Quarry II Norton II Frazier II Foreman These were the fights that displayed Muhammad's best post-exile form. As has been said,Muhammad had n't come to terms with what he'd lost during his lay off for FOTC. When he was fully focused and in top shape with the substantial residue of his prime gifts plus ring generalship and sheer toughness that window of 1972-74 was the nearest Muhammad got to his 1966/67 form. Ken Norton and Joe Frazier would have still been tough opponents for Ali in his prime. See second fights with both for reference,but there would have been a bit more daylight on the cards.
Possibly, but Kenny's jab was far more effective- and used considerably more- in Fight 1, which was key to his victory.
FOTC Ali beats ANY fighter except Joe! Look at the first few rounds-Ali is landing some BRUTAL shots--any other fighter would have crumbled under that barrage but Frazier was a man possessed that night! Nothing short of death was going to defeat him--and Joe's condition after that fight was VERY dicey. He was hospitalized for a month and there were concerns he might not pull through. That shows you the kind of punishment FOTC Ali inflicted--anybody else but Joe goes down to defeat by stoppage or outright KO-I'm absolutely convinced of it!! And keep in mind Ali did this to an all-time top-10 HW champion (by most rankings) at his peak!!
Against a less mobile Ali, though. He kept the jab holstered for much of the time when Ali was moving.
Physically, yes, he never was better physically after that fight. I actually think he never was the same again, brain or body, after Frazier I. HOWEVER, as a fighter, no, that was not the best post-exile version of Ali, because he had not yet fully adjusted his style and skills to what his body allowed him to do post-layoff. Once he made the adjustments, and accepted what he could and could not do, then he actually was a better, smarter fighter overall, which is what he needed to beat Foreman.
I agree. I don't think Ken used his jab more, but rather he had more opportunities to use his jab more against that version of Ali.
I think Ali at 29, whilst physically inferior to the pre-exile version of himself, was physically superior than he was at 32. However, his 32-year old self had better adapted his style to his declining athleticism. To what degree the above two factors offset each other is difficult for me to determine & is open to each individuals interpretation. I will say that, as much I believe any close to prime version of Foreman always destroys any version of Frazier, I also believe the Frazier from the first Ali fight, is a much tougher fight for Muhammed than any version of Foreman....
I believe it was the best Ali post exile. That fight just goes to show just how great Frazier really was. He came to fight that night no doubt about it.
True, but when he attacked more with the jab it was a success this time round too. In the fights 2nd & 3rd quarters (rounds 4 to 9) he clearly steps this up and overall in this period and Kenny edges it on the cards and even when Ali was still on the move a lot (i.e. rounds 4 to 6) before he faded a bit in the 2nd half of the fight.
I think he started to slow down toward the end of round 4. Every time he stopped to take a breather Kenny popped him with that jab. Norton won the last part of round 4 and clearly took round 5 and would have won round 6 also if he didn't get a bit too eager and walked onto Ali's right. He was starting to roll over Ali and really gave him a drubbing in round 7 and 8.
He looked better in Frazier II with his footwork and combination throwing. That was peak post-exile Ali, in my opinion.