The sublime Zora Folley V the feinting master Walcott match their skills ..Who takes it ? Walcott of the first Louis fight v Folley who beat Machen ?
Battle of the counter-punchers. it may not be exciting but I too would go with Walcott, who had a bit more pop in his punches.
Walcott in a 1-sided tactical fight Dunno what a top 20 h2h heavy is doing against Folley, a middling contender
Walcott 0-2 against Louis, 2-2 against Charles, 0-2 against The Rock. But he was Champion for 1 year and 2 months. Not necessarily his fault for never getting a title shot against Patterson, but Zora was never a Champion.
Folley was very open to ko loses,Lavorante,doug Jones,Summerlin,young Jack Johnson,and Walcott in his feintin carried a good wallop to ko Zora
Walcott wins this with no trouble. A better match would have been Walcott-Machen....always liked Machen better than Folley.
(Sorry, my bad) I was thinking about a "Patterson title shot" where he stood a much better chance to win. The Ali title shot, Ali said.....was just giving an older, respected fighter a chance to make some money.....being Ali was at his absolute prime...and at the end of the fight Ali just went ahead and just knocked 36 year old Zora out to end the fight. 1967-03-22 : Muhammad Ali 211½ lbs beat Zora Folley 202½ lbs by KO at 1:48 in round 7 of 15 Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA Referee: Johnny LoBianco Judge: Frank Forbes Judge: Tony Castellano World Heavyweight Title (9th defense by Ali) Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, Photo 5, Photo 6, Photo 7, Photo 8, Photo 9 Tale of the Tape Notes Muhammad Ali vs. Zora Folley was the first World Heavyweight Championship fight to be held at Madison Square Garden since Ezzard Charles vs. Lee Oma on January 12, 1951. Folley was The Ring magazine's No. 1-ranked heavyweight contender. Ali was a 7 to 1 betting favorite. The fight was televised by RKO General and Madison Square Garden in more than 150 cities. New York City was blacked out. There was a snowstorm on the day of the fight, which affected attendance. There was a crowd of 13,780. The gross gate was $244,471, which broke the previous Madison Square Garden record of $239,959. Ali collected about $260,000 on his 50 percent of the net gate and $150,000 from ancillary rights. Folley earned his largest purse, about $58,000 on 15 percent of the net and $25,000 from ancillaries. At the time of the knockout, Referee Johnny LoBianca and Judge Frank Forbes had Ali ahead 4-2 in rounds, and Judge Tony Castellano had the fight even, 3-3. The Associated Press had Ali in front 3-2-1. Ali planned to fight Oscar Bonavena on May 27 in Tokyo, Japan, and then Thad Spencer on July 22 in San Francisco, California. However, seven days before the Folley fight, he was ordered to report for induction into the United States Army in April. Ali, who had unsuccessfully sought draft exemption as a conscientious objector, refused to be inducted. Due to his refusal and subsequent legal battles, he didn't fight again for three and a half years. Mark Kram of Sports Illustrated reported: Folley did accomplish some things. He cut the ring down on Ali. He hit the champion more often than any other opponent with solid right hands and slip jabs. He did not panic when Ali got cute and, faking and feinting, he forced Ali to miss several good punches. On the negative side—besides being knocked out—he obstinately clung to one stratagem; while moving to his right, he kept looking to throw a right-hand counter. It did not take Ali long to learn that he could go in flat-footed and ram home his good right hand, which so many people doubt he possesses. It is also a popular opinion that Ali just played with Folley the first two rounds, but it is more likely that he was measuring Folley's reactions and the strength of his punches. It wasn't until the third round that Ali began working. His straight left hands—not his jab—kept snapping Folley's head back, and these were the punches that started Folley on his way out. At the end of the third round, Ali told his corner that Folley had begun to tire, that his punches had lost some of their life. In the fourth, Ali, now punching flat-footed, spun Folley around with a left hook and then banged a right hand in back of his ear. Folley went down; he was flat on his stomach, and then suddenly he was up, his nose streaming blood, and he was kneeling and looking to his corner for the count. Folley raged back, but he had left too much of himself on the floor. Ali, it appeared, carried Folley in the fifth and sixth rounds, but going into the seventh Herbert Muhammad, his manager, told him to "stop playin'." He did. Two rights, the first of which traveled roughly six inches, gave Ali his 29th straight victory and his ninth successful title defense. Post-Fight Comments "Folley bothered me for a while. He was taking his time and stalking me, but he wasn't fast enough." - Muhammad Ali "There is no one around today who can beat him. I should know, I've fought them all." - Zora Folley "He was a better fighter than Sonny Liston, or Floyd Patterson or Ernie Terrell. He was slick, tricky and a good boxer." - Muhammad Ali "I still think I can beat any heavyweight but Clay. I'm not ashamed of my showing. I fought well. I gave it all I had." - Zora Folley "Clay has to be rated with the great heavyweight champions." - Murray Rose of the Associated Press Articles "Ali Still The Greatest: 'Phantom' Chop Stops Folley" by Robert Lipsyte, New York Times News Service, March 23, 1967 "Clay Knocks Out Folley In Seventh" Associated Press, March 23, 1967 "Floored In 4th, Zora Folley Kayoed In 7th By Flashy Champion" by Murray Rose, Associated Press, March 23, 1967 "Army Key To Clay Plans" AAP-Reuters, March 25, 1967 "Houston Board, U.S. Court Slam Clay's Induction Delay" Associated Press, March 30, 1967 "After Muhammad, A Graveyard" by Mark Kram, Sports Illustrated, April 3, 1967
In reality, Walcott was 1 - 1 v Louis, from most ringside accounts. Jersey had more pep, than the languid Zora, so he's my pick.
I think that Folley´s stiff back style would cause him trouble. At a point Walcott would slip Folley´s jab and bang him with heavy hooks, and Folley´s chin was not made of concrete.
Ali actually signed for a rematch with Floyd Patterson (not Bonavena and Spencer) after the Folley fight, but it was called off when he refused induction three weeks later. This content is protected
The statement that he never received a title shot is technically incorrect. I agree Folley never fought for the championship while in his prime but don't forget that he finally did get a chance at the crown against Ali in 1967. Zora was past his prime, but it is to Ali's everlasting credit that after he cleaned up the leading contenders he gave old guys who had never had a chance like Folley and Cleveland Williams a shot at the title along with the payday that went with it.
