Yes he wins against both. It was close in the Norton fights, so even though he may never effect the best techniques to counter Norton's...countering, his (much greater foot) speed would ensure a comfortable decision. Frazier would do some damage to the body, always. But Ali was still a bit rusty in FOTC & much slower in foot speed than at his peak. He could dance for 15 rounds, & Frazier would cause less damage to the body that slowed him down in 1971.
No. Ali was still a prime specimen when he comeback from the layoff, stronger. Frazier and Norton do what they do to any Ali, both were significantly better than anything 60's Ali fought thats all
That is very unlikely. First, in FOTC Ali was only close to 3 lbs. heavier & did not look quite as lean. The announcer said his weight look "redistributed"-so he seemed to add a bit of upper body mass, but logically if his weight remained about the same & he if anything gained a bit of body fat, he lost muscle in his legs. This may be part of the reason why the thing that is more important happened: he was slower, especially his legs. That & he did not have quite the same endurance-he could not dance for 15 rounds. The vast majority of people recognize that while Ali was still great (through 1975 at least), he was not at his 1965-1967 peak. It is true that Frazier & Norton were better than anything '60's Ali fought-except for Liston in the first fight. Logically Ali would evade more punishment due to his greater speed & endurance. If he avoided more Norton counter-punches & Frazier body shots, it saps his strength less later in the fight-relevant for Frazier. So he has more energy later. He wins more rounds, I would say while he might stop either one, it is more likely something like a 9-6 decision.
He doesn't get beat up as bad, but he still loses by clear decision to FOTC Frazier. He betas Norton, but it's still a tough fight.
Normally agree with a lot of your comments George but here you are plain wrong.Ali was not beat up real bad in the FOTC even though i agree with the decision.In fact Frazier ended up in hospital, a faster sleeker Ali would dance and box his way to a clear decision
Yes of course he does. A bit like he did in the second fight with Frazier when he was lighting fast. The second Norton fight too but he was older then. Prime Ali beats both widely by decision in a similar but more decisive fashion to the way that he beat both in their respective second fights. That is not to take anything away from either man. They were great. Ali was just a bit better..the best ever, bar none.
