Could Foreman have beaten Ali by fighting smarter?

If the fight had of been fought in the states Foreman would've beat Ali - Foreman for me was done in by the heat and humidity of Africa and the fact that over they he had ZERO fans - if there had been a rematch in the states I think say the Foreman of the Lyle fight might have just hurt Ali so maybe it was a good thing it didn't happen - things happen for a reason maybe?

 

Foreman couldn't beat Ali using brute force, but what else was he gonna do? Dance on his toes and out-jab Ali from a distance? He's a slugger by nature. It's like teaching a rhinoceros to fight like a canine.

 

How about asking the question
If Ali had a trilogy with Foreman like he had with Frazier and Norton - Would Ali have won all 3

I personally think Ali would be down 2 - 1

 

Foreman could have beaten Ali by jabbing from distance and clubbing with the right hand only when Ali got in close.
The older version of Foreman who made a comeback was much smarter in that regard.

In Zaire Foreman forced the issue and laid into Ali with both hands, which really is what any boxer would want a slugger to come at him with.

A fighter with height and reach does'nt have to be ultra skilled to be able to handle a better skilled fighter.

When the first Rahman-Toney fight was made I had said that Rahman who had a sizeable reach and a strong jab, could outpoint Toney just by simply sticking to the jab and using it as the primary weapon.
Rahman did just that and imo easily outpointed Toney without much problem.

In Foreman, his jab was much more punishing and could cause more problems than a Rahman jab..........the key however is being diciplined and patient enough to stick to a jabbing gameplan.

With the jab alone, I feel Foreman could have outpointed Ali.

 

Foreman had a great, powerful jab off a reach longer than Ali's ... Norton proved to beat Ali you jab him ..

 

and what version of Ali did norton fight again?

 

I highly doubt Foreman is going to stay on the outside and get into a jabbing contest. And if he did, he'd have lost a 150-135 decision. Norton was able to jab Ali because of his unique cover up style that negated 1-2's, but Foreman had many holes in his defense, even when he adopted the cross-armed guard in his comeback. Ali's jab is too fast and accurate.

As for the Rahman-Toney fight, there was a 10 inch difference in reach and 4 inches in height, compared to as much as a 2 inch difference in reach, and at best 1 inch in height when it comes to Ali-Foreman.Also, despite being named Big George, Ali was hardly the 'little man' in the ring, especially when he was outmuscling Foreman in the clinches.

While I won't go as far as saying that Foreman was 'made' for Ali, Ali's chin, foot/hand speed, physical strength, adaptability, and top 3 ATG jab would always be a difficult hurdle for Foreman to overcome.

 

I don't think so. For stylistic reasons I think Ali had Foreman's number and I think he was also a level above Big George. That's a deadly combination for George to overcome.

 

Its possible that it could have been closer if foreman fought smart

but taking that into account, Foreman was in his prime more than ever during that fight. I don't think there was anyone else in the history of the sport who would have defeated Foreman that night except for Ali, and MAYBE a select few legends of the past

 

It is quite possible, but there was no way for Foreman to have foreknowledge of the failure of his hard-charging style getting it done against Ali...so in ten slightly different alternate realities, I'm pretty sure we get the same result 9 or 10 times.

If Old George went back in time and showed his younger self tape of the fight before it happened...obviously young Foreman would then be the favorite.

 

Ali would always strategically blow Foreman's mind.

 

Two of three times was a younger version than the one Foreman fought ... but I would imagine you would know that, wouldn't you ?

 

The heat was just as signifigant for Ali. Muhammad would have beaten Foreman that night,if the fight had been hed in an igloo ! Ali was just too good,too sharp for George.

 

Fighting smarter sure isn't going to hurt.

Bigger factor was the cut Foreman got in sparring back then. Do a role reversal and have Ali not sparring and working out and being the guy dealing with a cut. That bout was almost scrapped and could have easily been postponed for another few months. Foreman just went ahead with the bout anyway & he sure isn't given credit for it, is he?