If Ali had faced unbeaten Cooney in 77?

While he might not have used the same tactics that worked on Foreman in Zaire, I believe Ali would try to out-guile Cooney and take him into deeper water where he was untested. Cooney, like Foreman, had built his reputation on power and a string of quick, early round knockouts. His ability to pace himself, adapt to changing situations, take punishment, and deliver power in the later rounds was still largely unknown. I would look for Ali to take advantage of this, all the while trying to get inside Cooney's head. Cooney is nevertheless a dangerous fighter, so I would make him a live underdog. My pick would be Ali UD-15.

 

Ali by ko in 12 or 13 rounds. Gerry wouldn't have the stamina to keep with Muhammad.

 

Be serious please. Ali was only hanging on to the title because of who he was not his performances in the ring. He should have lost his belt in `76 against Young and Norton. The powers that be in boxing were giving Ali a victory lap late in his career. It was hard to watch. Remember it wasn`t just age. Ali had alot of miles on his odometer as a boxer. Brutal fights, and a high # of fights. He should have retired after Manila.

 

Quite right. Muhammad in 1977 was ready to be taken but not by a VERY green Cooney.

 

Cooney could do it in '77, but it would be tough since Cooney wasn't quite as seasoned as he needed to be. If it's '79, I pick Cooney

 

whatever the mileage,irrespective of when he shoulda retired the 76/77 ali u point to almost stopped shavers in the the 15th with an incredible storming display of stamina took his best shots ...he stopped ron lyle ...was out of shape untrained for young he didnt win it imo yes but young hardly won arching his back out of ropes...a draw imo...trained in shape ali wins...norton v close but i still think a inshape trainedv 76/77 ali beats holmes or cooney of 80-82....ali had more power than holmes..andchad faster feet boxed better on bike...larry couodnt dance for 15 with ali...

 

Quite right. Muhammad had slipped loads in between 1974 & 77.

 

no, ali would beat him even then cooney was just big and strong but weaker than shavers by far, theres nothing really technical about him.

 

Nobody ever KO'd Ali...not Liston, not Frazier, not Norton, not Shavers, hell not even Holmes
when Ali was just a shadow of his former self. His strength AND weakness was that he could
take incredible punishment. I don't see any version of Ali getting KO'd by any version of Cooney.
At best, Cooney might win over an old weakened version of Ali like Holmes did. Both otherwise,
Ali beats Cooney. Out boxes him, out staminas him, whatever.

 

He stopped Lyle in `75 before Manila. Ali`s fight against Shavers was very close. Ali won it by the skin of his teeth. Ali was on fumes by `77. Holmes may have been a shade green himself in `77 but he had reflexes

 

You must be joking

 

If he beat shavers he could probably beat cooney

 

Totally agree! Geez, Gerry's, prior Holmes, legacy is built on his Lyle, Young, and Norton bouts, all over the hill at that point. An aged Ali would have UD'd him in 1977. After Holmes Cooney didn't fight for two years when he should have stepped up and destroyed a contender 6-9 months later. "Never has so little been accomplished with so much talent". IMO?...taking two years off after Holmes shows this 'wannabe's' true colors.

 

He wasn't built for it. Boxing tests everything. You can't have doubts or weak mindset. That and the fat paycheck and the writing was on the wall.

Ironically Cooney's power almost took out another old guy when he Nailed George Foreman with a laser of a hook right on the chin. Foreman buckled and did his best to play it off. Later he said that punch made his leg start twitching. That means George was a whisker from being knocked clean ot.

 

Id agree Ali was a shell of his former self by 1977 but i still think he wouldve beaten holmes say of 78 or 80.

But we can agree to disagree.

Overeating, self flaggelating sado masochistic sparring sessions in the name of "getting his body into shape",womanising,drinking, inactivity not to mention the onset of parkinsons were very apparent during 78-81...id argue 1977 was the last time we saw even a hint of Ali