Ali fought six times in 1972. One of the fights talked about,but never happened was a rematch with Oscar Bonavena. An Argentinian friend of mine reckons 'Ringo' would have stood a good chance of winning. I think otherwise. Ali was a lot sharper in 1972 than he was two years previously,and imo,would have would have beaten his man a lot easier than he did in '70. Probably on points or yet again by late knockout.
The KO was a bit of a fluke, Ali catching him just right. However, Ali's rust was a big part of that match being so tough. It's pretty amazing he won actually. A 1972 version of Ali wins easier.
I dont know about it being a fluke. That left hook Ali threw was as sweet a left hook as he ever threw but your spot on with the rest
Not sure about that, Bonavena was stagerring about all over the place from the beating he'd taken/exhaustion; he had nothing left when Ali clipped him and put him away.
With more rounds under his belt ,I think Ali would dominate Oscar,and probably tko him in around 9rds.
Bonavena had the right style to give Ali trouble - the unpredictable movement, the bullish strength to break the clinches, the will to get inside, the chin to take a few to give a few and (most importantly) the fact that he could get under Ali's arms and loop punches at him while he was leaning back. Don't see him ever pulling out the win at any stage in their respective careers, though. Just out of interest, I actually think '72 was when Ali became clearly past prime. People talk about the lay-off affecting him; I don't see that so much. He still looked fast and sharp to me, the only issue was perhaps a bit of conditioning as you guys say, which he shook off pre-FOTC. If I were to put my cynical hat on I'd say that that was something of an excuse propagated by the press to excuse his loss to Frazier more than anything. He never looked like a million dollars in any of his fights in '72, especially when you compare Chuvalo II with Chuvalo I, Patterson II with Patterson I, Quarry II with Quarry I. He got hit way too much in all those fights, even against Lewis, and some of his performances were downright weird (even by his standards) - Foster, Quarry etc. His reflexes were diminishing and his offence wasn't as crisp. So yeah, apart from being in better condition, he wouldn't have done that much better, and even that might be only as advantageous as the loss in reflexes post-FOTC were disadvantageous, if you get me. I think Smokes may have taken something out of him.
They had a relatively slow paced match in 1970, but certainly competitive enough to make a rematch promotable. Ali later sustained a far more impressive punch rate in Norton II, against Wepner during the championship rounds, and in Manila. Ellis and Folley proved that speed and skilled precision punching could send Ringo to the deck far more readily than predictably brute power. If Bonavena was ever going to beat Ali, it was either when they actually did square off, or by landing a title shot sometime after Manila, maybe a plausible scenario if not for his murder in May 1976. (Might Ali, being the globetrotter that he was, have been enticed by the historic notion of risking the title in Argentina?)
Chuvalo stated he noticed a marked difference in Ali in their respective fights.He said Ali was slower and not able to maintain the fast pace so well, in their second encounter.
I think '72 was one of his best years post-exile. In my eyes he looked quite clearly better in the rematch against Quarry than in the first fight. He also looked good in the rematch against Chuvalo, but not quite the fighter he was in '66. Don't think he was really that focussed for the fights against Foster or Patterson that year, but still won comfortably against two potential banana sins.
Bonavena could never punch as powerfully after breaking his right hand in around 71' or 72.' Without having to be concerned about that weapon Ali dominates Bonavena to a clear UD in 10 or even a possible stoppage if the fight is 12 rounds.
I've always said that 1972-74 was the best we ever saw of Ali in the seventies. Their first fight took more out of Frazier than it did Ali. Inevitable when you look at their contrasting styles.
