I've always put the relative problems Ali had with Bonavena down to him still being a bit rusty after the lay-off. But the more I watch the fight I get the feeling that Bonavena would give Ali trouble whenever the met due to his awkward style. Ali never was one for awkward styles. So, would Bonavena been able to make Ali look bad if they met in 1967, as originally planned?
I think it goes the distance. Bonavena was only so tired in the 15th because Ali had been doing so much trading and wrestling; if Ali had fought a more mobile fight, Bonavena would have won fewer rounds but been less tired by the end. On the other hand, a lot of Bonavena's success against Ali was due to a strategy from his new trainer (I've forgotten his name) who taught him how to lure Ali into counter-punching opportunities. Take that away, and Bonavena is just a crude slugger with a good chin and punches coming from weird angles. Ali would win a decision by something like 11-4 at the very least and probably something like 12-3 or 13-2.
Oscar was strong and unorthodox and looking at the way Chuvalo hung in with the younger Ali....Bonavena may have done better with the younger less strong version of Ali...Oscar was a bit of a rythym breaker....Ali UD
I think it was a combination of things .Ali was ring rusty,slightly contemptous of Oscar ,and Oscar's awkward style.I don't think Ali could time him ,because Bonavena through punches from all angles.Ali predicted a 9th rd ko ,but both of them got shook in that round .The last round ko made Ali look better than he was for most of the fight imo.
I think the main thing to take from that fight is how hard Ali had to time awkward fighters. He didn't seem to be able to miss Quarry (a pretty skilled, orthodox fighter) a couple of months earlier, but with Bonavena... Ali of course also had a very hard time with Norton. He himself seems to have been conscious of his difficulty with awkward fighter, since part of the reason he believed Marciano would have caused him so much difficulty was because of his awkward style.
Bonavena was a real good opponent leading up to the Frazier fight. He had a pretty good chin, strong as a bull and a come straight forward style. He did what he was suppose to do. He gave Ali 15 rounds and got knocked out. He also fought Frazier earlier and lost a very close decision.
Ali was at about the same weight as he was right before the exile. And his muscle tone was a bit more pronounced then (in 66-67), so I see no reason to believe that Ali had gotten stronger.
The fight would follow a similar pattern IMO, but Ali would be quicker and sharper. I'd take Ali by TKO in 13 or 14, with a slightly bigger lead than he had in their actual fight.
ali punishes bonavena badly and scores a late round tko. Don't judge by the chuvalo fight, he really didn't fight as hard as he could have. many time throughout his career ali relaxed in the ring only turning it on when needed. This is something that many fail to realize.
good point and jim brown critized ali in the chuvalu fight for slacking off training and fighting at his heaviest ever weight for that fight.