the bear, and Joe the gorilla ) Foreman in which he planted his right foot on the ground, turning 90 degrees and throwing punches as if underwater. He was giggling like a schoolgirl ,and saying " Come on man be serious. How could I lose to someone like that? "

 

:verysad

Explain to me what I'm failing to comprehend?

You're not speaking with facts, you're giving an opinion. If we agree on nothing else, lets agree that having a comprehension problem doesn't apply to this conversation... Based at the very least on the definition of the word "comprehension" e.g. I can't comprehend what you're saying... I can comprehend it fine, I just don't agree with it

First of all, we're not talking about '67 Ali... We're talking about '74 without the 3 year ban. You don't how his condition would be by '74, so lets avoid pretending that you know secrets about an alternate universe that I don't.

There was more to prime George Foreman than what happened to him in Zaire. He was not so unbelievably slow of hand and foot, he could cut off the ring, he had a stiff and rather quick jab. And at the end of the day, he was one of if not the hardest punchers in boxing history. All it takes is one... Or are you still trying to argue that he would not have landed a single meaningful punch on Ali?

If so, that's just your opinion, and under the circumstances, its perfectly open to disagreement... Hopefully you can comprehend that one

 

50-0, retires from boxing, get into acting, and wins a Academy Award by 1980.

 

Frazier probably wouldnt have had a career nor Foreman for that matter

 

Too much emphasis on his inactivity. At an older age, Vitali came back to win an alphabet belt as well as winning the rest of his fights. Foreman's 10 year absence speaks for itself. Other examples exist in lighter weights. Dempsey's similar absence resulted in the Tunney defeats, it could be that a prime Frazier, like Tunney, stylistically had Ali's number. The 2 losses to Ali came after Foreman ruined him.

 

whilst foreman comeback defied belief, vitali ran off into retirement because he was too ashamed to lose to a relative dwarf again originating from an arguable 4 divisions below him, and came back to fight a guy who never should have had a title, never mind be called an athlete, he gassed after 5 rounds. Vtali knew he would be back as soon as the furore over his cowardice diminished.

3 years out, not knowing if you are going to to fight again, is inherently different. ALi looked a very different man, and he was up for an inherently different challenge, the undisputed title, and for a very different fighter, an ATG. in fact as it transpired, 2 ATGs.

 

The following significant heavyweights, had their primes curtailed by external factors:

James J Jeffries

Joe Louis Barrows

Muhammad Ali

Michael Gerhard Tyson

Arguably Jack Johnson.

Jack Dempsey did it to himself, so it doesn’t count.